Reader’s guide

The Social Institutions and Gender Index 2019 conceptual framework2

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Development Centre’s Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) is a unique cross-country measure of discriminatory social institutions, which include formal and informal laws, social norms and practices that restrict women’s and girls’ rights, access to empowerment opportunities and resources. The SIGI comprises four components that provide policy makers with facts and evidence in order to enhance governments’ efforts to deliver their gender equality commitments (Box 1).

Box 1. The SIGI components

The SIGI comprises four components:

• country profiles containing comprehensive, qualitative information on legal frameworks and action plans to protect women’s rights and promote gender equality (for 180 countries)

• the Gender, Institutions and Development Database (GID-DB), comprising variables measuring the level of discrimination in laws (categorical variable), social norms (attitudinal data) and practices (prevalence rates) for 180 countries

• a cross-country ranking classifying 120 countries according to their level of discrimination in social institutions

• a policy simulator allowing policy makers to scope out reform options and assess their likely effects on gender equality in social institutions

The SIGI and its dimensions look at the gaps that legislation, attitudes and practices create between women’s and men’s rights and opportunities. The SIGI covers four dimensions, spanning major socio-economic areas that affect women’s and girls’ entire lifetimes (Figure 1):

• The “Discrimination in the family” dimension captures social institutions that limit women’s decision-making power and undervalue their status in the household and the family.

• The “Restricted physical integrity” dimension captures social institutions that increase women’s and girls’ vulnerability to multiple forms of violence and limit their control over their bodies and reproductive autonomy.

• The “Restricted access to productive and financial resources” dimension captures women’s restricted access to and control over critical productive and economic resources and assets.

• The “Restricted civil liberties” dimension captures discriminatory laws and practices restricting women’s access to, and participation and voice in, the public and social spheres.

Figure 1. Composition of the SIGI 2019

Source: (OECD, n.d.[1]), Social Institutions and Gender Index, www.genderindex.org.

Each dimension builds on four indicators combining qualitative and quantitative information. In theory, each indicator builds on a combination of three variables:

• law variables, which are discrete variables, and aim to measure the level of discrimination in formal and informal laws

• attitudes and practices variables, which are continuous variables, and aim to measure the level of discrimination in social norms.

The variables used as proxies for each indicator depend on data availability, reliability and country coverage. For example, some variables are not available at all (such as information on inheritance practices), and some variables are only available for a few countries (such as the time spent on unpaid care work). Consequently, discrepancies exist between the theoretical framework and the variables effectively included in the SIGI 2019 Global Report. Overall, the SIGI framework builds on 27 core variables.

The conceptual framework for the fourth edition of the SIGI in 2019 was entirely revised, which renders comparison over time impossible at the aggregate level (index, dimensions and indicators). Nevertheless, some comparison over time is possible at the variable level for the attitudes and practices variables. For more details on the SIGI methodology, refer to Annex B.

Geographical coverage

The data collection process for the fourth edition of the SIGI in 2019 covered 29 countries in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), which is divided into three major sub-regions: the Caribbean (10 countries), Central America (8 countries) and South America (11 countries) (Table 1).

Table 1. Countries included in the SIGI analysis, by LAC sub-regions
The Caribbean	Central America	South America
Antigua and Barbuda	Belize	Argentina
Bahamas	Costa Rica	Bolivia
Barbados	El Salvador	Brazil
Cuba	Guatemala	Chile
Dominica	Honduras	Colombia
Dominican Republic	Mexico	Ecuador
Grenada	Nicaragua	Guyana
Haiti	Panama	Paraguay
Jamaica		Peru
Trinidad and Tobago		Uruguay
		Venezuela
Source: (OECD, n.d.[1]), Social Institutions and Gender Index, www.genderindex.org.
StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888934136231

Due to data limitations and the fact that an overall SIGI score can only be computed for countries with data points in every single indicator and variable composing the index, only 18 countries in the LAC region were given a SIGI score in 2019 (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Number of SIGI dimensions and indicators computed, by country

Note: The SIGI framework comprises a total of 4 dimensions and 16 indicators.

Source: (OECD, 2019[2]), Social Institutions and Gender Index, https://stats.oecd.org.

 StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888934136250

Three countries – namely Argentina, Panama and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (hereafter “Venezuela”) – have enough data to compute scores in 15 SIGI indicators. In Argentina and Panama, the critical missing data point is the lifetime prevalence of domestic violence. In addition to this data point, Venezuela is also missing data on attitudes towards violence against women. Consequently, scores can be calculated for these countries in three of the four SIGI dimensions, with the exception of the “Restricted physical integrity” dimension. Finally, in the remaining eight countries – namely Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, and Guyana – the number of variables with available data ranges from 18 in Dominica to 23 in Belize and Cuba (Table 2). In these eight countries, only one dimension score was computed (“Discrimination in the family”).

