https://nationalpost.com/opinion/barbara-kay-heres-what-happens-when-the-gender-gap-index-is-adjusted-for-bias

By: Barabara Kay

Published: Jan 8, 2019

The apparently neutral phrase, “gender inequality,” is not neutrally understood in our society. It normally conjures up women’s lower numbers in male-dominated corporate directorships and STEM professorships or other high-status domains that are in fact accessible only to a sliver of the male population, never mind the narrower female sliver.

Social scientists allegedly strive for a much more holistic picture, especially when setting nations beside each other for a global assessment of gender inequality. One frequently cited authority is the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), introduced in 2006, and relied on by policy makers worldwide. But a provocative new study, released Jan. 3, takes critical distance from GGGI premises, providing its own set of metrics for analyzing gender inequalities and arriving at some startlingly disparate conclusions.

Entitled “A Simplified Approach to Measuring National Gender Inequality,” authors Gijsbert Stoet from the U.K.’s University of Essex, and David C. Geary from the University of Missouri, contend that the GGGI is unreliable, because it is “biased to highlight women’s issues.” They argue that the GGGI does not measure men’s areas of disadvantage, such as compulsory military service, harsher punishments for the same crime, and workplace deaths — 95 per cent male.

By definition, they say, the GGGI “excludes the possibility that men can be less well off than women – this is because the GGGI focuses on women’s advancement.” As well, they contend that the GGGI uses indicators that are only relevant to elite women, and that the GGGI includes indicators more reflective of choice than of discrimination.

The researchers propose a truly gender-neutral set of metrics for calculating equality scores, named the Basic Index of Gender Inequality (BIGI). BIGI focuses on three factors: educational opportunities (literacy, years of primary and secondary education), healthy life expectancy (years expected to live in good health), and overall life satisfaction which, taken together, are the “minimum ingredients of a good life.”

These metrics can be applied anywhere, regardless of income level, cultural paradigm or national economic development tier. In the words of the study abstract, because of its focus on issues that are important to all men and women in any nation, BIGI “better captures variation in gender inequality than other measures, with inclusion of outcomes that can be favourable or unfavourable to either sex, not simply unfavourable to women.”

Stoet and Geary calculated BIGI scores over five years (2012 through 2016) for 134 nations, representing 6.8 billion people. They relied on GGGI reports published by the World Economic Forum and the Gallup World Poll for data. To their surprise, they found that using the BIGI as a yardstick, men are on average disadvantaged in 91 countries, while women are disadvantaged in 43 countries, most of them economically under-developed. Sometimes the deviations from parity are quite small or even negligible, as for example in the case of Israel, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Turkey, China and Switzerland.

Saudi Arabia? Parity? Yes. Because equality between the sexes does not mean men and women are doing equally well, on average, “just that they are more or less equal within their life circumstances.” While women in countries with a poor reputation for gender equality may fall behind men in one area, men may fall behind in another area, cancelling out both scores.

Saudi Arabia is a highly developed nation in which women fall behind in education, but score higher on healthy life expectancy and life satisfaction. This may seem counterintuitive to Western women, but culture, with the expectations it imposes, is a strong determinant of what constitutes “satisfaction.” A Saudi wife in a polygynous marriage to a wealthy husband might find life quite satisfying, while a poor Saudi man with almost no marriage prospects at all may find life quite unsatisfying.

Canada’s figures put it amongst the countries with a slight female advantage. Feminists may not be delighted to hear this. But given the BIGI metrics, it makes sense.

Canadian women’s life expectancy is seven years longer than men’s. Men’s health in Canada is on average poorer than women’s. They are more prone to alcoholism and drug abuse, and more vulnerable to violence. Male suicide rates are considerably higher, especially during Family Court battles, where women are greatly advantaged (and which causes great life dissatisfaction in fathers). Canadian men are nine times more likely than women to be imprisoned. They perpetrate more crimes, to be sure, but they also receive harsher sentences for the same crimes, even when committing the same crime in tandem. Men constitute about 85 per cent of homeless adults. Canadian men show higher dropout rates at every level from primary school to university. Canadian women own a disproportionate share of private wealth. (I could go on.)

