Global Gender Gap
The Global Gender Gap refers to general inequality between men and women on multiple issues. These issue include but are not limited to the access to work, child care, education, and health care, as well as reproductive control, choice of marriage, violence and discrimination, and equal representation in politics. These issues can be both nation-based and worldwide, with some nations exercising higher restrictions on a specific gender. Specifically, a study performed found that out of 4,830 Middle Eastern men, 31% in Lebanon and 64% in Egypt had admitted to sexually harassing women in some way. These cases of harassment can range from verbal cat calling all the way to unwelcome physical touching and rape.
Rankings of Countries on the Global Gender Gap
When it comes to how countries are ranked on the Global Gender Gap, the factors that are examined are economic participation/opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. The nations that currently stand at the top of the list are Iceland, Norway, and Sweden, with Iraq, Pakistan, and Yemen taking up the bottom. Taking a look at the differences between top and bottom, the greatest difference is economic participation and opportunity. For example, Iceland’s (#1) score in this category is 0.806 and Yemen’s (#149) score in this category 0.352. We also see that political empowerment plays a major role with the lowest ranking nations’ scores varying from 0.13 to 0.03 and the highest rankings nation’s scores ranging from 0.5 to 0.7.
The United States currently stands at #57 in the Global Gender Gap Index. What differentiates the U.S. is its level in political empowerment (ranked 73) and economic participation and opportunity (ranked 26). Surprisingly, health and survival (ranked 63) is also what pulls the U.S. down in the rankings. It appears that the nations in the top ten of the list are significantly higher in the three previously stated categories. If the United States has any hope of improving its ranking, significant improvements need to be made in the political empowerment categories. Having equal representation in the Senate and House of Representatives could increase the United States’ ranking in political empowerment.
Pregnancy and the Gender Gap
One of the most common traditional gender roles in society is the idea that women are supposed to be the caregivers of children within the household. The expectation to have and raise children is deeply routed in many nations, and oftentimes hinders a woman’s ability to work. It is expected that, upon having children, women should remain at home and care for the child as well as recover from the pregnancy. However, the only assistance that women have when in the U.S. is known as the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which will protect the woman’s job after 12 weeks after childbirth or adoption. Most maternity leave in the U.S. is unpaid, and is based on company policy. The lack of any federal regulation often leaves women unpaid during leave, with and expectation to maintain the household, take care of the child, and take care of themselves simultaneously. The role of men in regards to domestic responsibilities remains as it always has: bringing in money into the house. Men are expected to bring in money to the household, but are not expected to take care of much on the home front. Although roles are changing nowadays, the traditional idea is that the men bring home the bacon while women play a more supportive role at the house.
Factors for Inequality in Pakistan
While it is all based on perspective, gender inequality has oftentimes been a rather prominent issue when talking about the Middle East. However, what factors play a role on making such a large gender inequality? Most of it is based on the norms of their society. At every stage of life, women in Pakistan face restrictions based on a very strict set of rules within their society. Beginning at birth, sons are favored far more than daughters due to the idea that women cannot make decisions for themselves and cannot be left alone. From there, the restrictions range from not being permitted to be anywhere without the presence of a male, dressing in traditional clothing that covers them from head to toe, being completely submissive to their husbands, being married off at extremely young ages, and, possibly worst of all, being killed if they break traditional norms in order to preserve the honor of the family.
References:
- http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2016/economies/#economy=USA
- https://vmi.instructure.com/courses/10495/files/411508/download?wrap=1
- https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2017/06/15/532977361/why-do-men-harass-women-new-study-sheds-light-on-motivations
- https://www.thecut.com/article/maternity-leave-usa.html