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Gender equality indices in the Western Balkans and Turkey

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The Gender Equality Index is an important policy-making tool that measures how far (or close) the EU and its Member States are from achieving gender equality.

The Gender Equality Index also provides results for each of the six core domains: money, knowledge, time, power and health. There are two additional domains: intersecting inequalities and violence.

As a comparable measurement tool, the Gender Equality Index is important for reflecting gender (in)equalities among the Western Balkans and Turkey and monitoring progress of gender equality in different areas of society. It also allows for regional comparison among Member States and EU candidate countries and potential candidates. Our aim is to develop full of partial Indices for up to six beneficiaries by the end of this project.

The development of Gender Equality Indices started in the Western Balkans and Turkey in 2015 and it continues to be the  flagship initiative of the project.

So far, four EU candidates and potential candidate countries have calculated their Gender Equality Index. Their scores are slightly lower than the EU-27 average, which currently has an overall score of 67.4 (2020).

Gender Equality Index scores in the IPA region

Serbia (2016 and 2018)

Serbia scored 52.4 in 2016 and 55. 8 points in 2018. The biggest progress was done in the domain of power, for both edition of Indices– 52.6, specifically in political power for members of Parliament and members of the Government. The lowest scores were in the domains of money and in the domain of time.

Gender Equality Index for the Republic of Serbia (2018)

Gender Equality Index: Measuring gender equality in Serbia (2016)

North Macedonia (2019)

North Macedonia scored 62 points in 2019. The highest score was achieved in the domain of power. More work needs to be done in domains of time 55.8 and money 62.1. These scores are the lowest when compared with the EU average for these domains.

Gender Equality Index for North Macedonia (2019)

Albania (2020)

Albania scored 60.4 points in 2020. The highest score was in the domain of health, followed by the domain of work, power and money. The lowest scores were in the domains of knowledge and time. Albania’s score in the domain of power (60.9) is higher than the EU average, which scores 47.6.

Gender Equality Index for the Republic of Albania (2020)

Montenegro (2019)

Montenegro scored 55 points in 2020. The highest score is in domain of health, followed by the domain of money, even though this domain has the biggest gap with the EU. The lowest score is in the domains of power (35.1) and time (52.7).

Gender Equality Index Montenegro 2019

EIGE supports EU candidates and potential candidate countries in their calculation of Gender Equality Indices by assessing their readiness, providing coaching and continuous assistance in applying the methodology, finding secondary sources of indicators and ensuring the overall quality of the Gender Equality Index.