Latvia among surprisingly good countries for women

What is said about Latvia – according to 2010 data, 71% of university graduates are women, as well as the fact that 50% of Supreme Court judges are women; also Vaira Vike-Freiberga – the former president of Latvia – is a woman, Foreign Policyreports.

The Philippines, Spain, South Africa and Cuba are also mentioned as some of the best countries for women. For example, a bill was recently introduced in the Philippines, aimed at sexual discrimination on workplaces; in Spain women’s rights are declared to be one of the government’s priorities. In South Africa, 45% of parliamentarians are women, in Cuba, 60% of professionals in the technical field are women.

Social Watch sex equality data is somewhat different. Their rating was formed by comparing equality of rights of both sexes in such fields as education, economy, ability to work in politics and business, Newsru.com writes.

Every country was given a specific amount of points according to the mentioned criteria. A total maximum is 90 points, which is yet to be reached by any country. Norway (89) is the closest to the maximum, followed by Finland (88), Sweden (87), Denmark (84), as well as New Zealand (82), Mongolia (81) and Spain (81).

The rating is closed by Afghanistan (15), Yemen (24), Republic of Chad (25), Nigeria (26) and the Republic of Congo (29).

The United States of America is on the 50th place with 72 points, Japan got 57 points, Turkey – 45, and Saudi Arabia – 37 points.