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US Ranked 23rd in Women’s Equality in Global Gender Gap Index

The World Economic Forum recently released its 2013 Global Gender Gap Report, which ranks the US 23rd in women’s equality. The Global Gender Gap Index is a framework for depicting gender-based disparities around the world and tracking progress on gender parity by using economic, political, education- and health-based criteria. Each country’s ranking is determined by measuring internal gender-based gaps in the ability to access resources and services.

Eighty-six out of 133 countries improved their global gender gap between 2012 and 2013, with women’s political participation experiencing the most progress. But according to the report [PDF], although the US is doing well in women’s education, the country is still struggling to make major progress in closing the gender gap in politics and economics. The US ranks 60th–below India, China, and Uganda–in terms of political empowerment, which takes into account indicators like the ratio of women to men in congress and ministerial positions. Currently, women only make up 18 percent of Congress, having risen only 1 percent since last year. US women also still struggle with a significant wage gap, making an average of 77 cents to every dollar that men make. African-American women make an average of 64 cents to a man’s dollar, and Latina women make 55 cents.

One factor negatively affecting women’s economic equality in the US is the lack of mandatory paid maternity leave and other supportive family services. The US is one of only three countries that has no mandated paid maternity leave. In contrast, Pakistan has 12 weeks of paid maternity leave and Canada has 50 weeks. In the US, federal law requires businesses to give 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but many women can’t afford to take time off unpaid.

Sources:

ThinkProgress 5/24/12, 10/25/13; World Economic Forum The Global Gender Gap Report 2013; Feminist Majority Foundation Blog 5/31/12

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