Abstract
The two cross-national indices with gender-differentiated data introduced by the UNDP in 1995, as well as several other such
indices developed subsequently, are an important resource for researchers and policy makers interested in gender disparities.
Yet questions remain regarding how these indices should be interpreted and how valid they are. Relying on a framework that
synthesizes key guidelines concerning the methodology of measurement, this article offers an assessment of indices currently
used to study gender disparities on a global scale and sheds light on these unresolved questions. We answer two questions—what
do these indices with gender-differentiated data actually measure? and, how valid are these indices?—and discuss the implications
of our assessment for users and producers of gender indices.
indices developed subsequently, are an important resource for researchers and policy makers interested in gender disparities.
Yet questions remain regarding how these indices should be interpreted and how valid they are. Relying on a framework that
synthesizes key guidelines concerning the methodology of measurement, this article offers an assessment of indices currently
used to study gender disparities on a global scale and sheds light on these unresolved questions. We answer two questions—what
do these indices with gender-differentiated data actually measure? and, how valid are these indices?—and discuss the implications
of our assessment for users and producers of gender indices.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Pages 1-38
- DOI 10.1007/s11205-012-0035-7
- Authors
- Angela Hawken, School of Public Policy (SPP), Pepperdine University, 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90263-7490, USA
- Gerardo L. Munck, School of International Relations, University of Southern California, 3518 Trousdale Parkway, VKC 330, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0043, USA
- Journal Social Indicators Research
- Online ISSN 1573-0921
- Print ISSN 0303-8300