How well do the BRICS nations do on gender equality?

The BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa — are meeting for their annual summit this week in the Russian city of Ufa. These diverse countries make up roughly 40% of the world’s population and have influence that goes well beyond their borders. So how do they measure up when it comes to the issue of equality between the sexes?

South Africa has made the most progress, according the the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, ranking 18th out of  the 142 countries surveyed. Brazil and Russia are in the middle of the table, coming in at 71st and 75th respectively. China and India, the world’s two most populous countries, are somewhat lower, at 87th and 114th.

If you’d like to learn more about this pressing global challenge see Five insights on closing the gender gap, How men and women view gender equality differently, and our full archive of gender parity stories.

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Author: Donald Armbrecht writes for Agenda.

Image: A woman walks along an underground pedestrian tunnel past a graffiti illustrating the map of Russia and some of its symbols in central Moscow, Russia. REUTERS/Maxim Zmeyev