South African men are worse off than women – study

It’s always dangerous to challenge someone’s cherished victimhood, but a new academic study does just that: men in South Africa are more disadvantaged than women.

This may upend a few certitudes about gender equality, where women are perceived as the natural victims of discrimination. That certainty has launched a thousand think-tanks and academic studies and embedded itself into every aspect of our law.

Rather than conduct a straightforward headcount of women and men in all aspects of life, this study looks at quality of educational opportunities, healthy life expectancy, and overall life satisfaction – and coverts this into a numerical value, the Basic Index of Gender Inequality (BIGI).

These three factors were identified as the minimal ingredients of a good life. Gender parity does not mean everything in life is rosy, say the authors. Men and women can be equally miserable, which will not show up on the parity rankings.

The study was carried out by researchers from the University of Missouri in the US and the University of Essex in the UK. The survey covered 134 nations, representing 6.8 billion people.

The researchers preface their findings by highlighting the limitations of other attempts to rank gender inequality by failing to look at areas where men are disadvantaged, such as healthy lifespan.

Interestingly, Bahrain comes out as the top country in terms of gender equality. Life expectancies between men and women are equal, though men fall slightly behind in terms of basic education and life satisfaction.

Israel is the highest ranking country in which men have it better than women, though the difference is small.

China is another country where men have it better. Chinese girls fall behind considerably in basic education, but men have a lower life expectancy (66 years, compared to 69 years for women).

South Africa deviates from most African and developing countries in that women have it better. This is particularly evident in education, where men fall considerably behind women.

“In this regard, South Africa deviates much from many other sub-Saharan nations (where often girls fall behind). Further, men have a shorter healthy life expectancy (48 years for men and 51 years for women in the 2012-2016 period),” says the study.

How to improve

“Both boys’ and men’s education and health need urgent attention. As for Brazil, a reduction in violence will support this in addition to preventative health care and investment in educational resources.”

Men were found to be more disadvantaged than women in 91 countries while women were more disadvantaged than men in 43. Men are worse off in the US, Russia and most European nations.

The study recommends policies targeting specific gender disparities to improve the overall quality of life.

“It is important to realise that gender equality is not a zero-sum game. Instead, improving the position of one gender will likely positively influence the other gender as well,” say the authors.

“For example, improving educational opportunities for girls in Africa will benefit the families they will later form. Improving men’s health benefits the families in which they live. Ultimately, we all win by increasing gender equality.

“Men’s disadvantages are particularly related to health factors, especially in the developed world. Investment in prevention programmes and a more coherent approach to male health is key to improving this situation. For example, there are various national and international strategies for women’s health, but few for men’s health. Creating a national and international strategy for men’s health is a first step to reduce gender inequality in this area.”

Women’s disadvantages are particularly strong in Africa, particularly when it comes to access to education and maternal death during life birth.

The study can be found here.

AADP: The Average Absolute Deviation from Parity (AADP) ranking gives a sense of how close a country is to achieving gender equality (remember, equality does not necessarily mean that men and women are doing well, on average, just that they are more or less equal within their life circumstances).

BIGI: The Basic Index of Gender Inequality (BIGI) ranking is based on a simple average of healthy life expectancy, basic education and life satisfaction. A BIGI score below zero means women are better off than men.

Ideally, a country will have a good BIGI and a good AADP ranking. However, there are countries with a good BIGI ranking and a much lower AADP ranking. In such countries, both men and women have considerable problems, but on the whole, men and women’s disadvantages cancel each other out.

