Israel ranks 27th on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index released this week by Georgetown University's Institute for Women, Peace and Security and The Peace Research Institute Oslo.
The WPS Index tracks progress regarding the status and rights of women worldwide out of a belief that countries who afford women full equal rights and opportunities are the most prosperous and peaceful. Countries are ranked based on women's inclusion in economics, society and politics, and justice for women and security at the individual, community and societal levels.
According to the index, which covers 2021 and part of 2022, the average global score rose by 9%. Norway heads the index with a score of 0.922, and Afghanistan is at the bottom of the list with a score of 0.278, one being a perfect score.
While 121 countries marked an improvement in their score since the last report, some countries have deteriorated, the most significant being Afghanistan, where the status and rights of women has dropped drastically since the Taliban took over control last year. Other countries that have dropped in rank are Haiti, Namibia and Yemen.
The worst ranking region in the world is South Asia with high levels of legal discrimination, intimate partner violence and discriminatory norms.
The subnational ranking on the index showed that in some countries like Afghanistan and the United States, the score depended on the region, with wide gaps between different parts of the countries.
COVID-19's effect on women
The index also found that COVID-19 caused a decline in women's struggle in the workforce, marking a higher loss of paid employment for women than men.
Another major effect of the pandemic has been in domestic abuse, which rose throughout lockdowns, and women found it harder to leave abusive relationships. This included relationships that were already abusive with the abuse worsening, but many women reportedly experienced violence from partners who had never previously been abusive.