Gender Equality Index

Technical Note1

Introduction
Over the next decade, the impact of women on the global economy—as producers,
entrepreneurs, employees and consumers—could be at least as significant as that of China’s
1 billion people. In Africa alone, tapping into women’s economic potential would be the
equivalent of having an additional half-billion individuals contributing to the economy and
stimulating growth. Yet in Africa and the rest of the world, there is a wide gap between
potential and reality. In a sizable number of countries, women often face economic, social and
institutional obstacles to exercising their fundamental rights. Although significant progress
has been made towards gender equality in Africa, much more remains to be done. To measure
the extent of this issue at country level, many gender-related indices have been created—
among them the Global Gender Gap Index (GGI) from the World Economic Forum, the
Africa Gender and Development Index from the United Nations Economic Commission for
Africa, the Gender Inequality Index from the United Nations Development Programme, and
the OECD’s Social Institution and Gender Index (SIGI).
Most indices of gender equality measure gender-differentiated outcomes in areas such as
health, education and employment, and SIGI focuses on the factors underlying gender
inequality, measuring social institutions (which are mirrored by societal practices and legal
norms) that discriminate against women. The new Gender Equality Index (GEI) developed by
the African Development Bank (AfDB, or the Bank) combines both gender-differentiated
outcomes and social institutions that explain gender gap in countries, addressing the
institutional dimension, in addition to the social and economic dimensions, as a factor in the
gender gap. The GEI compiles data from many sources, reflecting the status of women around
Africa along three dimensions of equality: economic opportunity, social development, and
law and institutions. It provides hard evidence on the challenges facing African women, but it
also highlights where progress is being achieved. It reflects the combined gain in achievement
in three key dimensions of human development (human economic opportunity, human social
development and human equality in law and institution) when gender equality is taken into
account. And it provides a rich source of evidence on how empowering women can yield
important development returns.

Why do we need an AfDB Gender Equality Index?

The AfDB places gender equality at the heart of its approach to promoting development in
Africa. Gender equality is one of the three areas of special emphasis2 in the Bank’s Ten-Year
Strategy,3 and in implementing the Strategy the Bank is paying particular attention to gender.
In addition, the Gender Strategy4 adopted in January 2014 is a milestone for the Bank. The
vision it lays out marks a departure from the past in recognizing not only that gender equality
is a human right, but that development will not happen unless women are part of the solution.
The new GEI forms part of the Bank’s commitment to gender equality. It aims to help African
countries measure their progress toward gender equality, assess the remaining gaps, and then
chart a course for addressing those gaps.

1
This technical note was prepared by Koffi Marc Kouakou, Kim Yeon-Su and Alice Nabalamba (AfDB).
2
Fragile states, agriculture and food security, and gender.
3
At the Center of Africa’s Transformation (AfDB Strategy for 2013 – 2022).
4
Investing in Gender Equality for Africa’s Transformation (Gender Strategy).
 2

The GEI measures gender-based gaps in access to resources and opportunities simultaneously
with gender gaps in law and institutions in individual countries, rather than the actual levels of
the available resources and opportunities in those countries. Thus it is independent of
countries’ levels of development—that is, it ranks countries on their gender gaps, not on their
development level.5 The index is motivated by the recognition that gender gaps in access to
resources and opportunities are directly linked to countries’ laws and institutions.

Composition of the Gender Equality Index

As Figure 1 illustrates, the GEI is composed of 3 categories or dimensions, 6 subcategories
and 38 indicators or variables. Each indicator quantifies the existence of a specific gender gap
that restricts or excludes women and thus contributes to gender inequality in development
outcomes. The subcategories examine six critical gender gap areas:
 Business and employment opportunities – gender gap in salaries, incomes and access
to financial institutions.
 Educational opportunities – gender gap in access to basic and higher-level education;
 Health – access to reproductive health services.
 Political empowerment – gender gap in representation in decision-making structures.
 Legal rights – gender gap in laws on civil liberties, violence against women and
ownership rights.
 Household rights – gender gap in laws on parental authority, inheritance and physical
integrity at home.
All variables used to create the index are drawn from the indicators used by such international
organizations as the International Labour Organization, the World Health Organization, the
World Economic Forum, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development,
UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Global Findex, Inter-Parliamentary Union, and Women,
Business and the Law. Detailed data sources and indicator definitions are provided in
Annex 2.

5
The GEI is based on the same concepts of gaps and level as the World Economic Forum’s GGI, except that the
GEI does not use the GGI’s laws and institutions dimension.
 3

Figure 1. AfDB Gender Equality Index

3 categories or
dimensions

Equality in economic Equality in social Equality in laws &

opportunity development institutions
1 sub- 2 sub- 3 sub-
category categories categories

Business and Access to

Women's Women's legal Women's
employment Educational reproductive
participation rights household
opportunities opportunities health
rights
services
5 4 4 3 11 11
Indicators indicators indicators indicators indicators indicators
Ratio: Labour
Ratio: Literacy Maternal Ratio: Females in Non-discrimination Married woman
participation
rate mortality ratio parliament clause in required by law to
constitution obey her husband

Ratio: Wage and Ratio: School

salary workers Births attended by Ratio: Females at Married woman
enrollment, Married woman
skilled health staff ministerial level applies for a
primary can be "head of
passport
household"
Ratio: Wage Ratio: School
equality unmet need for Ratio: Proportion Married woman
enrollment,
contraception of women justices chooses where to Parental authority
secondary
live in marriage

Ratio: Estimated Ratio: School Pregnant women

earned income enrollment, receiving prenatal Woman's
tertiary care testimony carries Parental authority
the same in divorce
evidentiary weight
Ratio: Loan from a in court
financial
institution Lagal age of
marriage
Law on rape

Married woman
Law on sexual confers citizenship
harassment to her children

Married couples
Access to financial jointly share legal
service responsibility for
family's expenses

Secure access to Property

land administration
during marriage

Secure access to
non-land assets Inheritance rights
of daughters

Equal
remuneration for Inheritance rights
work of equal value of widows

Law on non-
discrimination Laws on domestic
based on gender violence
in hiring
Figure 2. Calculating the Gender Equality Index

Category / Dimension Equality in economic opportunity Equality in social development Equality in laws and institutions

Subcategory Business and employment Educational Access to reproductive Women’s Women’s Women’s
opportunities opportunities health services participation legal rights household rights

Subcategory score Business and employment score Education Reproductive health Participation Legal rights Household rights
score services score score score score

Category index Economic opportunity index Social development index Laws and institutions index

Gender Equality Index

The GEI is an unweighted average of the categories’ indices (economic opportunity, social development, and laws and institutions). Its values
range between 0 and 100, with 0 denoting a complete gender gap (or inequality) and 100 indicating no gender gap.
The value of the GEI for a given country is calculated as follows:
1
GEI = 3 (𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑖𝑐 𝑜𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 + 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥 + 𝑙𝑎𝑤𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑥)
Annex 1 shows all countries’ scores on all dimensions of the GEI, as well as their overall scores.
Calculating the Gender Equality Index

The GEI is constructed using a six-step process (illustrated in Figure 2).