South Africa

Rank	Rank in overall parity	Country	BIGI	AADP	Basic education	Healthy lifespan	Life satisfaction	Human development index
1	12	Bahrain	-0.00794	0.00794	-0.01264	0.00000	-0.01117	0.82050
2	24	Great Britain	-0.01455	0.01567	-0.01214	-0.03318	0.00169	0.90500
3	27	Netherlands	-0.01585	0.01585	-0.01109	-0.02748	-0.00898	0.92300
4	35	Iceland	-0.01768	0.01681	-0.01101	-0.02437	-0.01506	0.91550
5	32	New Zealand	-0.01709	0.01709	-0.01033	-0.02725	-0.01368	0.91150
6	30	Serbia	-0.01670	0.01851	-0.00487	-0.04794	0.00273	0.77200
7	39	Norway	-0.01950	0.01865	-0.00417	-0.03303	-0.01875	0.94600
8	34	Ireland	-0.01744	0.02011	0.00401	-0.04635	-0.00997	0.91375
9	40	Ecuador	-0.02012	0.02012	-0.00663	-0.05348	-0.00025	0.73500
10	31	Lebanon	-0.01697	0.02016	0.00479	-0.04472	-0.01098	0.76375
11	10	Malta	-0.00732	0.02170	-0.01064	-0.03288	0.02157	0.84600
12	16	Belgium	-0.01118	0.02190	0.01609	-0.04925	-0.00038	0.89250
13	2	Israel	0.00063	0.02230	0.02111	-0.03251	0.01328	0.89575
14	45	United Arab Emirates	-0.02244	0.02244	-0.03587	0.00000	-0.03145	0.83425
15	26	Sweden	-0.01575	0.02253	0.01017	-0.03792	-0.01950	0.90800
16	46	Denmark	-0.02347	0.02347	-0.03058	-0.03604	-0.00380	0.92450
17	23	Canada	-0.01417	0.02380	0.01445	-0.03777	-0.01919	0.91500
18	11	Switzerland	-0.00794	0.02391	0.02404	-0.04011	-0.00757	0.93675
19	49	Australia	-0.02420	0.02420	-0.01385	-0.04032	-0.01844	0.93625
20	36	Czech Rep.	-0.01833	0.02466	0.00325	-0.06448	0.00625	0.87225
21	52	Cyprus	-0.02550	0.02550	-0.01317	-0.03495	-0.02838	0.85225
22	43	France	-0.02177	0.02567	-0.00430	-0.06686	0.00584	0.89200
23	4	Azerbaijan	-0.00267	0.02639	0.02781	-0.04359	0.00777	0.75350
24	1	Italy	0.00021	0.02695	0.00178	-0.04011	0.03897	0.88025
25	87	Belize	-0.04794	0.02939	0.00323	-0.08355	-0.00140	0.70575
26	20	Germany	-0.01299	0.02945	0.02468	-0.05147	-0.01219	0.92225
27	58	Spain	-0.02990	0.02990	-0.00438	-0.05832	-0.02702	0.87925
28	21	Montenegro	-0.01312	0.03023	0.03238	-0.03980	-0.01852	0.80325
29	33	Austria	-0.01739	0.03057	0.01978	-0.05998	-0.01196	0.89100
30	42	Luxembourg	-0.02113	0.03091	-0.03208	-0.04599	0.01467	0.89450
31	18	Albania	-0.01289	0.03223	0.02901	-0.01818	-0.04950	0.76150
32	66	Malaysia	-0.03595	0.03242	-0.00505	-0.05152	-0.04071	0.78450
33	9	Macedonia	0.00683	0.03244	0.02806	-0.03841	0.03085	0.74450
34	61	United States of America	-0.03294	0.03294	-0.02006	-0.04757	-0.03118	0.91725
35	62	Jordan	-0.03303	0.03303	-0.00468	-0.02173	-0.07268	0.73900
36	8	China	0.00626	0.03352	0.05967	-0.03504	-0.00585	0.72700
37	63	Chile	-0.03321	0.03356	-0.03905	-0.06111	0.00052	0.84100
38	38	Greece	-0.01916	0.03414	0.02247	-0.04909	-0.03086	0.86325
39	37	Peru	0.01863	0.03438	0.07510	-0.02362	0.00442	0.73575
40	60	Moldova (Republic of)	-0.03240	0.03452	0.00318	-0.09538	-0.00501	0.69550
41	65	Mexico	-0.03545	0.03545	-0.04241	-0.05797	-0.00595	0.75675
42	13	Madagascar	0.00997	0.03580	0.06866	-0.03652	-0.00223	0.51000
43	68	Paraguay	-0.03600	0.03600	-0.05271	-0.05400	-0.00128	0.68800
44	44	Slovenia	-0.02206	0.03621	-0.01060	-0.07680	0.02122	0.88600
45	70	Brazil	-0.03678	0.03678	-0.03711	-0.06858	-0.00464	0.74725
