US News & World Report Provides Important Data on Gender Equality in its Best Countries Rankings
The Best Country report from US News & World Report is in its ninth year. As part of its ranking, the report includes information on a country’s commitment to gender equality.
The results show that international support for gender equality remains strong all across the globe, despite generational gaps. The very good news is that 89% of respondents believe that women should have the same rights as men. Oddly, support for gender equality is stronger among those aged 46 and older, with 94% in favor.
The overall rankings are based on assessment of ten subcategories. One of these is Social Purpose, which is meant to measure a country’s commitment to gender equity and overall. The US ranked 20th in this subcategory. The Nordic countries, Canada, and New Zealand occupy the top five positions.
The weekly news magazine is known for its rankings, perhaps the most famous of which is the annual ranking of US Colleges and Universities. The survey of best countries is carried out in conjunction with the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
The results of the Best Countries shown below were calculated from a very large number of surveys in 36 countries across a number of different regions of the world.
Here are the Top Ten overall “Best Countries”
1. Switzerland
2. Japan
3. United States
4. Canada
5. Australia
6. Sweden
7. Germany
8. United Kingdom
9. New Zealand
10. Denmark
Switzerland tops the list for the third year in a row, and for the seventh time since 2017. Japan ranked #2, and the US moved up two places, to #3, from 2023.
The surveys were conducted online, and measured perceptions of countries by those who completed the questionnaire. A total of 17,195 persons responded. US News & WR used a proprietary tool developed by WPP, a global marketing and communications services.
The results represent the attempt to quantify impressions. This was done by asking a number of questions concerning 73 attributes ascribed to a country. The attributes were designed to be grouped into ten categories to create subcategories, and the quantified results produce a score for these subcategories.
To determine the weight that scores for each subranking had in the overall Best Countries score, most were correlated to 2023 gross domestic product at purchasing power parity per capita. Subrankings that correlated more strongly with GDP were weighted more heavily, and all weights were standardized to total 100. Since GDP is a measure of wealth, it should be noted that there is a potential bias which assigns more weight to scores of wealthier countries. Perhaps money can buy happiness.
Perhaps the most interesting exercise is to look into the various subcategories. By cross-checking categories, we note that Switzerland is in the top five for Quality of Life, Open for Business, and Entrepreneurship. This indicates a country that treats its citizens well but can still nurture an inviting business climate. It does not have to come to a choice of one or the other as so many conservatives would like us to believe.
Or perhaps even more interesting is that those socialist hell-holes Finland, Sweden, Norway, and Denmark are in the top ten, if not top five for both Quality of Life and Open for Business categories; Sweden is also in the top ten for entrepreneurship as well.
As for the USA, we don’t make the top 20 for Quality of Life or Open for Business. In those areas one could suggest that we’re getting the worst of both worlds. We rank #1 in global Power due to our enormous military, #1 in Agility, our ability to adapt to new situations. Neither of these are terribly useful when it comes to the everyday life of most of our citizens. We also rank highly for Entrepreneurship, at #2, and #3 for the cultural influence we project across the globe.
Here is the link to the Best Countries report:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries
The description of the process is described in the FAQ section:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/frequently-asked-questions