Step 1: Convert variables to ratios
Initially, all data are converted to female/male ratios. For example, a country with 20% of
ministerial positions filled by women is assigned a ratio of 20:80, resulting in a value of 0.25
on that indicator. This is to ensure that the index captures gaps between women and men’s
attainment levels, rather than the levels themselves.
This step does not apply to indicators of the three subcategories that are related only to
women: health, legal rights and household rights. The indicators of the health subcategory are
ratios (quantitative), and those of the legal rights and household rights subcategories are
qualitative or ordinate. For the quantitative indicators, no transformation is applied.
Qualitative indicators can be divided into two groups: binary indicators with values of (0, 1),
and ordinal indicators with values of (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1).
First, we ensure that 0 represents the case when women are “least free” and 1 the case when
they are “totally free” to exercise their rights. The concepts of “least free” and “totally free”
are related to discrimination. For example, let us consider the indicator “Does a woman's
testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man’s?” If this indicator equals 0,
the law differentiates between the evidentiary value of a woman’s testimony and a man’s. In
other words, women are “least free” to exercise their rights, or they are discriminated against6
in legal proceedings.
Second, we count the number of times women are not discriminated against in light of all the
indicators considered in each subdimension. For example, let N1 and N2, respectively, be the
number of indicators in the legal rights subcategory and the household rights subcategory.
The “legal rights score” obtained from this step should range from 0 to 1 (as the mean of the
ordinal scores that form the legal rights indicators). The “household rights score” will also
range from 0 to 1. In each case, if a country has obtained a score of 1, it means that women
are totally free to exercise their rights or have the same rights as those enjoyed by men; and
the case is exactly the opposite when the subindices are 0. Therefore, the higher this indicator,
the less women are discriminated against compared to men.

Step 2: Truncate data at the equality benchmark (value = 1)

As a second step, these ratios are truncated at the “equality benchmark.” For all variables
except health, legal rights and household rights, the equality benchmark is considered to be 1,
meaning equal numbers of women and men. Truncating the data at the equality benchmark for
each variable assigns the same score to a country that has reached parity between women and
men as to one where women have surpassed men.

Step 3: Standardize truncated ratios

The third step in the process involves standardizing the truncated ratios using the Min – Max
approach to put all variables on a common (0, 1) scale. The rescaled variables (𝐼𝑥 ) are:
𝑥 − 𝑥 𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝐼𝑥 =
𝑥 𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝑥 𝑚𝑖𝑛
where the max and min denote the estimated bounds and 𝑥 the truncated ratio. Minimum and
maximum values are set as the “natural” minimum and maximum of each truncated ratio x.
6
This concept could be easily related to the political rights and civil liberties indices of Freedom House.
 6

The table below gives an example of the minimum and maximum values for educational
opportunities for all countries for which data are available.

Minimum Maximum
Literacy rate 0.331 1
School enrollment, primary 0.553 1
School enrollment, secondary 0.457 1
School enrollment, tertiary 0.239 1
The value 1 of 𝐼𝑥 implies perfect equality between men and women regarding the indicator x.
As commonly used,7 minimum and maximum values are set to transform the indicators
expressed in different units into indices between 0 and 1.
From this point of view, min-max transformation is inversely applied to the maternal
mortality ratio and unmet need for contraception as indicators of the subcategory access to
reproductive health services. For these two indicators, the rescaled variables (𝐼𝑥 ) are:
𝑥 − 𝑥 𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝐼𝑥 = 𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑥 − 𝑥 𝑚𝑎𝑥
The rationale behind this is the fact that a higher maternal mortality ratio suggests poorer
maternal health. The same interpretation is used for unmet need for contraception: the higher
the ratio, the greater the unmet needs for contraception. Therefore, when 𝐼𝑥 is 1, then maternal
mortality or unmet need for contraception are at their lowest levels (which is preferred).
Step 4: Compute subcategory scores
The fourth step in the process is to calculate the unweighted average of the rescaled variables
within each subcategory to yield the subcategory score.
Step 5: Compute the category index
The fifth step involves calculating the unweighted average of the subcategory scores to create
the category index. Averaging the different subcategories would implicitly give more weight
to the measure that exhibits the largest variability.
Step 6: Compute the final score
Finally, an unweighted average of each category index is used to calculate the overall Gender
Equality Index.
GEI = 1/3 (economic opportunity index + social development index + laws and institutions index)
As for the category indices, this final value ranges between 100 (perfect equality) and 0
(complete inequality), allowing for comparisons relative to ideal standards of equality in
addition to relative country rankings.

7
See, for example, the Human Development Index methodology, which uses the same approach.
 7

Annex 1. Main Results

Overall Country Results
Overall Economic opportunities Human development Laws & Institutions

Rank Country Score Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank

1 South Africa 74.5 63.4 21 92.0 3 68.1 3
2 Rwanda 74.3 75.2 5 79.4 12 68.4 2
3 Namibia 73.3 64.7 20 89.7 5 65.5 4
4 Mauritius 73.2 52.9 37 97.6 1 69.1 1
5 Malawi 72.8 88.9 1 68.6 21 60.8 7
6 Lesotho 70.0 70.8 10 81.0 11 58.4 13
7 Botswana 69.4 76.3 4 91.1 4 40.6 27
8 Zimbabwe 69.1 70.8 9 77.4 14 59.1 10
9 Cape Verde 66.8 55.4 31 88.1 8 57.0 15
10 Madagascar 65.0 60.9 27 75.3 18 58.7 11
11 Burundi 64.4 69.1 13 60.7 30 63.4 6
12 Tanzania 64.2 73.0 8 65.1 26 54.4 16
13 Uganda 63.4 73.7 7 58.1 34 58.4 12
14 Kenya 63.3 63.3 22 69.1 20 57.5 14
15 Ghana 62.3 68.1 14 67.0 23 51.8 18
16 Mozambique 61.9 67.2 17 58.0 35 60.3 8
17 Tunisia 60.4 53.6 34 93.5 2 34.1 33
18 Zambia 58.3 67.4 16 62.5 29 44.9 23
19 Swaziland 58.1 64.8 19 85.9 9 23.7 39
20 Sierra Leone 57.6 70.6 12 43.0 44 59.2 9
21 Algeria 57.6 41.6 46 88.9 7 42.1 25
22 Burkina Faso 56.6 63.3 23 60.1 31 46.4 22
23 Nigeria 54.7 66.2 18 59.0 32 39.1 30
24 Gambia, The 54.7 77.5 2 66.1 25 20.5 44
25 Angola 53.2 54.5 32 41.0 46 64.3 5
26 Morocco 52.9 38.1 48 79.0 13 41.7 26
27 Eritrea 52.8 61.1 26 47.8 39 49.6 19
28 Gabon 52.4 60.1 28 75.3 17 21.6 41
29 Benin 52.0 61.5 24 47.3 41 47.3 20
30 Senegal 51.9 50.9 39 64.6 28 40.3 28
31 Ethiopia 51.0 67.7 15 33.1 49 52.1 17
32 São Tomé and Principe 50.0 60.0 29 75.6 16 14.4 46
33 Togo 49.5 61.4 25 40.6 47 46.5 21
34 Equatorial Guinea 49.4 49.5 41 67.6 22 31.2 35
35 Egypt, Arab Rep. 49.3 47.1 42 84.6 10 16.2 45
36 Congo, Dem. Rep. 49.2 75.1 6 50.8 38 21.7 40
37 Congo, Rep. 49.0 39.7 47 76.6 15 30.8 37
38 Liberia 48.4 53.1 36 47.5 40 44.6 24
39 Guinea-Bissau 47.7 56.7 30 57.8 36 28.5 38
40 Central African Republic 46.9 77.1 3 32.6 50 30.9 36
41 Cameroun 46.7 53.9 33 64.7 27 21.6 42
42 Comoros 44.0 46.6 43 72.4 19 12.9 48
43 Côte d’Ivoire 43.7 33.9 49 57.0 37 40.1 29
44 Chad 42.2 70.7 11 24.2 51 31.7 34
45 Niger 42.2 50.5 40 41.5 45 34.5 32
46 Mauritania 41.9 53.2 35 58.6 33 13.9 47
47 Djibouti 41.1 51.8 38 66.7 24 4.9 52
48 Guinea 39.5 44.5 45 39.5 48 34.7 31
49 Libya 37.9 11.8 52 89.5 6 12.5 49
50 Mali 33.4 32.2 50 46.7 42 21.3 43
51 Sudan 31.9 46.0 44 43.4 43 6.2 51
52 Somalia 15.8 26.9 51 8.8 52 11.8 50
 8

