Gender Codes and the Human Development Indicator

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The HDI (Human Development Indicator) was defined by the United Nations to describe the level of development in its member states. Each state has a specific HDI depending on certain aspects in that state such as education, literacy and life expectancy. The total fertility rate of a state is not one of these aspects; however, through statistical analysis, it is believed that “fertility rate is intimately linked with a country’s economic and social development” (Yong). This inverse correlation can lead to further conclusions about gender codes, and how the idea of gender came to be. The concept of gender roles is inversely related to the human development indicator of a country or tribe, which includes the total fertility rate, and the level of human life development. Furthermore, the area/time period that will be observed for this study will be Damascus since its pre-Islamic days. Therefore, the stereotype assuming that women are domestic or inferior to men dates back to historically high fertility rates in underdeveloped populations and the favoring of women for their reproductive abilities.

A country has to have an HDI level within a certain range in order to be considered within a specific level of development. The levels are an MDC (More Developed Country), an LDC (Less Developed Country) and a Developing Country. We can observe ourselves and our history and clearly see that humans develop over time. This means that at some point, an MDC was at the same level of development as a current LDC. As stated, the average number of children born to a woman in her lifetime is inversely related to a country’s HDI. In order to prove this correlation between the HDI and the total fertility rate, we can observe the fertility rates o...

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...b. 03 Dec. 2013.

Qurayshi, Mohammed A., Dr. "The Bahai Truth." The Bahai Truth. The Bahai Truth, 10 Sept. 2010. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.

Tempel, Melissa Bollow. "It's OK to Be Neither: Teaching That Supports Gender-Variant Children." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 Dec. 2011. Web. 02 Oct. 2013.

The Codes of Gender (2009). Dir. Sut Jhally. Perf. Sut Jhally. Films For Action. Sut Jhally, 2009. Web. 19 Sept. 2013 .

The World Bank. Fertility Rate, Total (births per Woman). Data.worldbank. World Bank, 1944. Web. Nov.-Dec. 2013.

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. "List of Countries by Human Development Index."Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2013. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.

Yong, Ed. "Science Blogs." Not Exactly Rocket Science. Science Blogs, 05 Aug. 2009. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.

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