Gender equality milestone for Bahrain’s edu segment

The Kingdom has been ranked third in the GCC region in a global report on gender equality published by the World Economic Forum. The Kingdom came behind the UAE and Kuwait in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report for 2018. Bahrain was ranked 132nd overall while the United Arab Emirates was ranked 121.

Kuwait received a rank of 126 and Saudi Arabia obtained a rank of 141 in the list. Bahrain’s best-ranked indices were educational attainment for women, ranking 42nd globally while the worst indices for the nation was political empowerment (143). The Kingdom was ranked 128th in economic participation and opportunity. The Global Gender Gap Index was first introduced by the World Economic Forum in 2006 as a framework for capturing the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress over time.

The Index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, education, health and political criteria, and provides country rankings that allow for effective comparisons across regions and income groups. The rankings are designed to create global awareness of the challenges posed by gender gaps and the opportunities created by reducing them. The methodology and quantitative analysis behind the rankings are intended to serve as a basis for designing effective measures for reducing gender gaps.

Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum said, “This report finds that, globally, although many countries have achieved important milestones towards gender parity across education, health, economic and political systems, there remains much to be done. “On the one hand, countries, where the next generation of women are becoming leaders in their domains, are poised for further success.