No other country in the world has had a female head of government for 30 of the last 50 years.
This fact alone earns Bangladesh the top spot in South Asia and a 71st placing (out of 146 countries) in the global gender gap index, released by the world economic forum this week (July 13, 2022).
For those who care about diversity and inclusion in the widest sense, advancement towards gender parity is a necessary condition for progress. Since 2006, the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report (GGR) has been the vanguard of framing and tracking this movement at the international level. I have observed first-hand how this report has informed dialogue and policy in several countries around the world.
The index tracks 14 indicators at a national level, grouped into the four pillars of a) economic participation, b) educational attainment, c) health, and d) political empowerment.
For each of these pillars, the question is the same: How far away are we from equal outcomes between men and women?
Purpose of any index
By construction, indices are reductionist measures that try to capture noteworthy features with minimal complexity. By definition, they are incomplete and can sacrifice nuance in exchange for standardization.
They are also created with a specific purpose in mind -- in this case, the gap between male and female outcomes, not absolute levels.
For example, Sweden and Rwanda, Ireland and Namibia, and Singapore and Zimbabwe can be paired as having similar scores in this index.
Nor is there any value judgement about forms of economic or political systems. For example, in terms of political empowerment, the gender gap in Bangladesh is seen to be on par with that in Germany and considerably better than in the UK, Canada or the US.
Scores on the index or sub-indices should only be analyzed in their local contexts. They should mark the start of the narrative, not the conclusion of the conversation.
Bangladesh relative to other countries
With that in mind, and as viewed from Bangladesh where I am writing this from, here are some observations:
1. Countries at the very top of the list seem to have small populations and low population densities. Interestingly, the combined population of the countries in the top nine is only a third of the population of Bangladesh. Only one country amongst the top 14, namely Germany, has more people than Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh.
2. Amongst the 15 most populous countries in the world, Bangladesh is only outranked by the US, Mexico, and the Philippines.
3. The report groups countries into regional blocks. Not surprisingly, Europe and North America have the narrowest gender gaps. However, Bangladesh is not only ranked number one in South Asia, but it also ranks above Poland, Greece, and Turkey in Europe, above China, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and Indonesia in East Asia, and above all countries in the Middle East with the exception of Israel and the UAE.
Momentum, SDG success and further economic empowerment
However, Bangladesh seems to have lost a bit of momentum in recent years. Although its overall score is not materially different, its relative rank has slipped from 65th in last year’s report to this year’s 71st.
There appears to be significant reliance on one of the 14 indicators, namely the predominance of a female head of government in the past three decades. This indicator may also overstate overall political empowerment: Bangladesh ranks 92nd and 127th in the world when it comes to women in parliament and women in ministerial positions, respectively.
Although Bangladesh does very well in some other indicators such as enrolment in secondary education or the ratio of female births versus male, these indicators are no longer major differentiators across countries.
According to the UN dashboard for sustainable development goals (SDGs), Bangladesh outperformed every other country in the world in improving its SDG score between 2015 and 2020. This is also reflected in its narrowing gender gap in health and basic educational outcomes. This should provide an excellent foundation for the path going forward.
Four Pillars of Gender Gap Index Rank
1 Political Empowerment 9
2 Educational attainment 123
3 Health & survival 129
4 Economic Participation & Opportunities 141
Overall rank out of 146 countries 71
The greatest avenue for narrowing the gender gap from here on appears to be in creating further opportunities for economic participation. On this count, although still ahead of India and Pakistan, Bangladesh sits amongst the bottom ten in the index.
Gender lens unlocks opportunities
Greater female participation in the economy could involve structural, attitudinal, and, in some cases, legal changes around inheritance rights and access to assets, for example.
Generally speaking, the pandemic has added a layer of complexity to the slew of technology-led changes already underway in the world of skills, business models, geo-politics, and supply chains. The impact of these changes may not be gender-neutral if, for example, they result in disproportionate job losses in female-heavy sectors.
On the other hand, adopting an explicit gender lens when designing policy around education or enterprise may unlock a burst of new and exciting opportunities from here on.
Lutfey Siddiqi is a Visiting Professor-in-Practice at the London School of Economics and an Adjunct Professor at the National University of Singapore. Previously a global investment banker, he is a longstanding member of World Economic Forum global future councils, the forum of Young Global Leaders, and has contributed to the official program in Davos for several years.