MOVING FROM `THE STATUS OF WOMEN' TO `GENDER INEQUALITY': CONCEPTUALISATION, SOCIAL INDICATORS AND AN EMPIRICAL APPLICATION

Abstract

This paper extends the conceptualisation and refines the operationalisation of gender inequality. The aim is to bridge theory - on gender relations - and measurement - of the reality of gender for women and men - by means of a set of social indicators of gender inequality. We first elaborate the concept of gender inequality and differentiate it from `women's status'. Gender inequality is defined as the departure from parity in the representation of women and men in key dimensions of social life. Next, we operationalise the concept through a set of social indicators developed from statistics provided in the United Nations Women's Statistics and Indicators (WISTAT) database. The 21 indicators measure disparities in the distribution of women and men in socially valued positions in five dimensions - physical well-being, public power, family formation, education and economic activity - within two spheres: human rights and social relations. Finally, we apply the social indicators of gender inequality in a cross-national analysis of the disparities between women and men at different levels of national development. The findings reveal the dismal state of women's human rights across all levels of national income and the disadvantage women experience in the interconnection between social relations of production and reproduction in countries rich or poor. This more complex measure of gender inequality has the potential to inform policy and practices aimed at achieving gender equality.