What Qualifies as Gender Equality - Scholarly

In this journal, it introduces the importance of gender equality for human development. As stated, “In all societies there exist discrepancies between what is expected and valued in men and women” (p. 112). Although the journal mentions both equality for men and women, it goes into focusing on the women side of equality today. “Gender Inequality Index measured inequality along three aspects of human development – reproductive health (measured by mortality ratio and adolescent birth rate); empowerment (measured by number of parliamentary seats occupied by women and secondary education of men and women) and economic status (measured by labour force participation of men and women) (UNDP, 2010)” (p. 114). Even through these measurements, outcomes are different for men and women. Through reproduction, economic status, and labour participation, women and men accomplish these at different rates. It mentions that “investing in women’s capabilities and enhancing their opportunities to exercise their choices is valuable not only in itself but will positively contribute to economic development and growth” (p. 113). This being said, gender equality is an important topic in this article, but bringing attention to women and their efforts compared to men as well is important to pay attention to in regards to equality.

In response to this journal I think it is important to recognize the difference between women and men. Not that men can do certain things women can’t, or women can do certain things men can’t, but the idea that they will accomplish certain things at different rates. I do agree with the idea that gender equality is important for human development. I think that knowing the difference between men and women but respecting those differences and still appreciating both is important. When the journal mentions the gender equality index it was easy for me to see how those measurements could go wrong, some aren’t fair in regards to the physical aspect of men compared to women and I think equality shouldn’t be measured by those topics such as work or economic status, because although it is different now than in history, it’s still not perfect. Throughout history women didn’t exactly get the rights or attention they deserved in comparison to men and I think that it’s important to know that it’s not like that anymore and that women are just as important and capable of things as men are, which brings us to the point of this article, the importance of gender equality. I attached the link to this journal below. -Kelly

Sengupta, Sreerupa, and Sutanuka Dev Roy. “Data Equality to Gender Equality: Responding to 2030 Agenda.” ASCI Journal of Management, vol. 47, Mar. 2018, pp. 111–125. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=bth&AN=134411195&site=eds-live&scope=site.