Results by Category
Equality in economic opportunities
Rank Country Score Est. Loan from
Labour Wage and Wage earned financial
participation salary workers equality income institution
1 Malawi 88.9 96.0 n.a. 83.7 75.8 100.0
2 Gambia, The 77.5 80.3 n.a. 93.0 59.1 n.a.
3 Central African Republic 77.1 78.2 n.a. n.a. 53.0 100.0
4 Botswana 76.3 81.6 90.6 83.7 51.5 74.2
5 Rwanda 75.2 96.0 34.3 n.a. 83.3 87.3
6 Congo, Dem. Rep. 75.1 91.9 n.a. n.a. 33.3 100.0
7 Uganda 73.7 90.8 39.7 76.7 68.2 93.2
8 Tanzania 73.0 93.2 38.0 58.1 75.8 100.0
9 Zimbabwe 70.8 87.4 46.2 79.1 n.a. 70.6
10 Lesotho 70.8 72.0 92.3 41.9 74.2 73.4
11 Chad 70.7 72.7 n.a. 46.5 69.7 94.0
12 Sierra Leone 70.6 90.2 16.5 n.a. 75.8 100.0
13 Burundi 69.1 96.0 0.0 100.0 80.3 n.a.
14 Ghana 68.1 89.0 31.7 44,2 75.8 100.0
15 Ethiopia 67.7 80.9 57.2 67.4 65.2 n.a.
16 Zambia 67.4 78.3 19.7 90.7 48.5 100.0
17 Mozambique 67.2 100.0 0.0 55.8 100.0 80.4
18 Nigeria 66.2 66.4 n.a. 83.7 27.3 87.4
19 Swaziland 64.8 49.0 n.a. 67.4 71.2 71.6
20 Namibia 64.7 78.8 69.9 51.2 59.1 n.a.
21 South Africa 63.4 63.9 100.0 51.2 54.5 47.4
22 Kenya 63.3 78.9 n.a. 69.8 62.1 42.5
23 Burkina Faso 63.3 78.6 29.7 60.5 63.6 84.1
24 Benin 61.5 79.4 16.1 69.8 42.4 100.0
25 Togo 61.4 95.0 18.8 n.a. 31.8 100.0
26 Eritrea 61.1 82.8 n.a. n.a. 39.4 n.a.
27 Madagascar 60.9 90.8 50.4 48.8 71.2 43.4
28 Gabon 60.1 78.9 82.8 n.a. 53.0 25.7
29 São Tomé and Principe 60.0 45.2 100.0 n.a. 34.8 n.a.
30 Guinea-Bissau 56.7 80.1 n.a. n.a. 33.3 n.a.
31 Cape Verde 55.4 49.2 69.3 65.1 37.9 n.a.
32 Angola 54.5 74.5 0.0 n.a. 60.6 82.7
33 Cameroon 53.9 75.4 24.7 72.1 43.9 53.5
34 Tunisia 53.6 17.5 100.0 72.1 6.1 72.5
35 Mauritania 53.2 18.5 n.a. 60.5 51.5 82.2
36 Liberia 53.1 83.6 15.1 n.a. 39.4 74.0
37 Mauritius 52.9 45.9 100.0 58.1 27.3 33.3
38 Djibouti 51.8 39.6 n.a. n.a. 50.0 65.8
39 Senegal 50.9 65.6 36.3 62.8 47.0 42.7
40 Niger 50.5 28.6 58.1 n.a. 15.2 100.0
41 Equatorial Guinea 49.5 80.9 n.a. n.a. 18.2 n.a.
42 Egypt, Arab Rep. 47.1 12.9 77.4 88.4 4.5 52.0
43 Comoros 46.6 27.8 n.a. n.a. 51.5 60.5
44 Sudan 46.0 24.5 n.a. n.a. 13.6 100.0
45 Guinea 44.5 76.3 4.4 44.2 66.7 30.7
46 Algeria 41.6 0.0 100.0 88.4 18.2 1.7
47 Congo, Rep. 39.7 88.5 6.3 n.a. 40.9 23.0
48 Morocco 38.1 16.9 65.5 41.9 0.0 66.1
49 Côte d’Ivoire 33.9 52.7 18.8 48.8 15.2 n.a.
50 Mali 32.2 50.3 12.7 48.8 30.3 18.7
51 Somalia 26.9 34.3 n.a. n.a. n.a. 19.4
52 Libya 11.8 22.2 n.a. n.a. 1.5 n.a.
 9

