The Development Centre of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development was established by decision of the OECD Council on 23 October 1962 and comprises 24 member countries.

The 2012 Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) shows that countries have made promising progress in tackling discriminatory social institutions in some areas. Latin America and the Caribbean shows the lowest level of overall discrimination against women in the 2012 SIGI rankings. South Asia has improved its position from the lowest ranked region in 2009 to the fourth ranked region in 2012.

This is largely due to the introduction of laws to combat violence against women, decline in early marriage, introduction of quotas to promote women’s political participation and improvement in son bias for some countries in the region.

Sub-Saharan Africa shows the highest level of discrimination. Europe and Central Asia has moved from the top ranking region in the 2009 SIGI to the third ranked region in the 2012 edition. This is largely due to a growing problem of son bias in some parts of the region and the absence of quotas to promote women’s equal political participation.