Gender And Development Index 2011

The Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) introduced an African Gender and Development Index (AGDI) to facilitate an effective monitoring mechanism on gender equality and women’s advancement. The AGDI is designed to measure the gap in the status of women and men in Africa and to assess the progress made by African governments in implementing the gender policies they have developed. It is a composite index consisting of two parts, a Gender Status Index (GSI) and the African Women’s Progress Scoreboard (AWPS).

The AGDI incorporates the major international and African charters and conventions and integrates a number of variables that have a particular importance for African men and women. It is widely recognized that the existing global instruments used to measure gender and development issues and women’s empowerment should be expanded to better reflect the realities of women and men on the African continent, so as to assess the gender gap in each African country and to help governments improve their performance on gender equality and equity.