Global Gender Gap Report 2016

[IMPress Polly]

The World Economic Forum measures degrees of global gender parity in four areas -- health and survival, educational attainment, economic opportunity, and political empowerment -- and releases reports with their latest findings annually. They just released their 2016 report. It shows continued backsliding for the world overall, with the overall global gender gap having been the most closed back in 2013. Broken down by country, 2016's findings for North America are particularly dismal: Canada fell from 30th place to 35th while the United States fell even more dramatically from 28th to 45th! According to the world body, Canadian women are currently treated as 73.1% the equals of their male counterparts (a drop of nearly a full percentage point from last year), while American women are currently treated as 72.2% the equals of their male counterparts (a drop of nearly two full percentage points since last year). America now lags behind countries like Bulgaria, Poland, and Laos in overall gender parity.

The primary area of stagnation and decline, the forum reports, is that of economic opportunity, the global situation of which they sum up this way:

Behind this decline are a number of factors. One is salary, with women around the world on average earning just over half of what men earn despite, on average, working longer hours taking paid and unpaid work into account. Another persistent challenge is stagnant labour-force participation, with the global average for women standing at 54%, compared with 81% for men. The number of women in senior positions also remains stubbornly low, with only four countries in the world having equal numbers of male and female legislators, senior officials and managers, despite the fact that 95 countries now have as many – if not more – women educated at university level.

....

The slow rate of progress towards gender parity, especially in the economic realm, poses a particular risk given the fact that many jobs that employ a majority of women are likely to be hit proportionately hardest by the coming age of technological disruption known as the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This “hollowing out” of female livelihoods could deprive economies further of women’s talents and increases the urgency for more women to enter high-growth fields such as those demanding STEM skills. “Women and men must be equal partners in managing the challenges our world faces – and in reaping the opportunities. Both voices are critical in ensuring the Fourth Industrial Revolution delivers its promise for society,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.

(To sum up that last paragraph in perhaps more plain English, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is likely to mostly replace jobs that are currently female-dominated, such as those in entry-level, stereotypically "feminine" fields like housekeeping, perhaps with household robots and so forth, thus making it all the more imperative that women enter, and be permitted to enter, fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, lest the impact of the tech revolution disproportionately harm women.)

The area that has seen the greatest improvement of late, they report, has been that of political empowerment, though the improvements in this area are starting from an extremely low base:

The pillar where the gender gap looms largest, Political Empowerment, is also the one that has seen the greatest amount of progress since the World Economic Forum began measuring the gender gap in 2006. This now stands at over 23%; 1% greater than 2015 and nearly 10% higher than in 2006. However, improvements are starting from a low base: only two countries have reached parity in parliament and only four have reached parity on ministerial roles, according to the latest globally comparable data.

Approximate global gender parity has already been achieved in the other two areas covered by the Global Gender Gap Report: health and survival (gender gap 96% closed) and educational attainment (gender gap 95% closed).

Thought I'd post this both to update everyone on the objective situation as regards global gender relations and also to highlight the hard facts for those who deny the existence of male privilege.

[DGUtley]

Equal pay for equal work.

Male privilege? You mean to tell me that they've created another 'privilege' I'm supposed to be sorry for? C'mon, man.

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[Mister D]

The World Economic Forum measures degrees of global gender parity in four areas -- health and survival, educational attainment, economic opportunity, and political empowerment -- and releases reports with their latest findings annually. They just released their 2016 report. It shows continued backsliding for the world overall, with the overall global gender gap having been the most closed back in 2013. Broken down by country, 2016's findings for North America are particularly dismal: Canada fell from 30th place to 35th while the United States fell even more dramatically from 28th to 45th! According to the world body, Canadian women are currently treated as 73.1% the equals of their male counterparts (a drop of nearly a full percentage point from last year), while American women are currently treated as 72.2% the equals of their male counterparts (a drop of nearly two full percentage points since last year). America now lags behind countries like Bulgaria, Poland, and Laos in overall gender parity.

The primary area of stagnation and decline, the forum reports, is that of economic opportunity, the global situation of which they sum up this way:



(To sum up that last paragraph in perhaps more plain English, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is likely to mostly replace jobs that are currently female-dominated, such as those in entry-level, stereotypically "feminine" fields like housekeeping, perhaps with household robots and so forth, thus making it all the more imperative that women enter, and be permitted to enter, fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, lest the impact of the tech revolution disproportionately harm women.)

The area that has seen the greatest improvement of late, they report, has been that of political empowerment, though the improvements in this area are starting from an extremely low base:



Approximate global gender parity has already been achieved in the other two areas covered by the Global Gender Gap Report: health and survival (gender gap 96% closed) and educational attainment (gender gap 95% closed).

Thought I'd post this both to update everyone on the objective situation as regards global gender relations and also to highlight the hard facts for those who deny the existence of male privilege.

Your means of measurement have often been criticized so I won't bother with that. My question is: what are we supposed to do about it? Drop some bombs and learn 'em some feminism?