Argentina in fifth place in the ranking that measures gender equality – Reykjavík Index

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Published at the end of November this year, the “Reykjavík Index for Leadership” is an index created by Kantar and Women Political Leaders during 2018 and whose main objective is to assess gender equality in access to leadership positions globally.

With testimonials from people who hold active positions in governments, companies and members of civil society, the picture of 2021 is far from hopeful and repeats its major conclusion: social values towards equality are not progressing and women are significantly constrained on their way to leadership by social prejudices.

Read also: Check out our coverage on Argentina

WHAT DOES THE REPORT SAY?

Available to read in full, here are some of the most important findings of this study:

• With a score of 92, Iceland is the top-ranked country in both gender equity.
  The next three countries are Spain (82 points), England (82 points) and Canada (79 points).
• Argentina (with 78 points) is in fifth place on the list.
• The study also revealed that it is women who most often perceive that men and women are equally qualified for leadership positions. The average number is 71 women versus 64 men. The only cases that escape this rule are Japan (where the score for women is one point lower than for men) and Brazil (where the number is equal).
• One really surprising fact is that in 11 of the 20 countries on the list, young people are more prejudiced against women in leadership positions than their older counterparts. In other words, they are much less likely to think that men and women are equally suited to lead.
• As for the sectors where gender equity is considered to be the highest, media and entertainment is in first place (78 points). The most biased sector, childcare, tops the list (with 47 points). The greatest dissonance between the perceptions of women and men can be found in four sectors: Defense and Police, Intelligence Services, Engineering, Fashion and Beauty. From the other side – i.e. positions where men suffer from inequality – childcare is first and half of the women interviewed say that men and women are not equally suited to lead.

THE STUDY METHODOLOGY

This report was conducted by interviewing online more than 2,000 adults of productive age (18-65) and, as reported, the samples have been weighted to match the gender, age and education profile of each country to the corresponding population profile.

Almost simultaneously, Amnesty International Argentina published its report: “Study on Masculinities”. Surveying some 1,200 people, its main conclusions are:

• Six out of 10 men believe that gender equality has been achieved, while in the case of women that number is reduced to only 4.
• 4 out of 10 men believe that more rights for women mean fewer rights for themselves.
• 6 out of 10 people say that there is a wage gap between men and women.
• 8 out of 10 people say they have seen a man insulting a woman.
• 3 out of 10 people say they have seen a man touching a woman without her consent.