“Everybody loves a ranking,” or so the saying goes. In sports I tend to agree. If you’re not currently following the College Football Playoff rankings (which, since this blog is for a global audience, I imagine a majority of readers are not), you are missing out on something truly exciting. Rankings and indexes seek to be as objective as possible using the information available. With the CFP and other sports rankings, where a significant amount of objective comparison is not possible, there is a lot of room for debate. And that can be part of the fun.
But when it comes to indexes and rankings of more serious themes with real world consequences, they shouldn’t be fun… or funny. During a recent weeklong trip to Nicaragua, the running joke was that the country is the 6th most gender equal country in the world according to the 2014 Global Gender Gap report issued by the World Economic Forum. Spend a day in the shoes of a Nicaraguan woman and you’ll quickly understand why the country’s ranking in this report is not something to be celebrated.
CIPE’s local partner in Nicaragua, the Network of Nicaraguan Businesswomen (REN), recently released a statement in response to the 2014 Global Gender Gap report explaining why Nicaraguan women, particularly women entrepreneurs, are concerned about the consequences of this report:
“The Red de Empresarias de Nicaragua (REN – Network of Nicaraguan Businesswomen) expresses concern about the false image of the reality for Nicaraguan women that is being projected by Nicaragua’s ranking as the 6th most equal country in the 2014 Global Gender Gap report issued by the World Economic Forum.
To be ranked in such a high spot in this index, behind only Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, projects a situation in which the task of reaching gender equality is miniscule and does not require much more effort, which REN considers to be contrary to the reality that the country demands.
As this same study points out, in terms of equality of economic opportunities, Nicaragua has a long way to go, since women have fewer job opportunities and earn much less than men in the country, as was also pointed out in a recent study conducted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
It should also be noted that women-owned businesses in Nicaragua are smaller than businesses owned by men. This clearly indicates the gap between men’s and women’s access to economic resources is still large. This is clear to see as only 12 percent of individual exporters are women.
It is also important to point out that within the main business associations in the country, women are still underrepresented in positions of decision-making power, with only 16 percent of Board seats held by women. And they do not have strategies for increasing women’s participation.
The high rates of femicide and sexual abuse against Nicaraguan women demonstrates a different reality than the Gender Gap report suggests, and one that is different from the daily reality women experience in the countries ranked in similarly high positions in the report. Likewise, it is impossible to compare the social protections associated with motherhood, childcare, and equal distribution of familial responsibilities that exist in the highest ranked countries with what occurs in Nicaragua.
The Report’s quantitative, not qualitative, character produced results that do not contribute to a clear and realistic idea of the situation for women in countries like Nicaragua where the task of achieving gender equality is still far from complete.
REN is an organized platform of women entrepreneurs that seeks to strengthen growth, management, and business dynamics of Nicaraguan women, their personal and collective leadership, and advocate for policies that incorporate the needs of businesswomen in the national agenda.”
Generally speaking, reports and rankings such as the Global Gender Gap report can be important tools for systematically gathering and presenting data that is vital to development around the world — in this case capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities around the world. They are useful for highlighting advances over time and raising awareness about important topics and setting benchmarks for improvement.
The Global Gender Gap benchmarks gender gaps in economic, political, health- and education-based criteria. Most of the information it provides is useful in itself. But the report misses its mark by combining the four areas into one overall ranking. The Economist raises this point in its sharp critique of indices, including the Global Gender Gap report, published in the November 8th issue.
Few would argue that Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark are deserving of their high overall rankings. It’s hard to defend, however, Nicaragua’s 6th place overall ranking when it still ranks 95th out of 142 countries in Economic Participation. Nicaragua’s high ranks in Political Empowerment (4th) and Health and Survival (1st – an inexplicable jump from 55th in 2013), mask the low level of equality in the economic realm. As REN rightly said in its statement, this leaves the impression that there is not much left to do to improve gender equality.
In today’s society where many people get the majority of their news in 140 characters or less, it’s easy to take Nicaragua’s 6th place rank at face value, rather than dig deeper to truly understand the data that is presented in the report. And that is the danger. Nicaragua’s first lady, Rosario Murillo, has applauded the report as “a triumph!”
Straight from the mouths of Nicaraguan women, “There is still work to do in Nicaragua, particularly in the economic sphere.” That is why CIPE is working with REN and a consortium of women entrepreneurs and businesswomen’s organizations to identify and advocate for policies that improve women’s economic and democratic participation in society. In developing a National Businesswomen’s Agenda, REN and its allies seek to engage the private sector, government, and other civil society actors in a debate of the existing obstacles and solutions to improving the environment for women entrepreneurs.
The Global Gender Gap report has accomplished one thing: creating a debate on gender inequality. Unfortunately, for Nicaraguan women the Global Gender Gap report has unnecessarily become a joke, proving that not everybody loves a ranking.
Brent Ruth is a Program Officer for Latin America & the Caribbean at CIPE.
