Rank Country Lower or Single House Upper House or Senate
1 Rwanda 56.3% 38.5%
2 Andorra 50% -
3 Cuba 48.9% -
4 Sweden 44.7% -
5 Seychelles 43.8% -
6 Senegal 42.7% -
7 Finland 42.5% -
8 South Africa 42.3% 32.1%
9 Nicaragua 40.2% -
10 Iceland 39.7% -
As an aside, Andorra, the state in second position, with an estimated population of only 85,000 displays another peculiarity as only Andorran nationals are able to vote and only one third of the population comprise Andorran nationals.
Although female representation in national parliaments has increased and is increasing, many of the states with high percentages of women only achieve this through legal and voluntary quotas.
The picture is far from rosy therefore in areas where, superficially, there appears to be a measure of equality and where one would expect there to be equality such as the legislatures of the mature western democracies.
In less developed cultures, even the concept of equality of the sexes is at best a sick joke. In India, there have been a string of reports of gang-rape of women including on public transport while in Muslim countries, girls have been killed for trying to attend school and women stoned to death for choosing the wrong man to marry. In Africa, the evil practice of genital mutilation is still practiced in many areas.
If we return to the allegedly advanced nations the role of the average woman is far from equal. In the USA women earn 19% less than their male colleagues. In the UK the average salary for men is £30000 and for women £24000. To make matters worse, recent studies show the gap has actually widened since the 2008 financial crisis.
Perhaps a more telling comment is a study of 28 countries involving over 17000 households in 2007 on who does the housework. The figures – with the exception of the Czech Republic – are self-explanatory. Other studies in the UK have also highlighted the anomaly that even where the wife is the wage earner and the husband remains at home, the wife still undertakes more than half the cleaning and cooking for the household.
TAKING IT TO THE CLEANERS
Average percentage of housework that men and women in eight countries (from a total of 28 surveyed in 2002) report performing:
Men Women
Australia 39.1 70.3
Czech Republic 32.2 28.6
France 30.9 78.3
Israel 29.7 75.1
Mexico 36.2 70.4
Russia 35.8 68.6
Sweden 36.3 67.3
United States 37.3 70.6
Source: Journal of Family Issues; data self-reported, not always equaling 100%
In short to the question – “Are we equal yet?” The answer is a resounding “No!” on a truly shocking scale.
Are we equal yet? Women in the 21st