GEI REGIONAL AVERAGE BY COMPONENT

Better off does not mean more empowered,
or the other way around

Women’s levels of empowerment do not depend on a country’s level of wealth; a high level of economic development does not necessarily lead to gender equity. In all the regions of the world, with the marked exception of North America, there are countries that are deficient in the empowerment dimension. Even in Europe there are countries in the worse relative and below average situations. There are also some countries that are classed by the World Bank as high income in which women are relatively deprived in terms of access to power, such as Japan (59 points) and the Czech Republic (53 points). Also, while the proportion of women in positions to make decisions and influence state policy may be increasing, and thus paving the way towards gender equity, there are still structural limitations, above all those of cultural origin, that may hamper, impede or even reverse progress in this area.