46	50	Romania	-0.02455	0.03692	-0.01062	-0.08159	0.01856	0.79775
47	59	Kuwait	-0.03106	0.03694	-0.04861	0.00882	-0.05339	0.79550
48	6	Singapore	0.00315	0.03701	0.05710	-0.04451	-0.00942	0.92275
49	5	Indonesia	-0.00309	0.03777	0.05202	-0.03468	-0.02660	0.68350
50	72	Finland	-0.03802	0.03802	-0.00628	-0.06502	-0.04276	0.89125
51	25	Kyrgyz Republic	-0.01509	0.03857	0.02218	-0.08049	0.01304	0.65725
52	29	Georgia	-0.01654	0.03866	0.03072	-0.08279	0.00246	0.76275
53	73	Bangladesh	-0.03892	0.03892	-0.03523	-0.00904	-0.07251	0.57225
54	41	Slovak Republic	-0.02104	0.03991	0.00314	-0.09143	0.02516	0.84150
55	76	Tajikistan	0.03958	0.04158	0.10556	-0.00299	0.01618	0.62275
56	22	Bosnia and Herzegovina	-0.01387	0.04215	0.03922	-0.05714	-0.03010	0.74350
57	47	Hungary	-0.02361	0.04249	0.01302	-0.09915	0.01529	0.83200
58	80	Japan	-0.04286	0.04286	-0.01000	-0.06940	-0.04917	0.89950
59	19	Bulgaria	-0.01290	0.04362	0.02541	-0.08478	0.02068	0.78850
60	81	Costa Rica	-0.04373	0.04373	-0.04921	-0.04225	-0.03972	0.77025
61	67	Kazakhstan	-0.03598	0.04513	0.00042	-0.12167	0.01330	0.78950
62	56	Croatia	-0.02832	0.04519	-0.04455	-0.06571	0.02531	0.82175
63	85	Honduras	-0.04623	0.04623	-0.08593	-0.04644	-0.00631	0.62000
64	78	Korea (Republic of)	-0.04113	0.04664	0.00827	-0.07243	-0.05922	0.89675
65	82	Latvia	-0.04533	0.04759	-0.01947	-0.11991	0.00338	0.82350
66	86	Estonia	-0.04631	0.04791	-0.01740	-0.12394	0.00240	0.86100
67	54	El Salvador	-0.02645	0.04903	0.03387	-0.08932	-0.02390	0.67725
68	89	Panama	-0.04907	0.04907	-0.07370	-0.05781	-0.01569	0.78150
69	28	Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	0.01648	0.04956	0.06422	-0.04963	0.03483	0.66800
70	14	Zimbabwe	-0.01028	0.04996	0.06027	-0.07089	-0.01872	0.50225
71	91	Poland	-0.05090	0.05090	-0.01735	-0.09907	-0.03628	0.84875
72	3	Saudi Arabia	-0.00155	0.05144	0.07483	-0.03087	-0.04862	0.84075
73	53	Viet Nam	-0.02598	0.05251	0.03979	-0.09025	-0.02748	0.67600
74	75	Botswana	-0.03953	0.05468	-0.13115	-0.01016	0.02272	0.69650
75	77	Lithuania	-0.03962	0.05484	0.01067	-0.14168	0.01217	0.84225
76	69	Rwanda	0.03671	0.05536	0.09620	-0.02934	0.04055	0.49100
77	97	Colombia	-0.05558	0.05558	-0.07398	-0.06360	-0.02917	0.72075
78	48	Mauritius	-0.02381	0.05565	0.05216	-0.07756	-0.03725	0.77350
79	55	Burundi	0.02732	0.05646	0.12470	-0.03787	-0.00681	0.40300
80	15	Kenya	0.01113	0.05649	0.10143	-0.03056	-0.03748	0.54800
81	100	Sri Lanka	-0.05761	0.05650	-0.05267	-0.06873	-0.04809	0.76175
82	98	South Africa	-0.05560	0.05654	-0.10774	-0.06047	0.00141	0.66075
83	7	Turkey	-0.00616	0.05673	0.07585	-0.05373	-0.04059	0.76100
84	99	Portugal	-0.05676	0.05676	-0.08245	-0.06027	-0.02754	0.83700
85	101	Jamaica	-0.05821	0.05908	-0.09979	-0.06667	-0.01078	0.72825
86	104	Argentina	-0.05960	0.05960	-0.08308	-0.07246	-0.02325	0.82525
87	105	Thailand	-0.06116	0.06116	-0.07061	-0.08641	-0.02645	0.73700
88	83	Belarus	-0.04567	0.06261	-0.01056	-0.15196	0.02530	0.79650
89	74	Russia	-0.03949	0.06416	0.01739	-0.15548	0.01963	0.80275
90	88	Trinidad and Tobago	-0.04859	0.06463	-0.05030	-0.03800	-0.10558	0.77750
