Gender Equality refers to the extent to which women and men face the same opportunities and constraints within families, the workplace, and society at large. Where gender discrimination has been reduced, people are better able to fulfil their potential in life and make the most of their skills and capabilities.
Gender equality is multifaceted, sustained by both social attitudes – for example, norms of fairness among employers, educators, and spouses – and social outcomes, such as the presence of women in managerial positions, educators, and legislators. ISD measure the level of gender equality using a wide range of complementary indicators, which span outcome measures such as access to jobs, educational placement, and a fair wage, as well as input measures which track the existence of discriminatory norms within society regarding a woman’s right to equal treatment in the workplace, in access to education, and in the family. Because gender discrimination is multifaceted, attitudinal data also can form a useful proxy for the persistence of broader forms of discrimination, such as domestic violence, for which we have little or no comparative information.
Data Used
| Indicator | Source | Countries |
| Percentage agreeing that a married man has a right to beat his wife and children | Afrobarometer | 15 |
| Percentage of respondents who tend to agree or strongly agree that ‘women have always been subject to traditional laws and customs, and should remain so’. | Afrobarometer | 15 |
| Percentage of respondents who tend to agree or strongly agree that ‘women should have the same chance of being elected to political office as men’. | Afrobarometer | 4 |
| Rating on level of women’s economic rights | CIRI | 190 |
| Rating on level of women’s social rights | CIRI | 190 |
| Ratio of average female to male wages, across all available labour categories | International Labour Organisation | 65 |
| Percentage of women who agree that women have the same chance as men to get a good job in their country | Latinobarometer | 18 |
| Percentage of women who agree that women have the chance to earn the same salary as men in their country | Latinobarometer | 19 |
| Percentage of women who agree that women have the same chance as men to get a good education in their country | Latinobarometer | 18 |
| Proportion of employers and managers who agree or strongly agree that when jobs are scarce, men have more right to a job than women | World Values Surveys | 83 |
| Proportion of those of voting age who agree or strongly agree that on the whole, men make better political leaders than women do | World Values Surveys | 74 |
| Proportion of parents who agree or strongly agree that a university education is more important for a boy than a girl | World Values Surveys | 75 |
| Proportion of employers and managers who agree or strongly agree that on the whole, men make better business executives than women do | World Values Surveys | 23 |
| Percentage of labour force that is female | World Development Indicators | 186 |
| Ratio of females among legislators, senior officials and managers | International Labour Organisation | 94 |
| Ratio of females in professional jobs | International Labour Organisation | 136 |
| Ratio between female and male primary school enrolment | World Development Indicators | 175 |
| Ratio between female and male secondary school enrolment | World Development Indicators | 150 |
| Ratio between female and male tertiary educational enrolment | World Development Indicators | 173 |
| Ratio between adult female and male literacy rates | World Development Indicators | 146 |
| Ratio between adult female and adult male mortality rates | World Development Indicators | 195 |