Gender parity is a numerical concept related to gender equality.
Gender parity concerns relative equality in terms of numbers and proportions of women and men, girls and boys, and is often calculated as the ratio of female-to-male values for a given indicator. When males-to-females ratios are calculated instead, the label ‘sex ratio’ is used instead of ‘gender parity’.
In the context of gender equality, gender parity refers to the equal contribution of women and men to every dimension of life, whether private or public.
(1) United Nations Statistics Division – UNSD. Global Gender Statistics Programme;
(2) Council of Europe (2003). Genderware – The Council of Europe and the Participation of Women in Political Life;
(3) Alliance for Parity Democracy & Feminine Intervention, sponsored by the Commission for Equality and for Women’s Rights (2001). What is Parity Democracy After All? Lisbon, Portugal.