91	106	Armenia	-0.06523	0.06523	-0.10006	-0.08600	-0.00962	0.73975
92	107	Dominican Rep.	-0.06627	0.06627	-0.12793	-0.03097	-0.03991	0.71525
93	103	Qatar	-0.05937	0.06628	-0.10421	0.02353	-0.07111	0.85200
94	108	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	-0.06653	0.06653	-0.09542	-0.07570	-0.02848	0.76925
95	109	Nicaragua	-0.06813	0.06813	-0.13631	-0.05758	-0.01050	0.63825
96	71	Syria	0.03680	0.06987	0.12976	-0.06117	0.01868	0.57475
97	51	Ukraine	-0.02481	0.07017	-0.01458	-0.12789	0.06805	0.74525
98	92	Tanzania (United Republic of)	0.05197	0.07155	0.15517	-0.02937	0.03010	0.51875
99	96	Ghana	0.05442	0.07192	0.15320	-0.02625	0.03631	0.57500
100	111	Uruguay	-0.07366	0.07366	-0.10006	-0.07714	-0.04378	0.79200
101	17	Guatemala	0.01220	0.07688	0.13361	-0.07196	-0.02505	0.62550
102	112	Mongolia	-0.07693	0.07693	-0.06632	-0.11113	-0.05333	0.72925
103	93	Tunisia	0.05382	0.07701	0.18283	-0.03936	0.00885	0.72250
104	79	Algeria	0.04284	0.08338	0.18834	-0.01587	-0.04591	0.74150
105	116	Suriname	-0.08442	0.08552	-0.17081	-0.08162	0.00412	0.72225
106	84	Uganda	0.04568	0.08607	0.19763	-0.05435	-0.00624	0.48550
107	110	Malawi	0.07135	0.09029	0.22548	-0.02840	0.01698	0.46850
108	90	Cambodia	0.04941	0.09393	0.18443	-0.06679	0.03058	0.55500
109	57	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	-0.02898	0.09678	0.10170	-0.03137	-0.15729	0.77175
110	94	Cameroon	0.05383	0.09809	0.22685	-0.01020	-0.05722	0.51000
111	64	Egypt	0.03333	0.09841	0.19761	-0.04158	-0.05604	0.68650
112	121	Philippines	-0.09874	0.09874	-0.15951	-0.08839	-0.04832	0.67700
113	115	Zambia	0.08292	0.10469	0.25035	-0.03230	0.03142	0.57250
114	117	India	0.08477	0.10761	0.28583	-0.03425	0.00275	0.61125
115	120	Nigeria	0.09076	0.11014	0.30240	-0.00426	-0.02377	0.52175
116	113	Angola	0.07718	0.11298	0.27046	-0.05968	-0.00879	0.52850
117	122	Bhutan	0.10976	0.11433	0.31798	-0.02150	0.00352	0.59900
118	119	Mauritania	0.09051	0.12053	0.29360	-0.04503	0.02294	0.50900
119	102	Namibia	-0.05866	0.12256	-0.21754	-0.04777	0.10235	0.63350
120	95	Morocco	0.05386	0.12388	0.26661	-0.02888	-0.07616	0.64150
121	114	Nepal	0.08147	0.13153	0.31949	-0.02000	-0.05509	0.55225
122	123	Senegal	0.11005	0.13227	0.36348	-0.02967	-0.00366	0.48550
123	127	Burkina Faso	0.12362	0.13767	0.39169	-0.02107	0.00024	0.39750
124	124	Pakistan	0.11617	0.14280	0.38846	-0.00338	-0.03656	0.54450
125	125	Ethiopia	0.11647	0.14572	0.37882	-0.04388	0.01447	0.43775
126	128	Mozambique	0.12896	0.15070	0.41463	-0.01286	0.02461	0.41150
127	129	Lesotho	-0.15264	0.15520	-0.36738	-0.06563	-0.03260	0.49175
128	126	Cote d’Ivoire	0.11995	0.15663	0.41494	-0.03804	-0.01689	0.46275
129	132	Mali	0.16047	0.16047	0.45581	0.00148	0.02414	0.43275
130	118	Yemen	0.09023	0.16653	0.38513	-0.02546	-0.08900	0.49475
131	130	Guinea	0.15346	0.17123	0.48838	-0.02000	-0.00532	0.41150
132	131	Liberia	0.15764	0.17410	0.49762	-0.01887	-0.00582	0.42450
133	133	Benin	0.18726	0.18961	0.49987	-0.00980	0.05915	0.47675
134	134	Chad	0.23114	0.24009	0.66015	-0.01343	0.04670	0.39175

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