The
Gender Parity Index (GPI) is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the relative access to
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
of males and females. In its simplest form, it is calculated as the quotient of the number of females by the number of males enrolled in a given stage of education (
primaryA primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
,
secondarySecondary education is the stage of education following primary school. Secondary education is generally the final stage of compulsory education. However, secondary education in some countries includes a period of compulsory and a period of non-compulsory education. The next stage of education is...
, etc.). It is used by international organizations, particularly in measuring the progress of developing countries.
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The
Gender Parity Index (GPI) is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the relative access to
educationEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
of males and females. In its simplest form, it is calculated as the quotient of the number of females by the number of males enrolled in a given stage of education (
primaryA primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
,
secondarySecondary education is the stage of education following primary school. Secondary education is generally the final stage of compulsory education. However, secondary education in some countries includes a period of compulsory and a period of non-compulsory education. The next stage of education is...
, etc.). It is used by international organizations, particularly in measuring the progress of developing countries. The Institute for Statistics of
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
also uses a more general definition of GPI: for any development indicator one can define the GPI
relative to this indicator by dividing its value for females by its value for males. For example, some UNESCO documents consider gender parity in
literacyLiteracy is a concept claimed and defined by a range of different theoretical fields. In everyday terms, "literacy" is typically described as the ability to read and write...
.
UNESCO describes attempts to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education and emphasizes the plight of girls in unequal access in third world countries. However, the GPI ignores the gender disparity that benefits first-world women in tertiary education as in Iceland, for example, where 65% of students enrolling in tertiary education are female.
See also
- Gender Empowerment Measure
The Gender Empowerment Measure is a measure of inequalities between men's and women's opportunities in a country. It combines inequalities in three areas: political participation and decision making, economic participation and decision making, and power over economic resources...
- Gender-related Development Index
The Gender-related Development Index is an indication of the standard of living in a country, developed by the United Nations . It is one of the five indicators used by the United Nations Development Programme in its annual Human Development Report...
- Gender equality
Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders or the sexes, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality....
- Gender inequality
Gender inequality refers to the obvious or hidden disparity between individuals due to gender. Gender is constructed both socially through social interactions as well as biologically through chromosomes, brain structure, and hormonal differences. The dichotomous nature of gender lends to the...