How much progress did Hungary make in terms of gender equality?
The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) published an update of its Gender Equality Index last week, which analyses the progress of the 28 countries of the European Union in terms of gender equality.
According to an article by Business Insider, “the European Union is moving towards gender equality at a snail’s pace.” In this study, the EIGE measured the efforts made in seven main areas: work, money, health, knowledge, time (the balance between household and leisurely tasks), power and violence. Each country was measured by using a scale from 1 to 100. In summary, the EU obtained an average score of 67.4 out of 100, which is only 5.4 times more than in 2005, and 1.2 times more than in 2015.
What is the situation in Hungary? The study revealed that Hungary was ranked at the bottom with a score of 51.2 and 51.9 out of 100. This result is 15.5 lower than the average EU score. Between 2005 and 2017, the country’s score only increased by 2.4.
It is a general fact that Hungary moves closer to gender equality much slower than the other European Union states. The Institute of Gender Equality stated that “gender inequalities are most pronounced in the domain of power (20.6 points) and time (54.3 points). The domain of health ranks highest (86.6 points), compared to other domains. Hungary’s score in the domain of money (71.6 points) has improved the most since 2005 (+ 5.1 points). Progress has stalled in the domain of knowledge. In the domain of time, Hungary’s score has sharply decreased (- 6.8 points)”.
Although Hungary’s index has improved between 2005 and 2017, it is still lower than the average and further progress is needed. Reportedly, “Hungary’s slower rate of improvement has led to an increasing gap with the EU over time.”
The top three countries with the best score are Sweden, France, and Denmark, while at the end of the list featured Luxembourg, Belgium and Spain.
Global Gender Gap Report: Hungary finishes last among EU nations
World Economic Forum has published this year’s Global Gender Gap report. Out of all the 149 countries examined, Hungary finished below the global average at the 102nd place. Hungary had the worst score among all the European nations.
Source: www.businessinsider.com, www.eige.europa.eu