How are the GDI and the GEM used?
The GDI is not a measure of gender inequality. Rather, it is a measure of
human development that adjusts the human development index (HDI) to penalize
for disparities between women and men in the three dimensions of the HDI.
To illustrate the fact that gender empowerment does not depend on income, it is
useful to compare relative rankings on the GEM and the relative level of
national income. For example,
- Slovakia ranks 33rd in the GEM, ahead of Japan, in 54th place, yet income per person in Slovakia is about one half that of Japan's (15,871 PPP US$ vs. 31,267 PPP US$ for 2005)
- The Norway and Ireland have very similar income per person (41,420 PPP US$ and 38,505 PPP US$ for 2005) yet in the GEM Norway ranks 1st and Ireland 19th.
Both indicators can be disaggregated to highlight gender inequality within countries, which can vary widely across regions.
