IntroductionThe Human Development Index (HDI) was conceived “as a reference framework for both social and economic development”. With this index, as with other cumulative indices, there is the issue of how well the index actually measures what it wants to measure; whether the data accurately represents the true reality of half the population, or whether it simply projects the general consensus of a distorted population because the range of data is too broad. An index that might more accurately represent half of a country's population is the Gender Inequality Index (GII). The GII examines the differences between men and women in a country. The index includes the level of empowerment for each gender within a country, labor market participation and reproductive health values. Thanks to these subparts, the index can more accurately represent the well-being of women within a country and the level of equality in that country. This brings me to my question: How accurately do the HDI and GII rankings in Côte d'Ivoire and Finland represent the overall quality of life for women in those countries? Although the HDI shows a general consensus on how wealthy a country is, it does not show the differences between men and women, so the GII provides a more accurate portrait of the situation within a country; but the real indicator is the effectiveness of the legislature and government in that country, not the rankings provided in a cumulative index. Despite laws protecting women in both Côte d'Ivoire and Finland, the effectiveness of these laws is minuscule and ignored in Côte d'Ivoire compared to Finland, where the laws are enforced and motivate women to be active in government , so in turn the overall quality of life is very... middle of paper... United Nations International Children and Education Fund, March 15, 2010. Web. May 13, 2013."Central Intelligence Agency ." The global fact. Central Intelligence Agency, July 10, 2013. Web. July 30, 2013. .Isiroglu, Gina. "Countries and their cultures". Culture of Ivory Coast. Countries and their cultures, 21 January 2007. Web. 30 July 2013. .Parviainen, Seija. “Recent trends and future prospects in gender equality.” Recent trends and future prospects in gender equality. Eiro, 28 October 2003. Web. 07 October 2013."Ivory Coast." Gender equality in. Social institutions and gender inequality, 2012. Web. 30 July 2013. .