Bangladesh leads South Asia in gender equity

Bangladesh has top-ranked in gender equity in South Asia having closed its overall gender gap, according to the Global Gender Gap Index 2016 prepared by World Economic Forum. The country has ranked 72 among 144 countries in the world followed by India which stands 87 in the index. Moreover, Bangladesh has become the region’s top performer, recording progress this year on the political empowerment gender gap. But there is a widening of the gap on women’s labour force participation and estimated earned income. In South Asia, the lowest-ranked countries are Bhutan and Pakistan, having closed 64% and 56% of their overall gender gap, respectively. With an average remaining gender gap of 33%, the South Asia region is the second-lowest scoring on this year’s Global Gender Gap Index, ahead of the Middle East and North Africa and behind the Sub-Saharan Africa region. According to the report, no country in the region has fully closed its Educational Attainment gender gap, and only one country, Sri Lanka, has fully closed its Health and Survival gender gap. Iceland ranked the number 1 country in the Global Gender Gap Index. The United States slid down 45th position from 17 since last year, primarily due to a more transparent measure for the estimated earned income. Through the Global Gender Gap Report, the World Economic Forum quantifies the magnitude of gender disparities and tracks their progress over time, with a specific focus on the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics. The 2016 Report covers 144 countries. More than a decade of data has revealed that progress is still too slow for realizing the full potential of one half of humanity within our lifetimes.