Equality in human development

Rank Country Human development score Education score Health score

1 Mauritius 97.6 97.1 98.1
2 Tunisia 93.5 91.9 95.0
3 South Africa 92.0 94.9 89.1
4 Botswana 91.1 98.1 84.1
5 Namibia 89.7 98.2 81.2
6 Libya 89.5 93.0 86.0
7 Algeria 88.9 88.9 88.9
8 Cape Verde 88.1 91.1 85.1
9 Swaziland 85.9 92.3 79.5
10 Egypt, Arab Rep. 84.6 88.4 80.9
11 Lesotho 81.0 98.6 63.4
12 Rwanda 79.4 87.0 71.8
13 Morocco 79.0 78.1 79.9
14 Zimbabwe 77.4 84.1 70.8
15 Congo, Rep. 76.6 75.8 77.3
16 São Tomé and Principe 75.6 84.8 66.4
17 Gabon 75.3 76.8 73.8
18 Madagascar 75.3 91.2 59.3
19 Comoros 72.4 83.2 61.7
20 Kenya 69.1 79.2 59.1
21 Malawi 68.6 73.0 64.3
22 Equatorial Guinea 67.6 78.1 57.0
23 Ghana 67.0 76.7 57.2
24 Djibouti 66.7 62.9 70.5
25 Gambia, The 66.1 73.3 59.0
26 Tanzania 65.1 72.1 58.1
27 Cameroon 64.7 71.2 58.3
28 Senegal 64.6 67.7 61.4
29 Zambia 62.5 61.8 63.1
30 Burundi 60.7 69.6 51.8
31 Burkina Faso 60.1 56.3 63.9
32 Nigeria 59.0 68.7 49.2
33 Mauritania 58.6 59.8 57.4
34 Uganda 58.1 60.1 56.1
35 Mozambique 58.0 60.1 56.0
36 Guinea-Bissau 57.8 59.9 55.7
37 Côte d’Ivoire 57.0 58.9 55.1
38 Congo, Dem. Rep. 50.8 44.5 57.1
39 Eritrea 47.8 52.9 42.7
40 Liberia 47.5 54.1 40.8
41 Benin 47.3 31.7 62.9
42 Mali 46.7 45.4 48.0
43 Sudan 43.4 n.a. 43.4
44 Sierra Leone 43.0 43.2 42.9
45 Niger 41.5 31.2 51.8
46 Angola 41.0 32.4 49.7
47 Togo 40.6 36.9 44.4
48 Guinea 39.5 28.6 50.3
49 Ethiopia 33.1 37.3 28.9
50 Central African Republic 32.6 22.7 42.5
51 Chad 24.2 21.5 27.0
52 Somalia 8.8 0.3 17.3
 10

Educational opportunities subcategory

Rank Country Education Literacy School School School
score enrollment, enrollment, enrollment,
primary secondary tertiary
1 Mauritius 97.1 91.4 96.9 100.0 100.0
2 Tunisia 91.9 72.7 95.0 100.0 100.0
3 Lesotho 98.6 100.0 94.4 100.0 100.0
4 Namibia 98.2 100.0 93.0 100.0 100.0
5 Botswana 98.1 100.0 92.3 100.0 100.0
6 South Africa 94.9 96.3 88.3 100.0 n.a.
7 Libya 93.0 80.8 91.2 100.0 100.0
8 Swaziland 92.3 97.4 77.1 94.8 100.0
9 Madagascar 91.2 87.2 97.1 91.5 89.2
10 Cape Verde 91.1 83.5 80.9 100.0 100.0
11 Algeria 88.9 68.0 87.5 100.0 100.0
12 Egypt, Arab Rep. 88.4 70.8 91.1 96.5 95.3
13 Rwanda 87.0 79.9 100.0 100.0 68.1
14 São Tomé and Principe 84.8 62.3 94.6 100.0 82.2
15 Zimbabwe 84.1 86.9 96.8 82.2 70.5
16 Comoros 83.2 82.2 79.6 92.3 78.6
17 Kenya 79.2 78.5 95.0 82.2 60.9
18 Equatorial Guinea 78.1 91.4 94.7 48.3 n.a.
19 Morocco 78.1 63.8 89.5 73.6 85.7
20 Gabon 76.8 91.2 93.5 n.a. 45.6
21 Ghana 76.7 75.1 99.5 83.4 48.9
22 Congo, Rep. 75.8 76.5 100.0 75.6 51.0
23 Gambia, The 73.3 55.5 100.0 90.5 47.2
24 Malawi 73.0 56.8 100.0 81.4 53.9
25 Tanzania 72.1 70.8 100.0 77.0 40.5
26 Cameroon 71.2 74.2 72.2 73.4 65.1
27 Burundi 69.6 92.9 98.2 51.1 36.1
28 Nigeria 68.7 51.5 81.2 79.3 62.9
29 Senegal 67.7 41.6 100.0 83.8 45.7
30 Djibouti 62.9 n.a. 73.9 57.5 57.5
31 Zambia 61.8 58.1 98.6 n.a. 28.8
32 Mozambique 60.1 31.4 78.9 79.6 50.6
33 Uganda 60.1 67.3 100.0 69.2 3.9
34 Guinea-Bissau 59.9 44.5 85.3 50.0 n.a.
35 Mauritania 59.8 42.5 100.0 71.7 24.9
36 Côte d’Ivoire 58.9 38.7 66.5 n.a. 71.5
37 Burkina Faso 56.3 38.4 87.8 65.2 33.7
38 Liberia 54.1 17.0 81.1 66.9 51.6
39 Eritrea 52.9 64.8 65.3 63.2 18.3
40 Mali 45.4 35.6 74.0 47.5 24.5
41 Congo, Dem. Rep. 44.5 40.1 72.3 24.5 41.0
42 Sierra Leone 43.2 41.1 97.5 12.9 21.2
43 Ethiopia 37.3 38.5 68.9 31.5 10.3
44 Togo 36.9 47.3 82.6 13.2 4.4
45 Angola 32.4 57.7 19.4 35.2 17.3
46 Benin 31.7 18.3 76.5 28.1 4.0
47 Niger 31.2 7.9 64.4 38.9 13.7
48 Guinea 28.6 0.0 65.3 32.1 17.2
49 Central African Republic 22.7 22.3 42.6 10.2 15.9
50 Chad 21.5 39.1 46.7 0.0 0.0
51 Somalia 0.3 n.a. 0.0 0.6 n.a.
52 Sudan n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a. n.a.
 11

