Posted by Naissur on March 7, 2012 10:54 0 Comments
Tags: women, international womens day, the independent, best places to be a woman, worst places to be a woman
Categories: News of the World | Women

March 8 is International Women’s Day, a day celebrating the political, economic, and social achievements of women. In honor of this special day, UK newspaper The Independent has identified the best and worst places to be a woman.  Some of the results might surprise you. Is your country on the list?

Best Place to be a Woman: Iceland

According to The Independent, Iceland is the best place to be a woman as the European nation has the greatest level of equality between men and women. The paper considers politics, education, employment, and health issues when making a determination.

Worst Place to Be a Woman: Yemen

Using the metrics listed above, Yemen is the worst country in the world to be a woman, though Afghanistan is more dangerous.

Best Place to Give Birth: Greece

If you’re going to have a baby, Greece is the place to do it. Only one out of 31,800 women in Greece die while giving birth. 

Worst Place to Give Birth: South Sudan

There are fewer than 20 midwives in all of South Sudan, The Independent reports, so birthing women much fend for themselves.

Best Place to Live a Long Life: Japan

The Japanese are known for living long lives, but Japanese women live particularly long with an average life expectancy of 87 (it’s 80 for men).

Worst Place to Live a Long Life: Lesotho

Lesotho, on the other hand, has dismal life expectancies with women living an average of 48 years and men an average of 50.

Best Place to be a Female Athlete: The United States

Five of the top ten highest-paid female athletes live in the United States. 

Worst Place to be a Female Athlete: Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, bans girls from participating in sports at state schools and has never sent a female athlete to the Olympics.

Best Place to Land a High-Skilled Job: Jamaica

Nearly 60% of the high-skilled jobs in Jamaica (legislators, senior officials, managers, etc.) are filled by women.

Worst Place to Land a High-Skilled Job: Yemen

By comparison, only 2% of high-skilled jobs in Yemen are held by women.

Check out The Independent’s article to learn what other countries are great (and terrible) for women.

Photo: morgueFile