Gender equality and good governance

There are important linkages between effective governance of a country and gender equality, and they are related to a country’s ability to deliver quality basic services.
Groups that require particular support and attention from policy makers include women who face various forms of discrimination. Inequality women experience is further exacerbated by conflict and crisis.

Most countries in the region guarantee gender equality and women’s rights in their constitutions, and most have laws to protect women against domestic violence. However, discriminatory practices by law enforcement, courts, lawyers and social services can be major obstacles to women’s security and access to justice - especially in systems challenged by corruption, which makes it even more difficult for women to access public services.
By contrast, it has been shown that more equal societies also lead to lower levels of corruption. Countries ranking high on indicators such as Governance Effectiveness, Rule of Law and Control of Corruption tend to also do well on the Gender Inequality Index . The opposite is also true.


The connection between rule of law and gender equality: New EU member states (Estonia, Slovenia, Czech Republic) rank higher in terms of rule of law than Central Asian countries (Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan) and other CIS countries (Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus) and are also more gender equal.


The connection between corruption and gender equality: More transparent states tend to be more gender equal.