Creating gender exceptionalism: The role of global indexes

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors examine critically the rise of global indexes and ask how they helped build and shape the idea of Nordic gender exceptionalism, as the region's members moved from being Cold War-era 'middle way countries' to the 'top of the world' in the age of globalization. In so doing, the authors make two principal arguments: that indexes powerfully and peculiarly shape the discourse on Nordic gender exceptionalism and that their constructive limitations and constituent power are often underplayed in policy discussions. Moving beyond the role of indexes in diffusing and strengthening Nordic gender exceptionalism, some comments on the broader power of indexes on shaping the people understanding of Nordic gender equality are warranted. They argued that global indexes may contribute to the shaping of Nordic gender exceptionalism in two discrete ways. It is argued that some caution should be exercised in their naïve reception and use.