This is an important study, not nearly as simplistic as it may seem in this reductive summary, and worth reading — without gender bias if possible — before judging.

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Abstract

The Global Gender Gap Index is one of the best-known measures of national gender inequality, used by both academics and policy makers. We argue that that this measure has a number of problems and introduce a simpler measure of national levels of gender inequality. Our proposed measure is based on sex differences in the opportunity to lead a long healthy and satisfied life that is grounded on educational opportunities. The measure better captures variation in gender inequality than other measures, with inclusion of outcomes that can be favorable or unfavorable to either sex, not simply unfavorable to women. We focus on some of the most basic measures available for 134 countries from 2012–2016 (i.e., disadvantages in children’s basic education, life satisfaction, and healthy life span) and we relate these to various measures, including the United Nations' Human Development Index. We found that low levels of human development are typically associated with disadvantages for girls and women, while medium and high levels of development are typically associated with disadvantages for boys and men. Countries with the highest levels of human development are closest to gender parity, albeit typically with a slight advantage for women. We argue that the disparities, when they are found, are related to the sexual division of labor (i.e., traditional gender roles) in poorly developed countries as well as the underinvestment in preventative health care in more developed nations.

So-En, April 1990

Made of Jacquard with an oriental design. A short vest with an attractive wide open collar and a miniskirt with a point in the center of the wide waistband. Vest (20,000 yen), Skirt (22,000 yen), Blouse, Shoes - BIGI

"Michael Jackson's children Prince, Bigi and Paris make a rare appearance together"

Full Story:  https://uinterview.com/news/michael-jacksons-son-bigi-challenges-grandmothers-use-of-estate-funds-in-court/

Michael Jackson’s son, Bigi, 22, (formerly known as Blanket), has taken his grandmother, Katherine Jackson, to court.

Bigi Brings Festive Cheer to 150 Mushin Kids with Chess & Fun

Rite Foods Limited, a leading beverage company partnered with Nigerian chess master and coach Tunde Onakoya to bring festive cheer and empower children in Mushin through the “Chess for Christmas Mushin” initiative. The event, held from 11am to 4pm on 23 December, 2023, provided a platform for chess training, talent showcases, and fun games, all while promoting the Bigi brand and its commitment to…

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Congratulations to Riley Christy, a field underwriter at Pekin Insurance, on being named the 2022 BIG I (Independent Insurance Agents) Indiana Insurance Professional of the Year! He was awarded this for showing strong leadership abilities and willingness to assist independent agents!

Riley is one of our IRM alumni.

Bigi: "Costanti e ambiziosi, la ricetta per vincere a novembre"

Bigi: “Costanti e ambiziosi, la ricetta per vincere a novembre”

Con 42 caps all’attivo, tredici volte come Capitano degli Azzurri, Luca Bigi è uno dei veterani del giovani gruppo azzurro che a Verona, da domenica scorsa, prepara il debutto nelle Autumn Nations Series del prossimo 5 novembre a Padova, contro Samoa. Il tallonatore reggiano delle Zebre Parma, da cinque anni nel giro della Squadra Nazionale – debutto a Singapore contro la Scozia nel tour 2017 –…

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3pm to closed we have deal on sushi menu. Call to place your order 909 264 1819 11311 cedar ave Bloomington Ca #bigi#friday#sushitime#goodtume#summervibes#sushiholic#mariacos#ceviche#aguachiles#cocteles#campechana (at Birrieria Los Zarapes) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfNF-N_vGYZ/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#Argentina #América #Justicia: #Homicidio de #EmaPiorno de Gale. #PrisiónPerpetua para José Antonio Bigi Esta tarde salió el veredicto de la Justicia. Hace minutos el #Fiscal #FabioArcomano me comunicó lo sucedido. La decisión recae por el delito de 'Homicidio #CriminisCausa': quiere decir que #Bigi cometió el #Asesinato para ocultar el #Robo. #Info: #LNP (en Fotografía Mirtha Muhs) https://www.instagram.com/p/CepCK8mAvlP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Raiden and Pliskin (MGS2)

Long time not posting huh?

