Equality index
The Gender Equality Index (Gender Equality Index) is a measure which is intended to measure how close the European Union and its Member States on the implementation of a gender-equal society. It is determined by the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), an agency of the European Union. The index is given as a value between 1 and 100, where 100 stands for the ideal situation in a gender-equitable society. Differences to the detriment of women and men are seen as equally harmful. In all member states of the European Union and in the EU as a whole, this index should be able to monitor the development of gender equality. The gender equality index was published in 2013, 2015 and 2017. In 2017, figures for the years 2005, 2010, 2012 and 2015 were presented, incorporating data on the core areas of work, money, education, time, power and health. Germany's progress in developing gender equality almost came to a standstill between 2012 and 2015 with an increase of only 0.6 points. Overall, the Federal Republic of Germany was in the upper midfield in 2015, ranking 12th in the EU comparison.
aims
The Gender Equality Index has three main objectives: - Supporting the development and anchoring of evidence-based gender equality measures - Showing the different results of these measures for women and men - Raising awareness of progress and challenges in gender equality policy among decision-makers and the general public
The equality index is part of the EU Strategy for the Equality between Women and Men 2010–2015 . According to EIGE, it is specially tailored to the objectives of EU equality policy and pursues a gender approach , not a purely women's advancement approach . Differences to the detriment of women and men are seen as equally harmful.
Structure and calculation
The equality index is made up of eight areas.
Core areas
The six areas of work, money, education, time, power and health are combined into a core index. All six areas are subdivided into sub-areas, for which relevant indicators were determined:
1. Work
- Participation in working life
This compares how the length of working life and the proportion of full-time employees differ for men and women.
- Separation of work areas and quality of work
This compares the occupations in which women and men predominantly work, what career opportunities they have and what opportunities exist to get work-free for personal and family matters.
2. money
- Financial resources
The mean monthly income and the mean comparable net income of the sexes are compared here.
- Economic situation (financial situation)
This is where the risk of poverty for women and men flows . It is also analyzed how the proportion of men and women in the upper and lower fifth of incomes is represented (S20 / S80 income quintile share).
3. Education
- Educational qualifications
For this sub-area, the proportion of academics is examined for the sexes. It is also compared how many women and men have taken formal education and training and how many of them have acquired their knowledge in the non-formal sector, i.e. outside the education system.
- Ratio of the sexes in the choice of degree
This compares how many female and how many students choose education , health care , social affairs , humanities or art .
4. Time
- Care / nursing / care
Here it is determined how many women and men look after children, grandchildren, elderly or disabled people, how many cook and do other housework.
- Social activities
This sub-section includes the share of men and women in sporting and cultural activities, how much they devote themselves to culture, how much free time they have and how much community service they do.
5. Power
- Political force
The proportion of women and men in ministers and members of the national and regional parliaments is the basis of this sub-area.
- Economic power
Economic power is measured by the proportion of men and women on the boards of the largest public companies and the central bank .
- Social power
This compares how many women or men sit on the executive board of organizations that award research funds, how many sit in public media and how many sit on the highest national Olympic decision-making body.
6. Health
- status
This sub-category includes personal perceptions of the state of health in men and women, life expectancy, and the number of years of life they spend in good health.
- behavior
Smoking and harmful alcohol consumption are included here, but also exercise and the consumption of fruit and vegetables.
- Access to medical / dental care
This compares the extent to which women and men do not have access to the necessary medical or dental examinations.
Additional areas
The core index is complemented by two additional, equally important areas, the results of which, however, are not included in the index values:
- violence
The absence of gender-based violence is an inherent part of gender equality. Since it is known that women are exposed to violence in the member states of the EU, figures on the incidence of violence were also determined as part of the index determination. This should enable the use of violence against women in all EU member states to be monitored more regularly. The surveys are also intended to support the EU member states in the exercise of their obligation to prevent violence against women.
- Cross-sectoral inequalities (intersecting inequalities)
Marital status , age, country of birth, disability and educational level are determined here. These numbers can be used to identify and compare inequalities in subgroups so that more targeted measures are possible.
