Moving From `The Status of Women' to `Gender Inequality': Conceptualisation, Social Indicators and an Empirical Application

Abstract

This paper extends the conceptualisation and refines the operationalisation of gender inequality. The aim is to bridge theory - on gender relations - and measurement - of the reality of gender for women and men - by means of a set of social indicators of gender inequality. We first elaborate the concept of gender inequality and differentiate it from `women's status'. Gender inequality is defined as the departure from parity in the representation of women and men in key dimensions of social life. Next, we operationalise the concept through a set of social indicators developed from statistics provided in the United Nations Women's Statistics and Indicators (WISTAT) database. The 21 indicators measure disparities in the distribution of women and men in socially valued positions in five dimensions - physical well-being, public power, family formation, education and economic activity - within two spheres: human rights and social relations. Finally, we apply the social indicators of gender inequality in a cross-national analysis of the disparities between women and men at different levels of national development. The findings reveal the dismal state of women's human rights across all levels of national income and the disadvantage women experience in the interconnection between social relations of production and reproduction in countries rich or poor. This more complex measure of gender inequality has the potential to inform policy and practices aimed at achieving gender equality.

Measurement of Women’s Agency in Egypt: A National Validation Study

“…Scholarship on women’s agency, or related constructs, emerged in the 1960 s mainly in wealthier settings (e.g., Blood and Wolfe 1960; Safilios-Rothschild 1970) and some years later in poorer settings (e.g., Dixon 1976; Mason 1986; Ward 1984; Whyte 1978; Young et al 1994). Feminist scholars see women’s agency is an important end in itself; whereas, instrumentalists see it as a useful means to other ends, such as improved child health (Hossain et al 2007; Malhotra and Schuler 2005; Shroff et al 2009, 2011).…”

“…Some scholars have viewed this term as being static, imprecise and non-relational, lacking reference to women’s accrued influence in decisions customarily reserved for men (Mahmud 1994). The term gender (in)equality emerged to reflect women’s disadvantage vis-à-vis men in human rights, 1 private relations, education, and the economy (Dixon 1976; Mason 1986; Young et al 1994). Some scholars have critiqued these concepts and measures for being based on Western capitalist views of equality (Young et al 1994).…”

“…The term gender (in)equality emerged to reflect women’s disadvantage vis-à-vis men in human rights, 1 private relations, education, and the economy (Dixon 1976; Mason 1986; Young et al 1994). Some scholars have critiqued these concepts and measures for being based on Western capitalist views of equality (Young et al 1994). The term women’s autonomy , or the capacity for individual decision, retains widespread use in demography and public health; yet, some scholars question its application to settings where women’s social relations are salient aspects of their identities (Joseph 1993; Kabeer 2011).…”

Measuring Structural Gender Equality in Mexico: A State Level Analysis

“…Although there is no consensus concerning the key dimensions of gender inequality, most scholars agree that it is a multidimensional concept composed by several spheres: economic, educational, political, legal, health and family systems (Dijkstra 2002;Harvey et al 1990; Sugarman and Straus 1988;Yllo 1984;Young et al 1994). For present purposes, gender inequality can be conceived of as a system that justifies and perpetuates the domination of women by men in all areas of private and public life (Stacey 1997).…”

“…Most of the published research that deals with aspects of gender inequality tends to focus on a single dimension of gender inequality and employs either a single measure operationalizations of the construct (see review by Bradley and Khor 1993) or a set of variables that tap such social dimensions as educational status, employment, poverty or political participation (Brewer and Smith 1995;DeWees and Parker 2003;Vieraitis and Williams 2002;Young et al 1994). Few attempts have been made to develop a measure for assessing gender inequality in different spheres simultaneously.…”