Chapter 10 : Gender InequalitY

When we look beyond the boundaries of the United States, we can see that women's experiences differ considerably around the world. In this data exercise we will be researching some of the differences in the position of women globally and trying to answer the question: Why does gender inequality persist globally? For this project you will be using data collected by the United Nations.

Part I:

Your textbook provides some discussion on the economic and political inequalities experienced by women globally. But before you begin your in-depth investigation into a sample of nations, read more about the women's lives at the United Nations' Women Watch website. Here you will find reports (with statistics and links) on topics such as gender mainstreaming, women and education, women and the economyfor different regions of the world.

Once you have become more familiar with the issues surrounding women's lives and experiences in other countries, your next step is to select six countries to compare. You should pick countries that not only represent different geographical regions of the world, but that also differ in terms of economic development. Be sure that two of your six choices are low-income (L-I) countries, two are middle-income (M-I) countries and that the remaining ones are high-income (H-I) nations; if you are unsure of what nations fall within these three development categories refer back to the map Rich and Poor Countries: The World by Income in Chapter 9 of your text. If you completed the data exercise for Chapter 9, you might want to select the same countries again for your comparisons.

In Table 1 you will need to obtain information on GDP per capita.

1. Go to the United Nations' CyberschoolBus webpage . Select the "Basic" version of "Info Nation" listed in the left-hand bar.
2. On the InfoNation Basic page, you will see a section labeled "Select Individual Countries" with six different alphabetical and color-coded boxes provided. Using the pull-down menus in each of the six boxes, beginning with box A and continuing to box F, highlight and click on the nations you selected in step 1. Note: Before continuing you must click the box labeled "GO."
3. After you have clicked the "GO" button, you will see, just below the "Countries Selection" section, a section labeled "Select Data"; in this section there are six separate graphs, but you only need to use one of them. In this box choose: (1) Select Category - ECONOMY; Select Statistic - GDP per capita

The United Nations publishes periodic reports on the status of women globally. The 2000 update is available on the U.N. website, " World's Women 2000: Trends and Statistics ." Here you will find excerpts of the report, including major findings about the status of women in the areas of population, family, health, education and communications, and human rights and political decision making. Before moving on to the statistical analysis, you may want to click on these different chapter links and read through the findings of the report. When you are finished you should have a better picture of what the lives of women are in other areas of the world.

Once you have finished reading the report and have a general sense of the status of women globally, you are going to do some research into the conditions in selected countries. Begin by clicking on the link to the statistics at the top of the webpage. you were just at. Using the some of U.N. tables found on this site (Tables 2B, 3A, 4A, 5B, 5C, 5D, 6A, 6C), fill in the following information for the countries you've selected:

Part II:

After you have collected the necessary data, examine the table carefully and answer the questions listed below. When you submit this work to your professor, make sure to present your table along with your analysis of the following questions.

Writing Assignment:

1. How would you describe the overall relationship between the level of economic development and the status of women within society? Speculate on why there may be an association between gender inequality and economic development.
   

2. Based on what you discovered in terms of these different indicators, how would you describe the overall condition of women within each of the three sectors of the global economy?
   

3. If you were asked to advise the governments of some of the other countries you researched on how to improve the conditions for women in their society, what recommendations would you make? What rationale would you give for these recommendations?
   

4. Think about what life is like for young girls growing up in one of the countries you researched. In what ways do you think opportunities for her to obtain an education, have a work, and live a long life would be different from what she would find if she were growing up in the United States?