Access to reproductive health services sub-category

Rank Country Health Maternal Births attended Unmet need for Pregnant
score mortality by skilled health contraception women
staff receiving
prenatal care
1 Mauritius 98.1 94.7 99.7 100.0 n.a.
2 Tunisia 95.0 97.1 98.7 85.3 98.9
3 South Africa 89.1 88.5 90.4 80.1 97.5
4 Algeria 88.9 93.2 94.9 80.5 87.0
5 Libya 86.0 100.0 100.0 52.1 91.9
6 Cape Verde 85.1 96.5 75.2 70.5 98.2
7 Botswana 84.1 85.7 94.2 63.0 93.4
8 Namibia 81.2 89.4 79.5 62.0 94.1
9 Egypt, Arab Rep. 80.9 97.2 76.7 84.2 65.2
10 Morocco 79.9 90.3 70.8 88.4 70.1
11 Swaziland 79.5 72.8 80.2 67.8 97.1
12 Congo, Rep. 77.3 63.6 93.1 61.3 91.3
13 Gabon 73.8 79.3 88.3 33.6 94.2
14 Rwanda 71.8 71.9 65.7 50.7 98.8
15 Zimbabwe 70.8 58.1 62.6 75.0 87.5
16 Djibouti 70.5 80.2 92.3 18.5 90.9
17 São Tomé and Principe 66.4 82.0 79.8 5.1 98.6
18 Malawi 64.3 54.4 68.4 40.1 94.2
19 Burkina Faso 63.9 64.5 62.2 35.3 93.7
20 Lesotho 63.4 56.2 57.3 49.7 90.2
21 Zambia 63.1 75.6 40.6 43.2 92.9
22 Benin 62.9 70.0 82.5 17.1 82.0
23 Comoros 61.7 69.1 80.4 6.5 90.7
24 Senegal 61.4 71.9 61.4 19.9 92.3
25 Madagascar 59.3 60.8 37.8 55.8 82.7
26 Kenya 59.1 64.5 37.6 44.5 89.8
27 Gambia, The 59.0 61.8 51.9 23.3 98.9
28 Cameroon 58.3 47.0 59.7 45.9 80.5
29 Tanzania 58.1 63.6 43.3 40.8 84.8
30 Mauritania 57.4 71.9 61.4 16.4 79.8
31 Ghana 57.2 66.4 65.0 1.0 96.6
32 Congo, Dem. Rep. 57.1 34.1 78.4 29.8 86.1
33 Equatorial Guinea 57.0 74.7 60.8 10.3 82.4
34 Uganda 56.1 68.2 52.8 11.3 92.3
35 Mozambique 56.0 57.1 49.3 28.8 88.6
36 Guinea-Bissau 55.7 49.8 36.7 44.9 91.3
37 Côte d’Ivoire 55.1 35.0 55.0 41.8 88.6
38 Burundi 51.8 33.2 56.0 18.2 100.0
39 Niger 51.8 43.3 21.5 64.4 78.0
40 Guinea 50.3 41.5 39.3 39.4 81.2
41 Angola 49.7 59.0 41.5 24.3 73.8
42 Nigeria 49.2 49.8 43.1 49.0 55.1
43 Mali 48.0 50.7 51.3 23.3 66.6
44 Togo 44.4 59.9 55.0 0.0 62.5
45 Sudan 43.4 68.2 14.6 24.7 66.2
46 Sierra Leone 42.9 0.0 58.5 21.2 91.9
47 Eritrea 42.7 66.4 20.4 23.3 60.7
48 Central African Republic 42.5 20.3 48.8 43.2 57.8
49 Liberia 40.8 42.4 40.4 7.2 73.1
50 Ethiopia 28.9 62.7 0.0 30.5 22.5
51 Chad 27.0 11.1 14.1 45.5 37.2
52 Somalia 17.3 23.0 25.6 20.5 0.0
 12

Equality in laws and institutions

Rank Country Laws & Women’s Women’s Women’s

institutions score participation legal rights household rights
score score score
1 Mauritius 69.1 18.2 100.0 89.0
2 Rwanda 68.4 79.4 53.1 72.5
3 South Africa 68.1 41.7 62.5 100.0
4 Namibia 65.5 23.5 81.3 91.8
5 Angola 64.3 31.5 75.0 86.3
6 Burundi 63.4 43.4 90.6 56.0
7 Malawi 60.8 33.1 65.6 83.5
8 Mozambique 60.3 29.9 59.4 91.8
9 Sierra Leone 59.2 38.7 50.0 89.0
10 Zimbabwe 59.1 23.1 84.4 69.8
11 Madagascar 58.7 32.9 84.4 58.8
12 Uganda 58.4 43.7 563 75.3
13 Lesotho 58.4 24.1 81.3 69.8
14 Kenya 57.5 31.1 68.8 72.5
15 Cape Verde 57.0 57.0 n.a. n.a.
16 Tanzania 54.4 39.7 81.3 42.3
17 Ethiopia 52.1 17.2 50.0 89.0
18 Ghana 51.8 24.3 53.1 78.0
19 Eritrea 49.6 25.0 61.3 62.5
20 Benin 47.3 20.0 43.8 78.0
21 Togo 46.5 15.4 62.5 61.5
22 Burkina Faso 46.4 16.4 53.1 69.8
23 Zambia 44.9 35.2 40.6 58.8
24 Liberia 44.6 25.9 43.8 64.3
25 Algeria 42.1 18.8 62.5 45.1
26 Morocco 41.7 5.5 71.9 47.8
27 Botswana 40.6 8.8 40.6 72.5
28 Senegal 40.3 20.4 50.0 50.5
29 Côte d’Ivoire 40.1 16.4 56.3 47.8
30 Nigeria 39.1 17.8 40.6 58.8
31 Guinea 34.7 15.5 40.6 47.8
32 Niger 34.5 10.7 68.8 24.2
33 Tunisia 34.1 10.9 43.8 47.8
34 Chad 31.7 13.1 56.3 25.8
35 Equatorial Guinea 31.2 12.0 54.4 27.2
36 Central African Republic 30.9 16.8 33.8 42.3
37 Congo, Rep. 30.8 7.2 37.5 47.8
38 Guinea-Bissau 28.5 14.5 33.8 37.3
39 Swaziland 23.7 20.2 33.8 17.1
40 Congo, Dem. Rep. 21.7 5.0 34.4 25.8
41 Gabon 21.6 28.4 6.3 30.2
42 Cameroon 21.6 13.7 3.1 47.8
43 Mali 21.3 16.8 40.6 6.6
44 Gambia, The 20.5 22.9 6.3 32.2
45 Egypt, Arab Rep. 16.2 3.1 25.0 20.3
46 São Tomé and Principe 14.4 14.4 n.a. n.a.
47 Mauritania 13.9 10.5 31.3 0.0
48 Comoros 12.9 12.9 n.a. n.a.
49 Libya 12.5 5.3 20.0 12.1
50 Somalia 11.8 7.1 6.3 22.2
51 Sudan 6.2 14.7 0.0 3.8
52 Djibouti 4.9 4.9 n.a. n.a.
 13