Table 2. Number of SIGI variables available, by country
		Bolivia	Brazil	Chile	Colombia	Costa Rica	Dominican Republic	Ecuador	El Salvador	Guatemala	Haiti	Honduras	Jamaica	Mexico	Nicaragua	Paraguay	Peru	Trinidad and Tobago	Uruguay	Argentina	Panama	Venezuela	Belize	Cuba	Barbados	Bahamas	Guyana	Antigua and Barbuda	Grenada	Dominica
Child marriage	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Household responsibilities	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Divorce	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Inheritance	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Violence against women	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Attitudes	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	+	+	+	-	+	-	-	-
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Female genital mutilation	Attitudes	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Missing women	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-
Reproductive autonomy	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-
Land assets	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Non-land assets	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Financial services	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Workplace rights	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Attitudes	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	-	-	-
Citizenship rights	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Political voice	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
Freedom of movement	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
Access to justice	Laws	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+
	Practices	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	+	-	+	-	-	-	-	-	-
Number of variables available		27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	27	26	26	25	23	23	22	21	21	20	20	18
Number of variables missing		-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	1	2	4	4	5	6	6	7	7	9
Source: (OECD, 2019[3]), Gender, Institutions and Development Database, https://oe.cd/ds/GIDDB2019
StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888934136269

Timing and data sources

Qualitative data

The qualitative information for the 29 LAC region country profiles was developed through a multiple-stage internal drafting and reviewing process. First, legal consultants responded to a questionnaire comprising 311 questions on social institutions and fully referenced country profiles, following a standardised structure to ensure comparability across countries/territories. Second, gender experts and/or government representatives with knowledge of the policy and legal landscape for gender equality and women’s rights at a national level validated the responses. The cut-off date for the qualitative information was 31 July 2017. All country profiles can be retrieved from the website www.genderindex.org.

A coding manual was created to quantify the level of legal discrimination based on the qualitative information collected. The coding manual ensures consistency across variables, guarantees objectivity in the selection criteria for scoring, and allows for comparability across countries as well as over time (see Annex B). Of the 311 questions, 144 were used to assign a discrete value to each of the 14 legal variables. The coding manual is based on all applicable legal frameworks, including civil, as well as customary, religious or traditional practices or laws. When information is missing or insufficient, variables do not receive a value. A five-level scale (0, 25, 50, 75 and 1) serves as the basis for encoding the categorical variables and reflects the level of discrimination in formal and informal laws (Table 3).

Table 3. Scoring methodology for legal variables
	Score
The legal framework provides women with the same rights as men, with no exceptions, and applies to all groups of women. There are no customary, religious or traditional practices or laws that discriminate against women.	0
The legal framework provides women with the same rights as men, with no exceptions, and applies to all groups of women. However, some customary, religious or traditional practices or laws do discriminate against women.	25
The legal framework provides women with the same rights as men. However, it foresees exceptions, or does not apply to all groups of women.	50
The legal framework restricts some women’s rights.	75
The legal framework fully discriminates against women’s rights.	1
Source: (OECD, n.d.[1]), Social Institutions and Gender Index, www.genderindex.org.
StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888934136288

Quantitative data

Quantitative information, such as attitudinal and prevalence data, was collected from various secondary data sources according to the country and variable. The OECD Development Centre’s Gender Team used international data sources – such as Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the World Values Survey (WVS), and the National Household Survey (NHS) – and then proceeded to harmonise the data in order to ensure comparability across countries. The cut-off date for the quantitative information was 31 December 2017.

SIGI scores and classification

The SIGI is a composite index. The scores for the overall index, the dimensions and the indicators range from 0 to 100, with 0 indicating no discrimination and 100 indicating absolute discrimination against women. In order to facilitate the analysis and presentation of results, countries are classified into five categories at the index level, as well as at the dimension and indicator levels. Table 4 summarises the categories and the cut-off points of the different categories based on the SIGI scores on the one hand, and on the dimension and indicator scores on the other hand.

Table 4. Classification of countries based on SIGI scores and dimension/indicator scores
Level of discrimination	SIGI scores	Dimension/indicator scores
Very low	[0-20]	[0-10]
Low level	[20-30]	[10-25]
Medium level	[30-40]	[25-50]
High level	[40-50]	[50-75]
Very high level	[50-100]	[75-100]
Note: Both SIGI scores and dimension/indicator scores range from 0 to 100, with 0 indicating no discrimination and 100 indicating absolute discrimination.
Source: (OECD, n.d.[1]), Social Institutions and Gender Index, www.genderindex.org.
StatLink https://doi.org/10.1787/888934136307

