Guyana records significant progress in reducing gender gap in politics, education, health, economics – report

Guyana has demonstrated significant progress in reducing the gender gap in politics, education, health and economics, the 2022 Global Gender Gap Index report has found.

Guyana moved from 53 out of 146 countries in the previous report to 35 in the latest 2022 rankings.

Barbados and Jamaica were the only other Caribbean countries to score higher on the chart at 28 and 34 respectively.

The global gender gap index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, education, and health-based criteria.

In 2022, the country offering most gender equal conditions was Iceland with a score of 0.91.

In specific evaluation, Guyana placed 53 on the chart of 146 countries for economic participation and opportunity but stood at 57 for educational attainment.

In health and survival, Guyana secured the #1 spot along with 27 other countries and stood at 42 for political empowerment.

When Guyana’s achievement is examined regionally within Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), the country ranks 6th out of 22 indexed countries.

The LAC region ranks third of all regions, after North America and Europe, on the overall index.

In the LAC region, Peru, Guyana and Chile were found to have improved their gender parity scores the most.

By contrast, more populous countries such as Brazil, Mexico and Argentina showed mild stagnation in scores. At the lower end of regional performance, Barbados, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras and Colombia decreased their scores.

This divergence in performance then informs the overall regional ranking, where Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Barbados hold the top three spots in the region, while Brazil, Belize and Guatemala occupy the lowest ranks.

In Guyana parity has increased among workers in senior roles by at least 10 percentage points.

The Global Gender Gap Index, is a framework for capturing the magnitude and scope of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress.