The best and worst countries to be a woman

An exclusive first look at the upcoming Women, Peace, and Security Index shows how these countries might surprise you—and why it’s strategic to care.

Story by Eve Conant
Graphics by Irene Berman-Vaporis, Lawson Parker, and Rosemary Wardley



MEASURING EMPOWERMENT 11 WAYS


Three main categories—inclusion, security, and justice—are broken down into 11 subcategories to assess women’s empowerment around the world.

INCLUSION


Women’s level of participation in economic, social, and political opportunities



Representation in government

Percentage of legislative seats held by women



Cell phone use

Females age 15 and older who have access to a mobile phone



Employment

Women age 25 and older who are engaged in paid work



Financial access

Use of a banking app or other type of account among females age 15 and older



Education

Average years of education among women 25 and older



SECURITY


Sense of safety and exposure to violence



Intimate partner violence

Physically harmed or sexually assaulted in past year by a partner



Community safety

Females 15 years and older who report feeling safe while walking alone at night




Organized violence

Deaths caused by large-scale armed conflicts, per 100,000 people


JUSTICE


Experience of formal and informal discrimination



Discriminatory norms

Males 15 years and older who say it’s
unacceptable for women to hold paying jobs



Son bias

When the ratio of boys’ to girls’ births exceeds the natural rate



Legal discrimination

Laws limiting women’s participation in society or differentiating between men and women






THE WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY INDEX RANKING


Nations are ranked by their overall index score. The 11 subcategories are scored from

1 (best, blue) to 0 (worst, red).








* source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/c...ature/#feature