Asia’s progress in closing the gender gap is slow, uneven
December 11, 2016 12:05 pm
The Philippines and New Zealand are leading the pack in Asia-Pacific on having the best gender equality, but the rest of the region still has some way to go to improving its status.
India is struggling to improve its rates of female health, despite gains on wage equality and educational attainment, while China’s gender gap has flat-lined over the past decade largely due to a decline in the per centage of women joining the workforce, said Samantha Amerasinghe, an economist with Standard Chartered Plc, in a recent report based on earlier findings by the Switzerland-based World Economic Forum.
The Philippines and New Zealand are the only Asia-Pacific countries ranked in the top 10 of the Global Gender Gap Index of 144 countries compiled by the World Economic Forum. Even so, both nations scored lower than they did a decade ago, while Singapore, India and Bangladesh were the only Asian nations to rise in the ranks over that period.
To be sure, the number of countries included in the report has risen from 115 in 2006. But some Asian declines remain significant all the same, with Sri Lanka down 87 positions, China down 36 positions, Malaysia down 34 and Japan down 32.
-themalaymailonline
-Agencies
