Gender Gap Index Comparison Between Iceland and Yemen - A Case Study

 

 

Gender Gap Index Comparison Between Iceland and Yemen

 

A Case Study

22.03.52.0006 Enrico Giovano Deriarto | 22.03.52.0021 Shayna Alethea Rengganis

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Executive Summary

The purpose of this study is to present a comparison of the gender gap index between Iceland and Yemen as well as potential solutions. Based on the Global Gender Gap Report, an index published annually by the World Economic Forum to measure gender equality among countries in the world, Iceland occupied the first place as the country with the least gender gap, which means Iceland is the country with the highest gender equality, followed by Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden in the top five. In contrast, countries in the bottom five of this annual list report exist. The countries of Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Yemen occupied the bottom five of the list, while the country of Yemen is considered the country with the highest gender gap, which means the least gender equality.

2006 is the year when The Global Gender Gap Report first published by The World Economic Forum, which consist of four subindexes:

1)      the Educational Attainment subindex,

2)      the Health and Survival subindex,

3)      the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex,

4)      and the Political Empowerment subindex.

Over 93% of the world's population, or 130 economies, are examined in those report's four main areas of gender inequality. Education attained, results on enrollment in lower and higher level courses. Life expectancy and the sex ratio as they relate to health and survival. Economic opportunity and participation, results in terms of wages, participation rates, and access to high-skilled employment. Political empowerment on results representation in institutions of power.

The potential solutions of this case study aim to answer the need to reduce the gaps in gender equality among countries in the world, especially the country of Yemen, taking the approach of how the country of Iceland successfully fulfills those four subindexes. In order to find potential solutions, we need to analyze the challenges. The main and major challenge that distinguishes every country’s position in the annual list is the culture of the respective country itself. So if we want to breakdown the culture that takes part in the cause of gender equality, we need a model. In this case study, we use the model of a cultural iceberg. An analogy of an actual iceberg shows that the clearly visible parts above the sea surface are a small speck compared to the parts that are sinking below the sea surface, which are hard to observe. The parts of culture that have contributed to gender inequality are difficult to see, hidden beneath the vibrant culture of every country on the planet.

 

The Case Study

Regardless of the total amounts of resources and opportunities, the Global Gender Gap Report "assesses countries on how well they are sharing their resources and opportunities across their male and female populations."

The Report "serves as a catalyst for greater awareness as well as greater exchange between policymakers by providing a comprehensible framework for assessing and comparing global gender gaps and by revealing those countries that are role models in dividing these resources equitably between women and men."

WEF Global Gender Gap Index rankings

The maximum and minimum scores are respectively 1.0 and 0. Data are not available for several countries. The lowest-ranking country has only narrowed its gender disparity by a little over 50%, compared to the three highest-ranking nations, who have closed over 84% of their gender gaps.

 

WEF Global Gender Gap Index rankings comparison between Iceland and Yemen

Year	Country
	Iceland	Yemen
2006	0.7813	0.4595
2007	0.7836	0.4510
2008	0.7999	0.4664
2009	0.8276	0.4609
2010	0.8496	0.4603
2011	0.8530	0.4873
2012	0.8640	0.5054
2013	0.8731	0.5128
2014	0.8594	0.5145
2015	0.881	0.484
2016	0.874	0.516
2017	0.878	0.516
2018	0.858	0.499
2020	0.877	0.494
2021	0.892	0.492
2022	0.908	N/A

Challenges

Iceland is a Nordic island country located in both the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.The least populated country in Europe is Iceland. While Yemen is a Western Asian country. It is located at the southernmost tip of the Arabian Peninsula, bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north and Oman to the northeast, and shares maritime borders with Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia.

Women in Iceland have generally good gender equality. In 2018, 88% of working-age women were employed, 65% of university students were female, and 41% of members of parliament were female. Nonetheless, women continue to earn approximately 14% less than men, despite the fact that these statistics do not account for hours worked, overtime, and employment choices. Iceland has the highest proportion of working women in the world, as well as significant child care allocations for working women. It provides gender neutral parental leave, with quotas for each parent and a transferable portion.

Women in Yemen have historically faced discrimination based on their gender in a patriarchal society. Although the Yemeni government has made efforts to improve women's rights (including the formation of a Women's Development Strategy and a Women Health Development Strategy), many cultural and religious norms, as well as the Yemeni government's poor enforcement of this legislation, have prevented Yemeni women from having equal rights to men.

According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report, Iceland has the smallest overall gender gap, a position it has held since 2009. Iceland had a 12.2% gap in four categories by 2020: health, education, economic participation and opportunity, and political advancement. The wage disparity between men and women is closing at a rate that will result in parity by 2068. Women earn approximately 72% of men's salaries on average and continue to face domestic and sexual violence. Women in Iceland do not necessarily fare better than women in other countries in professional fields; for example, Iceland has one of the lowest percentages of female medical doctors in the OECD (only Japan, Korea, Luxembourg and the US have less women doctors).

