The number of men and women working in the country is almost the same, but female workers are only earning around 60 per cent of the wage that men are getting, a latest report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows.

The female-to-male labour force ratio in Nepal stands at 0.93, meaning at least 93 women out of every 100 men are working in the country, says the Global Gender Gap Report 2014. This ratio is 16th best in the world — even better than countries like the Philippines and Thailand, where women are seen working everywhere. But when it comes to income of working men and women, Nepal stands at 93rd position.

The average annual income of men here stands at $2,873 based on purchasing power parity (PPP), compared to $1,503 of women, shows the report. As a result, Nepal’s female-to-male wage equality ratio stands at 0.62. This means for every Rs 100 earned by men here, women only receive Rs 62.

Because of these disparities, Nepal has been ranked 112, out of 142 countries, in this year’s Global Gender Gap (GGG) Index, which is a slight improvement compared to the 121st position secured by the country last year. Nepal’s ranking is fourth best among South Asian countries covered by the survey, with Bangladesh leading the pack.

Although Nepal still falls in the bottom quartile, its performance has improved a lot since 2006 when the global gender gap survey was first conducted by the WEF. “Nepal experienced the second highest percentage change — 18 per cent — relative to its score in 2006. This is due to important improvements in the educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment sub-indices,” says the report.

GGG Index examines the gap between men and women in four fundamental categories or sub-indices, namely, economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.

Nepal currently ranks 122nd on economic participation and opportunity sub-index and educational attainment sub-index. Similarly, it ranks 88th on health and survival sub-index, and 61st on political empowerment sub-index.

Although Nepal’s ranking on political empowerment sub-index looks promising, it should not be a cause of joy, as most of the countries have received poor scores here largely because many have not been able to elect female heads of state and the proportion of female-to-male ministers is low in many nations.

However, the country’s ranking on health and survival sub-index is encouraging, as female-to-male sex ratio at birth stands at 0.96, which is 32nd best in the world, while female-to-male healthy life expectancy ratio stands at 1.03, meaning there is total equality in life expectancy of male and female.

“The rankings are designed to create greater awareness among a global audience of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them,” says the report, adding, “Women represent one half of the global population — they deserve equal access to health, education, influence, earning power and political representation. Their views and values are critical for ensuring a more prosperous and inclusive common future. Humanity’s collective progress depends on it.”

Published on: 29 October 2014 | The Himalayan Times