From the Relative Women Disadvantage Index to Women's Quality-of-Life

Using Sen's capability approach and an aggregation methodology based on the fuzzy set approach, this article attempts to move beyond the main criticisms of the United Nations Development Programme indices for analysis of gender inequality. The Relative Women Disadvantage Index can be used to measure gender inequality in three domains (health, education, participation). It is complemented by the Women's Quality-of-Life Index, constructed from indicators that concern only women and children. However, these two indices are strongly correlated and seem to buttress the idea that the battle against gender inequalities is a condition for improving human development.