World Savvy Monitor

The GDI or Gender-Related Development Index is a measurement calculated by the UN Development Programme to capture the disparity in achievement between men and women within the larger Human Development Index or HDI.  

• Four factors are considered:  relative life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rates, combined gross enrollment rates for all levels of education, and estimated earned income for men and women.  Lower GDI scores indicate less inequality. 

• The ten countries performing best on GDI rank include the Nordic countries (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands), along with Australia, Canada, Switzerland, France, and the United Kingdom.  The United States finishes 16th out of 157 countries.

• The 10 countries with the worst GDI rank are all in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Preliminary data on 2008 figures, included in a recent Statistical Update to the GDI, shed even more light on gender inequalities, including a ranking of how countries fare when their overall Human Development Index scores are compared to their Gender-Related Development Scores.

• Sweden tops the list in achievements of women relative to its overall development levels.

• Interestingly, the U.S.’s rank drops to 106th out of 157 when women’s development in America is considered as a percentage of overall development. 

Next:  Women and the Economy:  Women and Anti-Poverty Efforts in Developing Countries