Women participation
Rank Country Women’s Women in Women at Women justices
participation score parliament ministerial
level
1 Rwanda 79.4 100.0 71.6 66.7
2 Cape Verde 57.0 13.9 100.0 n.a.
3 Uganda 43.7 29.7 51.2 50.0
4 Burundi 43.4 24.0 62.9 n.a.
5 South Africa 41.7 45.4 64.9 14.8
6 Tanzania 39.7 31.1 63.7 24.2
7 Sierra Leone 38.7 6.7 9.4 100.0
8 Zambia 35.2 5.8 16.6 83.3
9 Malawi 33.1 15.3 51.0 n.a.
10 Madagascar 32.9 16.1 49.2 33.3
11 Angola 31.5 32.3 24.1 38.1
12 Kenya 31.1 12.4 54.3 26.7
13 Mozambique 29.9 35.8 42.8 11.1
14 Gabon 28.4 9.0 23.1 53.3
15 Liberia 25.9 5.9 27.2 44.4
16 Eritrea 25.0 15.0 34.9 n.a.
17 Ghana 24.3 5.9 29.9 37.0
18 Lesotho 24.1 19.7 28.4 n.a.
19 Namibia 23.5 18.6 28.4 n.a.
20 Zimbabwe 23.1 25.2 10.6 33.3
21 Gambia, The 22.9 4.8 41.0 n.a.
22 Senegal 20.4 42.7 18.4 0.0
23 Swaziland 20.2 2.6 37.7 n.a.
24 Benin 20.0 4.1 29.3 26.7
25 Algeria 18.8 25.3 12.1 19.0
26 Mauritius 18.2 12.1 6.6 35.9
27 Nigeria 17.8 3.0 34.9 15.4
28 Ethiopia 17.2 20.9 13.5 n.a.
29 Central African Republic 16.8 7.0 26.5 n.a.
30 Mali 16.8 4.9 12.1 33.3
31 Burkina Faso 16.4 12.2 14.7 22.2
32 Côte d’Ivoire 16.4 4.8 17.6 26.7
33 Guinea 15.5 14.9 16.1 n.a.
34 Togo 15.4 10.2 27.8 8.3
35 Sudan 14.7 17.3 18.4 8.3
36 Guinea-Bissau 14.5 5.9 23.1 n.a.
37 São Tomé and Principe 14.4 11.6 17.3 n.a.
38 Cameroon 13.7 24.7 16.5 0.0
39 Chad 13.1 8.9 16.9 13.3
40 Comoros 12.9 0.6 25.2 n.a.
41 Equatorial Guinea 12.0 17.0 7.1 n.a.
42 Tunisia 10.9 21.3 0.5 n.a.
43 Niger 10.7 7.6 13.3 11.1
44 Mauritania 10.5 18.2 13.5 0.0
45 Botswana 8.8 4.9 12.7 n.a.
46 Congo, Rep. 7.2 3.4 9.7 8.3
47 Somalia 7.1 8.0 6.2 n.a.
48 Morocco 5.5 10.6 0.0 6.1
49 Libya 5.3 10.2 0.4 n.a.
50 Congo, Dem. Rep. 5.0 5.6 9.4 0.0
51 Djibouti 4.9 7.2 2.6 n.a.
52 Egypt, Arab Rep. 3.1 0.0 9.4 0.0
 14

Annex 2. Structure of the AfDB Gender Equality Index: Definition and Data Sources
CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S

1. EQUALITY IN ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

 Ratio: female labour force  Labour force participation rate, age 15-64 (%): Measures the  International Labour
participation over male value proportion of a country’s working-age population that engages Organisation, Key
actively in the labour market, either by working or looking for Indicators of the Labour
work. Labour force data do not take into account workers Market (KILM), 2012.
employed abroad.

 Wage and salary workers,  Wage and salaried workers (employees) are workers who hold  International Labour
gender gap the types of jobs defined as "paid employment jobs," in which Organization, Key
the incumbents hold explicit (written or oral) or implicit Indicators of the Labour
employment contracts that give them a basic remuneration that Market database.
is not directly dependent upon the revenue of the unit for which
they work.

 Wage equality between  Wage equality for similar work (survey). Response to the  World Economic
women and men for similar survey question, “In your country, for similar work, to what Forum, Executive Opinion
work extent are wages for women equal to those of men?” (1 = not at Survey (EOS), 2014.
all — significantly below those of men; 7 = fully — equal to
those of men). The data are converted to a female-over-male
ratio.

 Ratio: female estimated  The UNDP caps the estimated earned income at US$40,000  United Nations
earned income over male PPP. The ratio of non-agricultural wages does not include self- Development Programme
value employed workers. methodology (refer to
Human Development
Report 2009).

 Loan from a financial  The loan from a financial institution in the past year (female)  Global Findex
institution in the past year, denotes the percentage of female respondents, age 15+, who
adult, gender gap report borrowing any money from a bank, credit union,
microfinance institution, or another financial institution such as
a cooperative in the last 12 months.

2. EQUALITY IN SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT

2.1 EQUAL OPPORTUNITY AT SCHOOL
 Literacy rate, adult, gender  Ratio of percentage of population aged 15 years and over  UNESCO Institute for
gap. who can both read and write with understanding a short, simple Statistics, Education
statement on their everyday life. Generally, literacy also Indicators, 2013, or latest
encompasses numeracy, the ability to make simple arithmetic data available (accessed
calculations. June 2014). When not
available, data are
sourced from United
Nations Development
Programme, Human
Development Reports
2009, the most recent
year available between
1997 and 2007.
 15

CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S
 School enrolment, primary,  Total number of pupils or students in the theoretical age  UNESCO, Institute for
gender gap group for primary education enrolled in that level, expressed as Statistics, Education
a percentage of the total population in that age group. Indicators, 2013, or latest
available data (accessed
June 2014).
 School enrolment,  Total number of pupils or students in the theoretical age  UNESCO, Institute for
secondary, gender gap group for secondary education enrolled in that level, expressed Statistics, Education
as a percentage of the total population in that age group. Indicators, 2013, or latest
available data (accessed
June 2014).
 School enrolment, tertiary,  Total enrolment in tertiary education (ISCED 5 and 6),  UNESCO, Institute for
gender gap regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the total Statistics, Education
population of the five-year age group that has left secondary Indicators, 2013, or latest
school. Tertiary gross enrolment data should be examined in the available data (accessed
context of a country structure regarding military service as well June 2014).
as students’ propensity to seek education abroad.
2.2 ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH SERVICES
 Maternal mortality ratio  Maternal mortality ratio is the annual number of female  World Health
(per 100,000 live births deaths from any cause related to or aggravated by pregnancy or Organization’s Global
its management (excluding accidental or incidental causes) Health Observatory,
during pregnancy and childbirth or within 42 days of Health-related
termination of pregnancy, irrespective of the duration and site Millennium Development
of the pregnancy, per 100,000 live births, for a specified year. Goals, Maternal Health,
2013 (accessed July
2014).
 Births attended by skilled  Measures the percentage of live births attended by skilled  World Health
health personnel (%) health personnel in a given period of time. Organization’s Global
Health Observatory,
Health-related
Millennium Development
Goals, Maternal Health,
2013, or latest available
data (accessed July 2014).
 Unmet need for  Percentage of fertile, married
women of reproductive age  Household surveys,
contraception (% of married who do not want to become pregnant and are not using including Demographic
women ages 15-49) contraception. and Health Surveys by ICF
and International and
Multiple Indicator Cluster
Surveys by UNICEF.
 Pregnant women receiving  Percentage of women attended at least once during  UNICEF, State of the
prenatal care (%) pregnancy by skilled health personnel for reasons related to World's Children,
pregnancy. Childinfo, and
Demographic and Health
Surveys by ICF
International.
3. EQUALITY IN LAW & INSTITUTIONS
3.1 EQUAL REPRESENTATION IN INSTITUTIONS
 Ratio: females with seats in  Women in parliaments is the percentage of parliamentary  Inter-Parliamentary
parliament over male value seats in a single or lower chamber held by women. Union, Women in Politics:
2014, reflecting
elections/appointments
up to 1 May 2014.
 16

CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S
 Ratio: females at ministerial  Percentage of women holding ministerial portfolios or  Inter-Parliamentary
level over male value equivalent positions in the government. Prime Ministers/Heads Union, Women in Politics:
of Government are also included when they hold ministerial 2014, reflecting
portfolios. Vice-Presidents and heads of governmental or public appointments up to 1
agencies are not included. January 2014, data
updated every two years.

