All that Glitters is Not Gold: Shrinking and Bending Gender Equality in Rankings and Nation Branding

After the financial crisis of 2008, a time of reputation rebuilding began in Iceland. Women had been absent in the process leading up to the crisis and a strong discourse emerged calling for women to restore the country and blaming the crisis on the male ‘business Vikings”. At the same time, Iceland became a frontrunner in the Global Gender Gap Report. This article draws on scholarship on the discursive construction of gender equality, nation branding and gender measurements. Taking Iceland as a case example, the article critically examines gender indices with a special focus on the Global Gender Gap index. It explores how a narrow understanding of gender equality is evident in the composition of the Global Gender Gap measurement, illustrating the “shrinking” and “bending” of the concept. The article shows the process in which gender equality rankings are employed in the politics of reputation and turned into nation branding. The article adds to the knowledge of how measurements and indices contribute to the emergent emphasis on gender equality in nation branding.