STA, 8 March 2019 - A report released by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Friday places Slovenia eighth in terms of gender equality among 120 countries. Standing out as the biggest issue for Slovenia is the level of discrimination in the family.
The OECD's SIGI index (Social Institutions and Gender Index) is a cross-country measure of gender-based discrimination in society, with the index value 100% meaning the highest measurable level of discrimination.
The index for Slovenia was 12.9% this year, which put Slovenia in the "very low" discrimination category.
When looking at specific indicators of discrimination, Slovenia fared the poorest in the prevention of discrimination in the family (SIGI value of 21.8%).
Regarding restricted physical integrity, Slovenia received the index of 7.1%. In terms of restricted access to productive and financial resources, the country's index was 9%, and in the category of restricted civil liberties, the value was 13.2%.
Slovenia ranks behind Austria, Belgium, Portugal, France, Sweden, Denmark, and Switzerland. The latter ranked the highest with the index of 8.1%, while Yemen ranked the lowest with a discrimination level of 64%.
60 countries could not be ranked due to insufficient data. In general, gender inequality is lowest in Europe and highest in Africa.
The fourth edition of the ranking suggests that besides legal measures, cultural, social, and religious norms need to be taken into consideration to eliminate discrimination.
According to the OECD, the current level of discrimination deprives the global economy of USD 6,000bn, which amounts to 7.5% of global GDP.
Since the previous study in 2014, 15 countries have criminalised domestic violence, the same number have made marriage under the age of 18 illegal. Eight countries have implemented legal measures to ensure a gender-balanced representation among elected state officials.
Paid maternity leave is ensured everywhere, apart from Papua New Guinea and the US.
You can see the full OECD report here, while the detailed report for Slovenia, in PDF form, is here
