In late 2009, the World Economic Forum (WEF) launched its new report on the Global Gender Gap Index, which gained immediate visibility in both global and national media. In this Working Paper, Kate Bedford, from the Kent Law School (Canterbury, UK), critically examine the report from a critical feminist perspective. She identifies positive aspects but also flaws in the approaches adopted by WEF to measure gender gaps, which also apply to previous and fore coming reports, as well as to similar exercises that may be developed by other organizations. Kate’s critical reflections presented in this short Working Paper are a wonderful contribution to this ongoing conversation, which calls attention to gaps and potential pitfalls of mainstream gender and development indicators.
