Measures of Women's Status and Gender Inequality in Asia: Issues and Challenges

Abstract

Women in Asia are facing persistent constraints in achieving gender equality and empowerment, despite their progress in recent years. Although quantitative indicators measuring women's status and gender inequality have been used worldwide and produced by various international organizations, they offer somewhat incomplete stories about the nature of socioeconomic disparities. Cross-national comparisons among East and South Asian countries have illustrated some of the similarities and differences among countries in Asia, which also show inconsistent or sometimes contradictory implications. These aspects raise methodological issues regarding the multifaceted and complex nature of women's status and gender inequality. We propose alternative dimensions to make up for the drawbacks in current quantitative indicators. Violence against women illustrates women's status in the private sphere and broader society in general. Further, the fact that women are more vulnerable to natural disasters than men should also be considered in assessing the damage from such events. Thus, given the aims of gender equality, national socio-institutional mechanisms for ensuring it need to be taken into account.