The Social Institutions and

Gender Index (SIGI)

Asian Development Bank Regional Seminar

Womens employment, entrepreneurship

and empowerment
22 May 2015
The views expressed in this paper are the views of the authors and do not
necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Asian Development Bank
(ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent.
ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this paper
and accepts no responsibility for any consequence of their use. The
countries listed in this paper do not imply any view on ADB's part as to
sovereignty or independent status or necessarily conform to ADB's
terminology.

Gender equality can boost economic growth

Labour force projections, Germany, India, and the United States, 2012-25
Projected number of persons in the labour force, 15+ years of age, thousands
Unchanged

Germany
43000

Baseline

United States
165000
163000

42000
41000

161000

40000

159000

39000

157000

38000

155000

600000
550000
500000
450000
400000

Target

India
Unchanged: Participation rates by gender and for each 5-year age group are held
constant over the period 2013-2040 at their 2012 values; changes in labour force
size are driven by changes in working-age population size alone.
Baseline: Participation rates are projected by gender and for each 5-year age group
by assuming that labour force entry and exit rates remain constant at their average
value over the period 2003-2012
Target: The gender gap for each 5-year age group in 2025 is assumed to be 25%
lower than its value in 2012.
Source: OECD Secretariat's estimates based on the OECD Population and
Demography database 2012 and OECD Employment database.

Defining discriminatory
social institutions
Formal and informal laws,
social norms and
practices that restrict or
exclude women and
consequently curtail their
access to rights, justice,
and empowerment
opportunities

SIGI results by region

Discriminatory family code

Discriminatory social institutions in Central Asia

Note: Lower SIGI score means lower levels of discrimination against women in social institutions
Source: OECD (2014) Gender, Institutions and Development Database

Discriminatory social institutions in Central Asia

Note: Lower SIGI score means lower levels of discrimination against women in social institutions
Source: OECD (2014) Gender, Institutions and Development Database

Discriminatory social institutions in South Asia

SIGI 2014

0.45

0.3

0.27

0.15

Note: Lower SIGI score means lower levels of discrimination against women in social institutions
Source: OECD (2014) Gender, Institutions and Development Database

Discriminatory social institutions in South Asia

Note: Lower SIGI score means lower levels of discrimination against women in social institutions
Source: OECD (2014) Gender, Institutions and Development Database

Discriminatory social institutions in

East Asia and the Pacific

Note: Lower SIGI score means lower levels of discrimination against women in social institutions
Source: OECD (2014) Gender, Institutions and Development Database

Discriminatory social institutions in

East Asia and the Pacific

Note: Lower SIGI score means lower levels of discrimination against women in social institutions
Source: OECD (2014) Gender, Institutions and Development Database

Top performers by region

Note: Lower SIGI score means lower levels of discrimination against

women in social institutions
Source: OECD (2014) Gender, Institutions and Development Database

Education and vocational training

Early marriage prevalence around the world

Education and vocational training

Higher prevalence of early marriage is related to lower female secondary
enrolment rates and higher gender gaps in secondary school completion rates

Women and the economy

Unequal distribution of unpaid care work around the world

Women and the economy

50
45
40

Unequal distribution of unpaid care work

around the world

35

30%

50%
60%labour force)
40%
70%
force (% total
Female labour

80%

Higher inequalities in unpaid care work are linked to higher inequalities in

labour force participation

3h

4h
5h
6h
7h
Female time devoted to unpaid work
Fitted values

Fitted values

2
4
6
Gender inequality in unpaid care work
Fitted values

Fitted values

Women and health

40
0

20

Critical Area C: Women and health

100

200

Female adjusted life expectancy (years)

60

300

Womens decision-making power over their own health care is connected to

better female health outcomes

Low <1/3

1/3< Medium <2/3

High >2/3
Women's participation in decision-making

Low <1/3

1/3< Medium < 2/3

High >2/3
Women's participation in decision-making

Promising progress, persisting problems

Discriminatory Family

Code
Restricted Physical
Integrity
Son bias

Early marriage is decreasing in developing countries

35% of women believe that domestic violence is justified in some

circumstances

Over 90 million women are missing around the world

Restricted resources
and assets

The laws or customary practices of 102 countries still deny

women the same rights to access land as men.

Restricted civil
liberties

Only one out of five members of national parliaments is a

women

Find out more

oecd.org/dev/gender
genderindex.org
stats.oecd.org