Gender Gap Index Comparison, Essay Example

Introduction

The gender gap index of a country is designed to highlight disparities within the society. It was introduced in 2006 by the World Economic Forum to track the progress of countries towards gender equality (Hausmann et al. 3). The below paper will compare the gender gap index of Russia with that of Switzerland.

Russia’s Report

Russia stands in the 75^th position among 142 countries based on its gender gap index, which is around average. The gender gap index of the Russian Federation (Web Forum) shows that labor force participation of women is significantly lower than men’s. (68 and 78 consequently). However, it is interesting that enrollment to tertiary education is higher among women (85) than men (68). At the same time, the estimated earned income of women is only 56 percent of men’s, which is a significant difference. Life expectancy of men is lower by 9 years than women’s. The political participation differences, however, are even more visible: out of 100 people in the parliament, only 14 are women, while 7 percent of ministers is female.

Switzerland’s Report

The gender gap index within Switzerland is  showing a level of equality, and the country is currently ranking on the 11^th place among 142 states. While labor force participation of women is lower than men’s, the estimated income of males and females shows that the country takes  equal pay for equal work seriously. Enrollment to tertiary education among men is one point higher, but the difference is not significant. Life expectancy of women is three years higher among women than men. In the parliament, 31 percent of representatives are female, while 43 percent of ministers are female.

Comparison Of Indexes

The most significant differences between the two countries are related to employment and political participation. In Russia, despite having a higher participation rate in tertiary education, women earn much less than men on the average. This indicates that equal career development opportunities are not offered for men and women. The number of women in supervisory and managerial positions is lower, despite their high literacy level and academic attainment. In Switzerland, on the other hand, wages seem to be equal, and men’s participation in higher education is around the same level as women’s. The political participation of women in Russia is far from being satisfactory, and this issue might have several cultural and political dimensions. The Russian Federation has only started its journey towards democracy a few decades ago, and gender equality is a democratic value. Further, during the existence of the Soviet Union, leaders and politicians were supposed to be strong, powerful, and men in order to become leaders of a large state. Women might also be considered less important in the society of Russia, due to the Orthodox religion’s influence on people’s thinking.

Conclusion

The above comparison of the two countries’ gender gap index has highlighted that democracy is the only way nations can speed up social change and improve social justice. While in the United States, one of the oldest democracies, human rights issues have been addressed by many thinkers, Northern and Western European countries are ranked higher than the U.S. At the same time, it is important to note that the shared values and beliefs of the society also influence the role of different genders, as well as the government initiatives to promote equality.

Works Cited

Hausmann, Ricardo, Laura D. Tyson, and Saadia Zahidi. “The global gender gap index 2012.” The Global Gender Gap Report (2012): 3-27.

Web Forum. “World Economic Forum Gender Gap Index Ranking” 2014. Web.