Really Great Data
Jul. 8th, 2021 02:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lillilahOften when I look at numbers representing some element of society, it is kind of unclear exactly how the organization came up with the numbers. Maybe they got their numbers from another source or they have some complicated methodology to explain how they chose them. I'm not doubting that they are doing their best. However, one has to take some element of this on faith, as the data is based on things that aren't easy to pin down.
Today, however, while looking at life expectancy numbers from the World Bank, I noticed the Women, Business, and Law index. I looked up the source of the data and found the most beautiful, easy to understand ranking that I have ever seen. Go ahead and download the spreadsheet of data from the World Bank. Just look at how clear everything is! How did they come up with the number for "Mobility"? It is clear by looking either at the Mobility tab or at the questions right next to the number. And the questions are pretty straightforward: "Can a woman travel outside her home in the same way as a man?" If yes, 25 points. If no, 0 points. Ahh.... If you go to the Mobility tab, it even shows you what they based that on. Now, I will say that we tried to look up "Civil Code, Art. 122(1)" for Afghanistan to find out why a woman couldn't travel outside her home in the same way as a man (headscarf?), but I couldn't find the data. So, it isn't perfect. However, I really like how clear everything is and how the questions have stayed the same since 1971, which means that it is much easier to see how things have changed (or not changed) over time.
That being said, of course, this ranking has its own limitations. It shows that there is legislation addressing domestic violence, for example, and not whether or not the police will come when called by a woman. However, it does give some very clear data, which is quite nice.
Today, however, while looking at life expectancy numbers from the World Bank, I noticed the Women, Business, and Law index. I looked up the source of the data and found the most beautiful, easy to understand ranking that I have ever seen. Go ahead and download the spreadsheet of data from the World Bank. Just look at how clear everything is! How did they come up with the number for "Mobility"? It is clear by looking either at the Mobility tab or at the questions right next to the number. And the questions are pretty straightforward: "Can a woman travel outside her home in the same way as a man?" If yes, 25 points. If no, 0 points. Ahh.... If you go to the Mobility tab, it even shows you what they based that on. Now, I will say that we tried to look up "Civil Code, Art. 122(1)" for Afghanistan to find out why a woman couldn't travel outside her home in the same way as a man (headscarf?), but I couldn't find the data. So, it isn't perfect. However, I really like how clear everything is and how the questions have stayed the same since 1971, which means that it is much easier to see how things have changed (or not changed) over time.
That being said, of course, this ranking has its own limitations. It shows that there is legislation addressing domestic violence, for example, and not whether or not the police will come when called by a woman. However, it does give some very clear data, which is quite nice.
Previous: Part 9 - A Peek | Next: Part 11 - Financial Indicators