Glossary

Table 5. Glossary and definitions of terms
Term	Definition	Reference
Child marriage	Any formal marriage or informal union between a child under the age of 18 years and an adult or another child	(UNICEF, n.d.[4])
Customary, religious or traditional practices or laws	Customs, religions and traditional practices observed among a specific community	(OECD, n.d.[5])
Discrimination against women	Any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women	(CEDAW, 1979[6])
Domestic violence	Violence that occurs within the private sphere, generally between individuals who are related through blood, intimacy or law	(CEDAW, 2017[7])
Equal access	Equal opportunities to have access to resources, assets, services, training and education opportunities, markets, sources of income, and decent employment opportunities	(FAO, 2016[8])
Equal opportunity	Equality in employment regardless of race, skin colour, sex, religion and so forth; non-discriminatory practices in hiring employees	(United Nations, n.d.[9])
Female genital mutilation	All procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons	(United Nations, 2008[10])
Femicide	Intentional killing of females (women or girls) because they are females	WHO, 2012
Forced marriage	A marriage that takes place without the free or valid consent of one or both of the partners and involves either physical or emotional duress	(OHCHR, n.d.[11])
Gender-based violence	Any harmful act directed against individuals or groups of individuals on the basis of their gender or sex	(United Nations, 1994[12]) (UN Women, n.d.[13])
Gender gap	Disproportionate difference between men and women and boys and girls, particularly as reflected in attainment of development goals, access to resources and levels of participation	(UN Women, n.d.[13])
Gender norms	Ideas about how men and women should be and act. Most of such “rules” are learned and internalised early in life, which creates an inter-generational cycle of gender socialisation and stereotyping.	(UN Women, n.d.[13])
Gender-responsiveness	Creation of an environment that reflects an understanding of girls’ and women’s realities and needs, and that addresses them by paying attention to the unique needs of females; valuing their perspectives; respecting their experiences; understanding developmental differences between girls and boys, women and men; and ultimately empowering girls and women	(UNICEF, 2017[14])
Machismo	Form of hyper-masculinity, which valorises dominance and violence	(Nuñez, 2016[15])
Marianismo	Valorisation of submissive hyper-femininity, which prizes women’s ability to endure the suffering inflicted upon them	(Nuñez, 2016[15])
Missing women	Concept first introduced by Amartya Sen in 1990. He hypothesised that more than 100 million women were missing due to the excess mortality of women from inequality and neglect. The “missing women” phenomenon is captured by the shortfall in the number of girls aged 0-4 years, relative to their expected survival rate in the absence of sex-selective abortions and female infanticide, and with similar levels of health and nutrition to boys, correcting for natural biological and physiological differences.	(Sen, 1990[16])
Sexual and reproductive health and rights	Right for all to make choices regarding their own sexuality and reproduction, providing they respect the rights of others to bodily integrity. This definition also includes the right to access information and services needed to support these choices and optimise health.	(UN Women, n.d.[13])
Sexual harassment	Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favours, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature Unwelcome behaviours, advances and practices of a sexual nature that may include, but are not limited to sexual suggestions or demands; requests for sexual favours; and sexual, verbal or physical conduct or gestures that are or might reasonably be perceived as offensive or humiliating	(United Nations, 2018[17])
Unmet need for family planning	Gap between women’s reproductive intentions and their contraceptive behaviour, defined as the proportion of currently married or in-union women of reproductive age (15-49 years) who want to cease or delay childbearing but are not using any method of contraception	(United Nations, 2014[18])
Violence against women	Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life	(United Nations, 1994[12])

References

[7] CEDAW (2017), General recommendation No. 35 on gender-based violence against women, updating general recommendation No. 19.

[6] CEDAW (1979), Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/ProfessionalInterest/cedaw.pdf (accessed on 12 February 2020).

[8] FAO (2016), Meeting our goals. FAO’s programme for gender equality in agriculture and rural development, http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6618e.pdf (accessed on 12 February 2020).

[15] Nuñez, A. (2016), Machismo, marianismo, and negative cognitive-emotional factors: Findings from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos Sociocultural Ancillary Study, Journal of Latina/o Psychology, https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000050.

[3] OECD (2019), Gender, Institutions and Development Database (GID-DB) 2019, https://oe.cd/ds/GIDDB2019 (accessed on 18 May 2020).

[2] OECD (2019), Social Institutions and Gender Index 2019, https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SIGI2019 (accessed on 18 May 2020).

[5] OECD (n.d.), About the SIGI, https://www.genderindex.org/sigi/ (accessed on 12 February 2020).

[1] OECD (n.d.), Social Institutions and Gender Index, https://www.genderindex.org/ (accessed on 18 May 2020).

[11] OHCHR (n.d.), Child, early and forced marriage, including in humanitarian settings, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Women/WRGS/Pages/ChildMarriage.aspx (accessed on 12 February 2020).

[16] Sen, A. (1990), “More Than 100 Million Women Are Missing”, The New York Review of Books, Vol. 37/20.

[13] UN Women (n.d.), Gender Equality Glossary, https://trainingcentre.unwomen.org/mod/glossary/view.php?id=36 (accessed on 12 February 2020).

[14] UNICEF (2017), Gender Equality: Glossary of Terms and Concepts.

[4] UNICEF (n.d.), Child marriage, https://www.unicef.org/protection/child-marriage (accessed on 12 February 2020).

[17] United Nations (2018), Intensification of efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: sexual harassment.

[18] United Nations (2014), World Contraceptive Use 2014 | Unmet need for family planning, https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/publications/dataset/contraception/wcu2014/Metadata/WCU2014_UNMET_NEED_metadata.pdf (accessed on 12 February 2020).

[10] United Nations (2008), Eliminating Female genital mutilation.

[12] United Nations (1994), Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women.

[9] United Nations (n.d.), Principle 6 | UN Global Compact, https://www.unglobalcompact.org/what-is-gc/mission/principles/principle-6 (accessed on 12 February 2020).