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Gender parity is a statistical measure used to describe ratios between men and women, or boys and girls, in a given population. Gender parity may refer to the proportionate representation of men and women in a given group, also referred to as sex ratio, or it may mean the ratio between any quantifiable indicator among men against the same indicator among women.[1]
The terms gender parity and gender equality are sometimes used interchangeably but gender parity differs from gender equality in that it is a descriptive measure only and does not involve value judgments or argue for policy changes in the way gender equality. Gender parity is a goal of substantive gender equality, but not of formal gender equality.[2] Gender parity may be one of the important metrics used to assess the state of substantive gender equality within a group or organization.
Within the field of sociology, gender parity is generally understood to refer to a binary distinction between people based in identity and sex differences.[3] Though the word "gender" is part of the term, the meaning as it is used is closer to assigned sex than to gender identity.[4]