societies with greater gender equality achieve higher levels of social and
economic rights fulfillment for all members.
Improving gender equity in itself may be a goal with clear, intrinsic value.
However, a substantial body of research now suggests that gender equity and the
achievement of other development goals, such as health, education, social and
economic rights fulfillment, and even growth, are inseparable.
For example, higher levels of female education and
literacy have been found to reduce child mortality and improve
educational outcomes
for the next generation. The presence of women in political leadership
positions appears to increase
schooling for girls. Children’s health is influenced by women’s bargaining power in the home. Lower
fertility rates, also associated with increased educational attainment for
women, can have a positive effect on growth, while gender inequality in
education undermines growth. The UN Development Programme (UNDP) finds
a broad correlation between gender inequality and human development outcomes,
with low-ranking countries on the Human Development Index (HDI) in general
performing much more poorly on gender inequality measurements than high-HDI
countries.
In my own recent research (as well as a book forthcoming from Oxford
University Press this winter), my colleagues and I find a strong correlation
between gender equality and economic and social rights fulfillment. Graph 1
illustrates the relationship between our Social & Economic Fulfillment Rights Index (SERF) and
Social Watch’s Gender
Equity Index (GEI) for a sample of 93 countries. Graph 2 illustrates the
relationship between the SERF Index and the UNDP Gender Inequality
Index (GII) for 84 countries.
The correlation between gender equity and social and economic rights
fulfillment can also be observed on the regional level, with the notable
exception of the Middle East and
social and economic rights fulfillment is relatively high but gender equality
is low. There is also a sizable gap in
The relationship between gender inequality and
development outcomes is likely not uni-directional. For example, there is
robust evidence that gender inequality decreases as countries get
richer, suggesting that economic growth could also be leading to better gender
outcomes. And recent research indicates that women may be disproportionally
hurt by global economic downturns: in developing countries, where women are
concentrated in export manufacturing and tourism, job losses
for women are greater than for men when these industries collapse
Taken together, however, the evidence suggests that increasing social and
economic opportunities and political representation for women has ripple
effects on health, education, and socio-economic outcomes throughout society
and for the next generation. Gender equity and social and economic rights
fulfillment go hand-in-hand.