Each area is broken down into sub-areas that cover the key themes of the subject areas concerned. This results in 31 indicators that can be used to monitor the development of gender equality in all 28 member states of the European Union and in the EU as a whole. For the sake of clarity, these individual components will be merged later. The result is a value between 1 and 100, where 100 stands for the ideal situation in a gender-equitable society.
Longitudinal development of individual areas
decision making
In the area of decision-making , the proportions of male and female decision-makers in politics and business are incorporated. The greatest advances were made in the private sector in particular over the course of the decade under review. Despite an increase of almost 10 points within 10 years, the total value of 48.5 is still the lowest of all areas. This can be attributed to the unequal number of politicians and indicates a deficit in democracy in the governance of the EU.
In the media sector, more women are studying journalism than 10 years ago: two thirds of university degrees were obtained by women. But only a few of them make it to the top. The decision-makers are mostly men - only 22% of the CEOs of public broadcasters are women.
Only 27% are women at the top of institutions that fund research, and the picture is even more bleak for sports associations: only 14% of top positions are held by women.
House work
A comparison of what women and men do during the time that they are not in paid work reveals a step backwards in 12 countries. While 79% of women are busy cooking and doing housework on a daily basis, this only applies to every third man. Men also have more time for sports, culture and leisure activities. Women with a migration background are particularly burdened by caring for and caring for family members compared to women born in the EU (46% compared to 38%).
Longitudinal development of individual countries
Between 2005 and 2015, the equality index in the EU improved only slightly, from 62 to 66.2 points. The individual states are very far apart ( Greece 50.0, Sweden 82.6). Almost two thirds of the member states are below the EU average.
Sweden ranks first in the EU in terms of gender equality with 82.6 points. Sweden and Denmark came closest to the ideal of a gender-equitable society in the period examined.
Greece ranked second to last in the areas of work, time and power, which shows the connection between gender equality and the economic situation, unemployment and growing poverty. Besides Greece, Hungary, the Slovak Republic and Romania also have significant gender equality deficits.
Italy improved the most over the ten years examined: with an increase of 12.9 points, it worked its way up from 26th in 2005 to 14th in 2015. This was followed by Cyprus with an improvement of 9.2 points, Ireland and Slovenia with 7.6 points each and France with 7.4 points.
Germany's progress in developing gender equality almost came to a standstill between 2012 and 2015 with an increase of only 0.6 points. Overall, the Federal Republic of Germany moved in 2015 in the EU comparison with 65.6 points in 12th place in the upper middle field. Most of the progress was reported to be in the private sector; this proves “that public and political pressure can work.” In the areas of participation in decision-making positions and education, the Federal Republic performed below average.
Inequality within gender groups
The 2017 edition shows clear differences within the group of women and men for the first time: depending on age, education, country of birth, disability and family situation, their lives can be completely different from that of the other examined. For example, people with a migrant background are at twice as high a risk of poverty as people born in the EU. Compared to young women, young men have fewer educational opportunities and single women have greater difficulty in accessing medical and dental care than couples with children.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d About - Gender Equality Index - EIGE. In: eige.europa.eu. Retrieved October 15, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Annette Langer: EU ranking: Germany only mediocre when it comes to equality. In: Spiegel online . October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017 .
- ↑ a b The European Gender Equality Index is presented - Gunda Werner Institute. In: gwi-boell.de. June 13, 2013, accessed October 15, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gender Equality Index 2017 - Main findings. Vilnius 2017, ISBN 978-92-9470-226-5 , doi: 10.2839 / 134028 , p. 45.
- ↑ a b c Gender Equality Index 2017 - Main findings. Vilnius 2017, ISBN 978-92-9470-226-5 , doi: 10.2839 / 134028 , p. 11.
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gender Equality Index 2017: Progress at a snail's pace. In: eige.europa.eu. October 11, 2017, accessed October 24, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c d e Gender Equality Index 2017 - Main findings. Vilnius 2017, ISBN 978-92-9470-226-5 , doi: 10.2839 / 134028 , p. 12.
- ↑ a b Women suffer more from economic crises than men. In: maria-noichl.eu. October 11, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017 .
- ↑ KNA: Sluggish equality. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. No. 235, October 12, 2017, p. 6.