Still other governments are adopting and reporting on a short list of equality indicators, where stakeholders agree on a few key areas of expected change and what are valid indicators of progress in those areas. Key areas could include salaries, labour force participation, childrearing support, representation in fields of education and in positions of influence, incidence of violence, etc. If government departments have truly integrated the need to promote equality and are held responsible for it, then public focus on equality indicators will contribute to bringing about change. New Brunswick could at least start reporting on equality indicators. So, here are five reasons why equality measures are still needed, and one reason why they are being abandoned.
Gender equality contributes to a healthy economy.
In Third World development efforts, it is already recognized that the economy does better if equality between women and men is improved, if a holistic approach to economic development is taken. According to the United Nations Human Development Report, without equality, there can be no end to poverty. We choose our politicians from an unnecessarily restricted gene pool. If the current trend continues, women should be earning as much as men in about 150 years. Meanwhile, the prices at the grocery store are not one-third less for women.