 Proportion of women  Women’s representation on constitutional courts and other  Women, Business and
justices (%) judicial institutions responsible for the control of legislative and the Law and the 50 Years
executive acts and the interpretation of the Constitution. The of Women’s Legal Rights
indicator reflects what proportion of the members of database, last updated
Constitutional Courts, or court-like responsible for the April 2013.
constitutional control of laws and regulations, are women.

3.2 SAME LEGAL RIGHTS

 A non-discrimination clause  Whether there is a non-discrimination clause in the  Women, Business and
in the constitution constitution. the Law and the 50 Years
 1 = Yes; 0 = No of Women’s Legal Rights
database, last updated
1: the Constitution must use either the word discrimination or
April 2013.
the word non-discrimination; even when there is a “clawback”
provision granting exceptions to the non-discrimination clause
for certain areas of the law such as inheritance, family and
customary law.
0: if there is no non-discrimination provision; if the non-
discrimination language is present in the preamble of the
Constitution, but not in an article of the Constitution; or if there
is merely a provision stipulating that the sexes are equal, or the
sexes have equal rights and obligations—considered to be an
equality clause; if there is merely a provision stipulating that
people are equal before the law, but no provision dedicated to
non-discrimination; if there is merely language negating
privileges based on categories, such as “There shall be no
privileges based on birth, sex, class or religion”; if the
Constitution makes reference to an international treaty that
addresses discrimination but does not have its own non-
discrimination provision; if the Constitution does not ban
discrimination, but includes measures such as empowering
congress to enact laws fostering non-discrimination.
 Can a married woman apply  1 = Yes; 0 = No  Women, Business and
for a passport in the same 1: if upon reaching the legal age of majority, all civil acts may be the Law and the 50 Years
way as a man? completed and there are no differences in the way that a of Women’s Legal Rights
married woman or man may get a passport. database, last updated
April 2013.
0: if an adult married woman needs the permission or signature
of her husband to apply for a passport; if any additional
documentation is required of a married woman that is not
required of a married man—e.g., if a marriage certificate is
required specifically for married women but not for married
men.
 Can a married woman  1 = Yes; 0 = No  Women, Business and
choose where to live in the 1: if there are no explicit restrictions on a married woman’s the Law and the 50 Years
same way as a man? choosing where her family may live; if there is a general of Women’s Legal Rights
constitutional provision stating that every person has the right database, last updated
to determine his or her own place of residence, or if the family April 2013.
law states that spouses have equal rights within marriage, and
 17

CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S
there are no restrictions on married women’s choosing where
to live.
0: if the husband chooses the family residence, or has additional
weight in determining where the family lives.

 Does a woman's testimony  This question covers all types of court cases  Women, Business and
carry the same evidentiary  1 = Yes; 0 = No the Law and the 50 Years
weight in court as a man’s? of Women’s Legal Rights
0: if the law differentiates between the evidentiary value of a
database, last updated
woman’s testimony and that of a man’s testimony.
April 2013.
 Laws on rape  Whether the legal framework offers women legal protection  SIGI Country Profiles
from rape.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: There is specific legislation in place to address rape, marital

rape is included, perpetrators cannot escape prosecution if they
marry the victim, and implementation is effectively enforced.
0.75: There is specific legislation in place to address rape,
marital rape is included, and perpetrators cannot escape
prosecution if they marry the victim, although implementation
is not effectively enforced.
0.5: There is specific legislation in place to address rape, marital
rape is not included, and perpetrators cannot escape
prosecution if they marry the victim.
0.25: There is specific legislation in place to address rape,
marital rape is not included, and perpetrators can escape
prosecution if they marry the victim. However, legislation is
being planned or drafted.
0: There is no legislation in place to address rape.
 Laws on sexual harassment  Whether the legal framework offers women legal protection  SIGI Country Profiles
from sexual harassment.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:
1: There is specific legislation in place to address sexual
harassment, the law is adequate overall,l and there are no
reported problems of implementation.
0.75: There is specific legislation in place to address sexual
harassment, the law is adequate overall, but there are reported
problems of implementation.
0.5: There is specific legislation in place to address sexual
harassment, but the law is inadequate.
0.25: There is no specific legislation to address sexual
harassment, but there is evidence that legislation is being
planned or drafted.
0: There is no legislation in place to address sexual harassment.
 Access to financial services  Whether women and men have equal access to financial  SIGI Country Profiles
services.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: The law guarantees the same rights to access formal financial

services (e.g., credit, bank account and bank loans) to both
women and men.
0.5: The law guarantees the same rights to access formal
financial services to both women and men, but there are some
customary, traditional or religious practices that discriminate
against women.
0: The law does not guarantee the same rights to access formal
financial services to women and men, or women have no legal
rights to access financial services.
 18

CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S
 Secure access to land  Whether women and men have equal and secure access to  SIGI Country Profiles
land use, control and ownership.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: The law guarantees the same rights to own, use and control
land to both women and men.
0.5: The law guarantees the same rights to own, use and control
land to women and men, but there are some customary,
traditional or religious practices that discriminate against
women.
0: The law does not guarantee the same rights to own, use and
control land to women and men, or women have no legal rights
to own, use and control land.
 Secure access to non-land  Whether women and men have equal and secure access to  SIGI Country Profiles
assets the use, control and ownership of non-land assets.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: The law guarantees the same rights to own and administer

property other than land to both women and men.
0.5: The law guarantees the same rights to own and administer
property other than land to both women and men, but there
are some customary, traditional or religious practices that
discriminate against women.
0: The law does not guarantee the same rights to own and
administer property other than land to women and men, or
women have no legal rights to own and administer property
other than land.
 Equal remuneration for  This indicator captures whether employers are legally obliged  Women, Business and
men and women for work of to remunerate equally male and female employees who do the Law and the 50 Years
equal value work of equal value. of Women’s Legal Rights
 1 = Yes; 0 = No database, last updated
April 2013.

