SDG Gender Index to measure global Gender Equality | UPSC – IAS

SDG Gender Index to measure global Gender Equality UPSC - IAS

SDG Gender Index to measure global Gender Equality | UPSC – IAS

The 2019 SDG Gender Index enables us to tell a story of global progress, as well as being a tool that gender advocates can use to frame their influencing on the gender equality elements of the SDGs. The SDG Gender Index, a new index to measure global gender equality, was launched recently.

  • The index accounts for 14 out of 17 SDGs (sustainable development goals).
  • The goals cover aspects such as poverty, health, education, literacy, political representation and equality at the workplace.
  • A score of 100 reflects the achievement of gender equality in relation to the targets set for each indicator.
  • A score of 50 signifies that a country is about halfway to meeting a goal.

The SDG Gender Index has been developed by Equal Measures 2030, a joint effort of regional and global organisations including:-

  • African Women’s Development and Communication Network
  • Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women
  • Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • International Women’s Health Coalition

key findings of the SDG Gender Index | UPSC – IAS

  • The global average score of the 129 countries (with 95% of the world’s girls and women) is 65.7 out of 100 (“poor” in the index).
  • Nearly 1.4 billion girls and women are living in countries that get a “very poor” grade.
  • Altogether, 2.8 billion girls and women live in countries that get either a “very poor” (59 and below) or “poor” score (60-69).
  • Just 8% of the world’s population of girls and women live in countries that received a “good” gender equality score (80-89).
  • Notably, no country achieved an “excellent” overall score of 90 or above in gender equality.
  • Besides, not all countries’ scores on the index correlate with national income.
  • Some countries perform better than what would be expected based on their GDP per capita, and others underperform.
  • With all these, it was highlighted that the world was far from achieving gender equality.

 India and SDG Gender Index | UPSC – IAS

  • India was ranked at 95th among 129 countries.
  • India’s highest goal scores are on health (79.9), hunger & nutrition (76.2), and energy (71.8).
  • Its lowest goal scores are on partnerships (18.3, in the bottom 10 countries), industry, infrastructure and innovation (38.1), and climate (43.4).
  • On indicators that define the goals, India scored 95.3 on the percentage of female students enrolled in primary education who are overage.
  • In the proportion of seats held by women in national parliament, India scored 23.6; women made up 11.8% of Parliament in 2018.
  • On seats held by women in the Supreme Court (4%), India has a score of 18.2.

On gender-based violence, indicators include –

  • Proportion of women aged 20-24 years who were married or in a union before age 18 (27.3%)
  • Women who agreed that a husband/partner is justified in beating his wife/partner under certain circumstances (47.0%)
  • Women aged 15+ who reported that they feel safe walking alone at night in the city or area where they live (69.1%)

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