In tertiary education, Belize’s gender index tips heavily in favor of the female gender, with a ratio of 1.59

The Global Gender Gap Report 2013, published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) and produced with collaboration between Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley, has been released and it notes that whereas Belize has top rank for gender equality in the health sector with a score of .98 out of a possible score of 1, it’s political empowerment rank is near the tail-end of the range with a score of 0.01 and a rank of 133 from among 136 nations.

Belize’s gender gap ranking—which depicts the relative gaps between women and men—has been slipping. The country’s overall rank this year (2013) is 107 of 136. Last year, Belize ranked 102 out of 135 countries, and in 2011 it ranked 100. In 2010, Belize ranked 93 among 134 countries reviewed.

In the 2013 report, Belize obtained a score of 1 for both secondary and tertiary education; whereas its rank for primary education is 119, reflecting a score of 0.90 out of 1. Notably, in tertiary education, the gender index tips heavily in favor of the female gender with a ratio of 1.59.

In health, life expectancy also tips in favor of the female gender – with a female to male ratio of 1.11.

Marta Hendrikx, Communication Focal Point of the United Nations Country Team (UNCT), notes that, “While Belize is doing well in the area of Health and Survival, Belize and Lebanon rank 133 out of 136 countries, in Political Empowerment – followed only by Brunei Darussalam and Qatar.”

The report reflects the fact that Belize has never had a female head of state, and the ratio of women to men in parliament is 0.03 – meaning that 97% of elected parliamentarians are men.

The report notes that, “Belize is the lowest performing country from the region on the Enrollment in primary education and the Women in parliament indicators.”

WEF notes that the Global Gender Gap Index seeks to measure one important aspect of gender equality: the relative gaps between women and men, across a large set of countries and across the four key areas of health, education, economy and politics.

WEF said that the index, introduced in 2006, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress.

According to the report, “Our aim is to focus on whether the gap between women and men in the chosen indicators has declined, rather than whether women are ‘winning’ the ‘battle of the sexes’.”