 Laws on non-discrimination  This indicator is designed to determine whether the law  Women, Business and
based on gender in hiring specifically prevents and/or penalizes gender-based the Law and the 50 Years
discrimination in the hiring process. of Women’s Legal Rights
 1 = Yes; 0 = No database, last updated
April 2013.

3.3 SAME HOUSEHOLD RIGHTS

 Are married women  0: Yes; 1 = No  Women, Business and
required by law to obey their 0: if an explicit provision states that married women must obey the Law and the 50 Years
husbands? their husbands; if there is a provision stating that disobeying her of Women’s Legal Rights
husband has legal ramifications for the wife, such as loss of database, last updated
maintenance. April 2013.
1: the absence of a provision stating that married women must
obey their husbands.
 19

CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S
 Can a married woman be  1: Yes; 0 = No  Women, Business and
"head of household" or "head 1: if head of household is codified and there are no explicit the Law and the 50 Years
of family" in the same way as restrictions on a married woman’s being “head of household” or of Women’s Legal Rights
a man? “head of family.” database, last updated
April 2013.
0: if there is an explicit restriction on a married woman’s being
“head of household” or “head of family;” e.g., a provision
stating that only husbands can be “head of household” or “head
of family” or that husbands “lead the family” or “represent the
family”; if a male is designated as the default family member
who receives the family book or family book-type document
that is mandatory or necessary for access to essential services.
 Parental authority in  Whether women and men have the same right to be the legal  SIGI Country Profiles
marriage guardian of a child during marriage.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:
1: The law guarantees the same parental authority to women
and men during marriage.
0.5: The law guarantees the same parental authority to women
and men during marriage, but there are some customary,
traditional or religious practices that discriminate against
women.
0: The law does not guarantee the same parental authority to
women and men during marriage, or women have no rights to
parental authority.
 Parental authority in  Whether women and men have the same right to be the legal  SIGI Country Profiles
divorce guardian of and have custody rights over a child after divorce.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: The law guarantees the same parental authority to women

and men after divorce.
0.5: The law guarantees the same parental authority to women
and men after divorce, but there are some customary,
traditional or religious practices that discriminate against
women.
0: The law does not guarantee the same parental authority to
women and men after divorce, or women have no rights to
parental authority.
 Legal age of marriage  Whether there are laws setting the same minimum age of  SIGI Country Profiles
marriage for women and men.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: The law guarantees the same minimum age of marriage to

both women and men, and the minimum age is 18.
0.75: The law guarantees the same minimum age of marriage to
both women and men, and the minimum age is lower than 18.
0.5: The law guarantees the same minimum age of marriage to
both women and men, but there are customary, traditional or
religious laws that discriminate against some women by
allowing them to be married at a younger age than men.
0.25: The law does not guarantee the same minimum age of
marriage to women and men, and the gap between women’s
and men’s minimum age of marriage is less than or equal to two
years.
0: The law does not guarantee the same minimum age of
marriage to women and men, and the gap between women’s
and men’s minimum age of marriage is greater than two years.
There is no law on the minimum age of marriage.
 20

CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S
 Can a married woman  1: Yes; 0 = No  Women, Business and
confer citizenship to her 1: if married mothers and fathers may both convey citizenship the Law and the 50 Years
children in the same way as a to their children, wherever the child is born; if there are of Women’s Legal Rights
man? additional procedures that must be completed by men but not database, last updated
by women (e.g., providing proof of paternity); April 2013.
0: if only married fathers can convey citizenship to the child,
wherever that child may be born.

 Do married couples jointly  1: Yes; 0 = No  Women, Business and

share legal responsibility for 1: if there is an explicit provision stating that spouses have joint the Law and the 50 Years
financially maintaining the or shared legal responsibility for financially maintaining their of Women’s Legal Rights
family's expenses? family’s expenses; if spouses have equal rights and database, last updated
responsibilities within marriage; if the law is silent on the April 2013.
matter;
0: if legal provisions state that husbands are solely responsible
for the financial support of the family.
 Who legally administers  1: Original owner—in this situation, each spouse retains  Women, Business and
property during marriage? administrative power over the property they brought to the Law and the 50 Years
marriage, as well as the property they acquire during marriage. of Women’s Legal Rights
No consent is needed from the other spouse regarding separate database, last updated
property transactions. Both must agree—both spouses have April 2013.
equal rights in joint property administration and transactions;
they perform all acts of administration together.
0: Husband—the husband has administrative rights over all
property, including his wife’s separate property if applicable.
This scheme has been found only in partial community regimes.

 Inheritance rights of  Whether daughters and sons have equal inheritance rights.  SIGI Country Profiles
daughters  In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: The law guarantees the same inheritance rights to both

daughters and sons.
0.5: The law guarantees the same inheritance rights to both
daughters and sons, but there are some customary, traditional
or religious practices that discriminate against daughters.
0: The law does not guarantee the same inheritance rights to
daughters and sons, or daughters have no inheritance rights at
all.
 Inheritance rights of  Whether widows and widowers have equal inheritance rights.  SIGI Country Profiles
widows  In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:

1: The law guarantees the same inheritance rights to both

widows and widowers.
0.5: The law guarantees the same inheritance rights to both
widows and widowers, but there are some customary,
traditional or religious practices that discriminate against
widows.
0: The law does not guarantee the same inheritance rights to
widows and widowers, or widows have no inheritance rights at
all.
 Laws on domestic violence  Whether the legal framework offers women legal protection  SIGI Country Profiles
from domestic violence.
 In terms of score, we used “1-SIGI score” so that:
1: There is specific legislation in place to address domestic
violence; the law is adequate overall, and there are no reported
problems of implementation.
0.75: There is specific legislation in place to address domestic
 21

CATEGORY/INDIC ATOR D E F I N I T I O N / C AL C U L A T I O N O F T H E I ND I C A T O R SO U R C E S
violence; the law is adequate overall, but there are reported
problems of implementation.
0.5: There is specific legislation in place to address domestic
violence, but the law is inadequate.
0.25: There is no specific legislation in place to address domestic
violence, but there is evidence that legislation is being planned
or drafted.
0: There is no legislation in place to address domestic violence.
 22

Bibilography
AfDB (2013), The State of Gender Equality in Africa: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities.

Boris Branisa et al. (2009), New Measures of Gender Inequality: The Social Institutions and
Gender Index (SIGI) and its Subindices.

Iñaki Permanyer (2012), A Critical Assessment of UNDP’s Gender Inequality Index.

OECD (2013), 2012 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI): Understanding the Drivers
of Gender Inequality.

UNDP (2013), Human Development Report 2013/ The Rise of the South: Human Progress in
a Diverse World

UNECA (2012), The African Gender and Development Index 2011: Promoting Gender
Equality in Africa.

UN-Women (2011), Progress of the World’s Women 2011-2012: In Pursuit of Justice.

World Bank (2013), World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development.

World Economic Forum (2013), The Global Gender Gap Report 2012.