Small political, social and economic disparities between Guyanese men and women

Guyana at 42 out of 135 countries on World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap index.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, Monday, October 29, 2012 - Guyanese women have made outstanding contributions to the political, social and economic life of the country through the years; with 30 percent of its members of parliament being females including the Deputy Speaker and several Government Ministers.

This has put the country in good stead with the World Economic Forum (WEF) whose Global Gender Gap Report 2012 has ranked Guyana at 42 out of 135 countries with a score 0.712, placing it higher than Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Suriname, Venezuela, Brazil, and Suriname among several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Global Gender Gap index is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress. It benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time.

According to the report, in terms of economic participation, Guyana was ranked at 94 with a score of 0.603, educational attainment at 28 with 0.999, health and survival at 47 with 0.979, and political empowerment at 32 with 0.267.

In Guyana, equal educational opportunities are available to both males and females at all levels including training and scholarships. In 2011, there were CSEC 70,000 subject entries of which 26, 870 were males and 44,000 were females.

However, this year’s report saw Guyana slip four spots from its 2011 ranking of 38 due to a small decrease in the percentage of women in ministerial positions.

The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education and health criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups, and over time.

The WEF has been among the institutions at the forefront of engaging leaders to close global gender gaps as a key element of the mission to improve the state of the world.

The report highlights that with talent shortages projected to become more severe in much of the developed and developing world, maximizing access to female talent is a strategic imperative for business.