Social media has been hard for me lately, I don't really feel comfortable using them.

But I have to show you I am still alive and drawing somehow in the meantime.

This drawing is made using copic/promarkers and pencils entirely.

I've been playing the Metal Gear saga lately... They're interesting games.

Have a nice day.

- Bigi

Finished Brightheart design sheet.

This was difficult to draw. I spent a long time thinking her design and I tried to search the best way to portray her scars. It was hard to find accurate information in cats, so if anyone who reads this would like to offer some critique or advice I’d love to read it. 

More information:

o  Warning: this point contains details about her wounds and mental state, skip this point if you are 14 years old and younger or don’t feel okay reading this stuff, as it is graphic. Proceed with caution. Her right side scars were done while trying to climb a tree to get away from the dogs. Unfortunately though Swifpaw’s sacrifice gave Brightpaw time to react and try to escape, the dogs grabbed her hips from the left side. The rest of the scars were done because she curled on the floor leaving her left side exposed. That way she got heavy bite wounds on her face and torso. He face got the worse part. Both her left eye and ear is gone and some of her upper face was ripped off, thus her left eye socket is assimetrical. While on treatment her face got swollen and was in complete mental shock (Acute stress disorder if she was diagnosed in human standards). After taking her bandages off and a lot of work from Cinderpelt to stabilize her and avoid it from developing into a worse condition, she seemed to get to a better mental state... until she saw her reflection. Since then, both that incident and hearing Bluestar’s assigned name made her relapse and suffer mentally (Post-traumatic stress dissorder).  Later after treatment hair grew back, blending a bit her scars, but not fully. She still has nightmares and can’t bear the thought of dogs, but has learnt to accept her scars and self image and to stop blaming herself for Swiftpaw’s death. This was thanks to early intervention from Cinderpelt and Cloudtail’s emotional support. Firestar recognized her recovery and the pain that her assigned name brought her, and thus changed her name to Brightheart to honor her strength and kindness, as well as her strong will to live and never give up. I don’t have much experience in medical fields and while I did ressearch, I could have got it wrong. I’d appreciate input in that case so I can learn and change it. I take these topics seriously.

o As she got old her ginger patches started to become smaller as white hair grew on them. They also became slightly diluted and desaturated. Small spots from old age appeared on her face scars.

o Just because I’m not sure if it’s very telling, on her elder drawing she’s sleeping on Cloudtail’s back leg and tail. She likes to sleep like that because Cloudtail has a very soft and fluffy tail and gives her comfort.

Iphigenie auf Tauris - Pablo Aran Gimeno (Orest), Damiano Ottavio Bigi (Pylades), and Ruth Amarante (Iphigenie)- photo by John Ross

just stumbled across this blog while looking for more Erina content (there is currently a criminally low amount) and I love the vibes

anyway, question: what do you think is your favorite scene (or scenes it can be really hard to choose) from any persona game?

im such a goof lol i will slurp up any and all erina content, i just love her so much and its so cool when other people do too! it kiiiiinda feels like talking about an oc with friends in a weird way? lmao?

i think my favorite scene from any persona game is ryuji going OFF in strikers defending sophie. struck a real chord with me and i think is so emblematic of the found family that really ties p5 together. probably one of my fave scenes in any game i've played!

i'm gonna replay 4 soon though and p3reload when it comes out!! so lol maybe my answer to this question will change in a month or two!!!

thanks for asking!

Michael Jackson's Birthday