Best Countries for Women in the G20 and Canada is #1

I’ve written about several city and country rankings both on a national and global scale. I have featured lists on every subject from the smartest countries, the happiest countries, the best countries for entrepreneurs, the best countries to live as well as best cities to live in the world and in best cities to live in Canada. Now I have found a new list to add to this list but this one is a little different. The list we are looking at today is about the Best Countries in the G20 for Women and it is based on how women fair in 19 of G20 countries.

The G20 are the countries with the world’s largest economies and the report was compiled by “TrustLaw, a legal news service run by Thomson Reuters Foundation”. They took into consideration the following six categories “quality of health, freedom from violence, participation in politics, work place opportunities, access to resources such as education and property rights and freedom from trafficking and slavery.”

Unlike some other rankings I’ve featured, this one was not based on statistics but rather perception. The poll was filled out by participants in over 63 countries, on five continents, and from various associations. Those surveyed included members of groups such as “United Nations Women, the International Rescue Committee, Plan International, Amnesty USA and Oxfam International, as well as prominent academic institutions and campaigning organizations” and faith based groups. This should illustrate that the findings while not scientific, were broad in scope to give a comprehensive view of the issue.

Below is how the 19 countries ranked but keep in mind that the European Union (EU) is part of the G20 as one unit and as such not all EU constituent countries were included in the survey.

The best countries for women are:

1. Canada
2. Germany
3. Britain
4. Australia
5. France
6. United States
7. Japan
8. Italy
9. Argentina
10. South Korea
11. Brazil
12. Turkey
13. Russia
14. China
15. Mexico
16. South Africa
17. Indonesia
18. Saudi Arabia
19. India

The United States ranked 6th because of the issues pertaining to women’s reproductive rights, as well as access to healthcare. Marsha Freeman, director of International Women’s Rights Action Watch, said, “Many of the gains of the last 100 years are under attack and the most overt and vicious attack is on reproductive rights.”

Mexico, who hosted the G20 summit, and ranked 15th has come under great scrutiny. This was because of violence against women and extreme poverty associated with the country.

When asked about Canada and their first place ranking Jimmie Briggs, journalist, author and founder of the Man Up Campaign that works to engage youth to stop violence against women and girls, said “Having an understanding of Canadian culture and tracking the work they’re doing around violence against women and gender equality, I believe that Canada really has been emerging as a model for what most countries should aspire to for a long time.”

Congratulations Canada on being progressive-minded and for receiving this well-deserved honour. Hopefully the list will serve as an eye opener and other countries will strive to improve their gender relations.

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