Gender parity is a statistical measure used to describe ratios between men and women, or boys and girls, in a given population. Gender parity may refer to the proportionate representation of men and women in a given group, also referred to as sex ratio, or it may mean the ratio between any quantifiable indicator among men against the same indicator among women.
The terms gender parity and gender equality are sometimes used interchangeably but gender parity differs from gender equality in that it is a descriptive measure only and does not involve value judgements or argue for policy changes in the way gender equality does. However, gender parity may be one of the important metrics used to assess the state of gender equality within a group or organization.
Within the field of sociology, gender parity is generally understood to refer to a binary distinction between people based in identity and sex differences. Though the word "gender" is part of the term, the meaning as it is used is closer to assigned sex than to gender identity.
Health and survival
According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2020 global human health and survival is fairly close to gender parity at 95.7%. Irregularities in gender parity in health and survival over time and space make it difficult to draw statistically meaningful conclusions. On a global average, men die younger and experience greater rates of illness than women, but gender parity scores become irregular when calculated on the basis of a particular disease or cause of death. On average, gender parity scores for cardiovascular disease, suicide, certain cancers, and accidents fall below 1, meaning that these indicators are observed at greater rates among men. Global scores for stroke, lower respiratory infections, and breast cancer fall above 1, indicating that these are more often observed in women. The lower life expectancy among men is largely due to disproportionate rates of male infant mortality versus female.
In education
Gender parity in education can be calculated by dividing the number of female students at a given level of education by the number of male students at the same level. The resulting value is called a gender parity score. A gender parity score between 0 and 1 shows a greater number of male students and any number over 1 indicates a greater number of female students in the population of interest. A population is considered to have achieved gender parity if it scores between .97 and 1.03.
UNESCO gathers international gender parity scores relating to relative access to education among male and female individuals and compiles this data into the Gender Parity Index. This index is used by many organizations to assess gender parity and to monitor it over time.
Primary and secondary school
Enrollment rates
About 60% of countries have achieved gender parity in the enrollment rates of boys and girls between the ages of five and eighteen. The regions of the Middle East/North Africa, Eastern/Southern, and South Asia score lowest in this area, with far fewer girls enrolling in elementary and high school than boys.
Higher education
Enrollment rates
According to data from the World Bank, as of 2013 more women than men were enrolled in institutions of tertiary education globally. Africa was the only continent where more men than women were found to be enrolled but this is with only of 25 of 54 countries reporting. Mexico, Pakistan, Switzerland, and Greece have gender parity in tertiary education enrollment.
In the United States, the average enrollment rate of female students has steadily increased over the past 30 years, from 63% up to 71%, while the average enrollment rate of male students has remained steady at 61%.
Graduation rates
Gender parity in graduation rates from colleges and universities varies widely from region to region and a global average cannot be assessed at this time due to lack of data. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) does aggregate this data and across its 37 member countries more women hold tertiary degrees than do men. For the OECD countries, across the 25-34 age group, 39% of men and 51% of women hold tertiary degrees for a gender parity score of 1.3. Compare this to the US tertiary degree attainment gender parity score of 1.1, with 63% of female students and 57% for male students completing their degrees.