Previous Year Question
Which of the following gives ‘Global Gender Gap Index’ ranking to the countries of the world?
World Economic Forum
UN Human Rights Council
UN Women
World Health Organization
Correct Answer: A
Detailed Solution
The Global Gender Gap Index is published by the World Economic Forum. Therefore, option (a) is correct.
The index was first introduced in 2006. At the time relevant to this UPSC question, the Global Gender Gap Report 2016 covered 144 economies.
The index does not measure the absolute level of resources or opportunities available in a country. It measures the relative gaps between women and men. Consequently, even a relatively low-income country may obtain a better position if the differences between women and men are comparatively small.
The index is organised around four major dimensions:
Economic Participation and Opportunity: Labour-force participation, wage equality, estimated income and representation in senior and technical positions.
Educational Attainment: Literacy and enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education.
Health and Survival: Sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy.
Political Empowerment: Women’s representation in Parliament and ministerial positions and the number of years with a woman as head of State or Government.
The index score is generally expressed on a scale from 0 to 1:
A score closer to 0 indicates a wider gender gap.
A score of 1 represents gender parity.
The index measures women’s outcomes relative to men’s outcomes; a female advantage does not normally increase the parity score beyond 1.
The UN Human Rights Council is an intergovernmental human-rights body. UN Women works for gender equality and women’s empowerment, while WHO is the specialised global health agency. None of these three publishes the Global Gender Gap Index.