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2009 Report
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This report breaks new ground in applying a human development approach to the study of migration.
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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,
- In this year’s GEM, Slovakia ranks 32nd in the GEM, ahead of Japan, in 57th place, yet income per person in Slovakia is much lower than Japan's (20,076 PPP US$ vs. 33,632 PPP US$ for 2007).
- The Sweden and Canada have very similar income per person (36,712 PPP US$ and 35,812 PPP US$ for 2007) yet in the GEM Sweden ranks 1st and Canada 12th.
Both indicators can be disaggregated to highlight gender inequality within countries, which can vary widely across regions.
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