Quick hit: World gender gap survey out - Aotearoa fifth best

Here's some bits of the article in the Herald:

New Zealand has maintained its fifth placing on the Global Gender Gap Index, an annual list compiled by the World Economic Forum to assesses countries on how well they divide their resources and opportunities between their male and female populations.

Women remain far behind men in economic and political power globally, but the Nordic countries come closest to closing the gender gap, according to the survey of 134 nations released yesterday.

Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have topped the index since it was first released in 2006.

They did so again this year, but Iceland replaced Norway at the top of the list with a score of 82.8 per cent, meaning it came closest to 100 per cent gender equality...

New Zealand, with a score of 78.8 per cent, was fifth in the rankings...

At the bottom of the list were Qatar, Egypt, Mali, Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Benin, Pakistan, Chad and Yemen in last place with a score of 46.1 per cent.

...While many nations have made some progress toward gender equality, no country has closed the gap when it comes to economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, political empowerment, and health and survival.

"Girls and women make up one half of the world's population," the forum's founder and executive chairman, Klaus Schwab, said in a statement, "and without their engagement, empowerment and contribution, we cannot hope to achieve a rapid economic recovery nor effectively tackle global challenges such as climate change, food security and conflict."

Saadia Zahidi, head of the forum's Women Leaders and Gender Parity Program, told a news conference launching the survey that of the 115 countries in the original index four years ago, 99 have made progress in closing their gaps - but 16 haven't "and have actually deteriorated".

The survey shows that on health, "the world is doing fairly well," closing over 96 per cent of the gap in resources between women and men, Zahidi said.

On education, about 93 per cent of the gap has been closed but on economic participation and opportunity only 60 per cent has been closed and on political empowerment only 17 per cent.

There's much more there if you make with the clicky. Although quite why the Herald has put it in the Life & Style section, as opposed to like you know News, I don't know.

And Idiot/Savant has more lovely linkage, including the actual report itself and a pretty picture. Awww.