Namibia closes the gender gap 0 Namibia has scored a top-20 ranking for the second year in the World Economic Forum''s Global Gender Gap Report, coming in at 14th place out of 144 countries.Namibia''s score also placed it on the top-10 list of most improved countries, with an 8 % improvement, and third in the sub-Saharan African region.
The annual report measures efforts to close the gender equality gap and tracks progress over time, focusing on the four key areas of health, education, economy and politics.
This year, the report found that globally more than a decade of data “has revealed that progress is still too slow for realising the full potential of one half of humanity within our lifetimes.”
Moreover, Nangula Shejvali, a research associate at the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), warned that one has to look beyond the numbers when taking stock of gender equality in Namibia.
She explained that in terms of the qualitative aspects, Namibia “has a long way to go to really being gender equal, when it comes to poverty, inequality, unemployment and underemployment.”
According to the global gender gap report, Namibia, along with South Africa, also a top 20 placeholder, achieved its overall high scores “due to progress in closing their gender gaps in women''s labour force participation and estimated earned income, as well as to improvements on the political empowerment sub-index.
However, the report further notes that both countries have recorded a decrease in wage equality overall.
Namibia''s ranking in the wage equality for similar work achieved index ranked the lowest score overall for the country this year, at 64th place.
Other low rankings included 61st in the literacy rate, and 56th place in the women in ministerial positions index.
Top rankings were achieved in the gender gap measure of women participation in the economy as legislators, senior officials and managers, where Namibia ranked 14th, and women in parliament, where the country achieved 10th spot.
In the education sub-index, Namibia''s rankings for enrolment in primary, secondary and tertiary education received a number one ranking.
Overall, Namibia ranked 20th in the economic participation and opportunity category, 35th in the overall educational attainment category and 31st in the political empowerment category.
In the health and survival ranking, Namibia scored a number one spot, along with more than 38 other countries with the same score.
This sub-index provides an overview of the differences between women''s and men''s health through the use of two indicators, the first being the sex ratio at birth and the second the gap between women''s and men''s healthy life expectancy.
Regionally, Namibia''s rankings placed it third overall in sub-Saharan Africa, preceded by Burundi, which achieved an overall global ranking of 12th place, and Rwanda, which achieved an overall ranking of 5th globally.
Namibia''s scores place it in the leadership position of upper-middle-income countries on the index, ahead of South Africa and Cuba.
In 2006, when the index was first published, Namibia ranked 38th and the country ranked 16th last year. In 2013, the country slipped to 44th place, and in 2014 Namibia was ranked 40th.
JANA-MARI SMITH