Five days out from the opening kick-off in the FIFA Women’s World Cup, below is a table showing how the 32 countries in the tournament rank against each other, based on their standings in the 2021/22 global Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Index, put out by Georgetown University at https://giwps.georgetown.edu/the-index/ . Nothing to do with football, the index gives an insight into women’s status and empowerment in different countries – and that no doubt influences women’s ability to play and perform at international competitions.
I could have chosen a number of different indexes, but chose this one because it seems the most recent and comprehensive in the range of factors taken into account. Other possibilities include the World Economic Forum and the US-based Council on Foreign Relations for Foreign Relations. These both rate New Zealand much higher, so don’t accuse me of national favouritism!
THE RANKINGS:
Country WPS Ranking/170 countries
1 Norway 1
2 Denmark 4
3 Switzerland 6
4 Sweden 7
5 England* 9
6 Netherlands 10
7 Germany 11
8 Canada 12
9 New Zealand 13
10 Spain 14
11 France 15
12 Portugal 18
13 Ireland 19
14 United States 21
15 Australia 24
16 Italy 28
17 South Korea 33
18 Japan 35
19 Jamaica 43
20 Costa Rica 47
21 Argentina 49
22 Philippines 61
23 South Africa 66
24 Brazil 80
25 Panama 83
26 China 89
27 Colombia 90
28 Vietnam 107
29 Zambia 116
30 Nigeria 130
31 Morocco 138
32 Haiti 142
* = UK rank; no separate entry for England
(By the way, credit for the idea of ranking sports contest countries on social justice measures goes to the World Development Movement’s “Who Should I Cheer For?” in the 2010 Mens Football World Cup, and Caritas Aotearoa for its Rugby World Cup 2011 focus on inequality through “Level with Me”. Both blogsites have been taken down now, but you can read about them here: https://globaldimension.org.uk/articles/world-cup-2010-who-should-i-cheer-for/ and https://cathnews.co.nz/2011/09/09/social-justice-week-fairness-an-equal-chance-of-success/ )
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