Yemeni women do not have many economic, social, or cultural rights in 2017. While suffrage was gained in 1967 and constitutional and legal protection was extended to women during the first years of Yemen unity between 1990-1994, they continue to struggle "in exercising their full political and civil rights". Women have historically played important roles in Yemeni society. Some pre-Islamic and early Islamic Yemeni women held positions of power in society. "The Queen of Sheba, for example, is a source of pride for the Yemeni nation," according to the Yemeni government. Furthermore, Queen Arwa was noted for her attention to infrastructure, which contributed to a documented period of prosperity during her reign. Yemeni women today, on the other hand, live in a society that is dominated by agrarian, tribal, and patriarchal traditions. This, combined with illiteracy and economic issues, has resulted in women being consistently denied their rights as Yemeni citizens.

Social and Cultural Rights Between Two Countries

Icelanders put a high value on egalitarianism, with income inequality among the lowest in the world. The establishment of noble privileges, titles, and ranks is expressly prohibited by the constitution. Everyone is referred to by their first name. As in other Nordic countries, gender equality is very high; Iceland is consistently ranked among the top three countries in the world for women's living conditions.

Yemen is a society where women have a low status both within the family and within the community. A man is allowed to marry up to four wives if he has the financial means, but a woman is not even allowed to marry of her own free will because she requires the approval and agreement of a male guardian. Children can be removed from the mother's care in the event of divorce, whereas the father is not at risk of losing his children. A woman is also not permitted to deny the father visitation rights, whereas the father is permitted to do so under Article 145 of the Personal Status Act.

Potential Solutions

From the Challenges consideration, we have known that cultural differences between the two countries are highly glaring. Iceland and Yemen have different geographical positions, climates, and histories that have shaped their cultures. Iceland is an isolated island in the northern hemisphere with a tundra climate, while Yemen is a country in western Asia with a desert climate, bordered by several other Middle Eastern and African countries. The potential solutions presented should not be used to judge which cultural view on gender equality is superior between the two countries.  

A. International Approach

A proposal to create a privileged organization as part of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), which is solving the gender inequality cases in Yemen, This proposed organization should adjust methods based on how Iceland has succeeded in upholding gender equality with the Government of Yemen’s agreement and without infringement on Yemen’s cultural values.

B. National Approach

A steady reformation by Yemen’s cabinet ministries of justice and culture in Yemen's patriarchal society through improvement and education for all Yemeni citizens By by the government of Yemen, this campaign should be done as powerful as possible, remembering many cultural and religious norms of Yemen, directly or indirectly, have pass along the country’s gender inequality.

The government of Yemen can also work in cooperation with the government of Iceland to empower the proposed reformation campaign. As the latter International Approach consideration, taking the arrangement and manner on how Iceland solve its own gender inequality problems.

Potential Results

By the subsequent Potential Solutions, we as civilized decent human race hoped for the best for our gender equality everywhere, in every part of this world. The results of the latter potential solutions are that the country of Yemen has finally achieved stability in its society regarding gender equality. After establishment of  the expected stability, Yemen also could be a symbol of gender equality enforcer to other middle eastern and african countries who faced the same problems.

Conclusion

In every country in the world, culture has become its trademark identity. Inside every culture, there are ways of seeing things, including a value regarding the equality of human gender. Those values regarding gender equality stretch from the things we could see in daily life to the ones that only the culture's practitioners could fathom. In the model that this case study utilized, the cultural iceberg model, gender equality is settled just below the sea surface, repesented as gender role. The gender role constituent counterparts, society and law, settled around tip of the iceberg, obvious to everyone, whatever their cultural background. 

The Case Study in Indonesian Culture Point of View

Indonesia, which has the fourth-highest population in the world, is still struggling with poverty and gender imbalance. However, Indonesia has made progress in enhancing girls' access to education. The country also has one of Asia's highest rates of literacy. The benefits of women in Indonesia's marketplace are being advanced along with the promotion of women's access to education through several U.N. programs. Here are a few ways that gender equality is progressing in Indonesia.

Numerous elements, such as growing modernity, globalization, better education, and technological advancements, are having an impact on the positions of women in Indonesia today. Due to economic necessity, personal, professional, and family obligations, many Indonesian women elect to live in cities rather than continue to work in townships. These ladies are breaking with Indonesian culture's customary rules, which limit women to being housewives and mothers. Indonesian women are currently actively participating in organizations that focus on and address women's issues and concerns as well as the field of national development.

###