In an era where women’s rights and gender equality are at the forefront of social discourse, assessing the best place to be a woman is complex and multifaceted. Studies and indices that measure the status of women typically look at variables including economic opportunity, political empowerment, health, education, and violence against women.

The United Kingdom, often perceived as progressive on matters of gender equality, indeed has made significant strides in numerous areas. British women have access to health care, education, and legal protections. However, when compared internationally, the UK does not always lead in the rankings.

For instance, according to the World Bank’s ‘Women, Business and Law 2021’ report which scores countries on how their laws affect women’s economic opportunities, the UK scores fairly well but is outperformed by countries like New Zealand, Canada and Belgium. This indicates there may still be room for improvement in areas such as wage equality and workplace representation.

Moreover, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2020 ranks the UK 21st out of 153 countries. This is a modest position when one considers that it falls behind Nordic countries like Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Sweden which dominate the top spots due to strong performances across indicators like economic participation, educational attainment and political empowerment.

The UK also lags concerning political representation; despite historical figures such as Margaret Thatcher or current prominent politicians like Nicola Sturgeon or Theresa May, there is still an underrepresentation of women in parliament compared to Rwanda or Bolivia which have higher percentages of female parliamentarians.

In terms of safety and health, issues such as maternal mortality rates and protection against violence are areas of concern. According to reports from organizations such as WHO and UN Women, while the UK performs better than many countries worldwide on these fronts still faces challenges with issues such as domestic violence and reproductive rights. Countries like Denmark or Switzerland are often cited for their strong healthcare systems that afford protection to women’s health.

All these elements combined paint a picture of where the UK stands in comparison to other nations regarding being a woman. Scandinavian countries are frequently cited as exemplary due to their holistic approaches to gender equality. Meanwhile, nations like Iceland not only maintain high levels of female political involvement but also continue to push for advancements in economic parity – setting a benchmark for others including the UK.

It is clear from these findings that while British women experience many freedoms and rights relative to other global contexts; there are bottlenecks preventing it from climbing higher in international rankings. The best place to be a woman continuously evolves with societal progress; however presently based upon empirical data – it’s evident – ‘it’s not great’ for where the United Kingdom stands internationally. The nation must endeavor towards not just national but global benchmarks if it hopes to improve its standing as a favorable place for gender equity and women’s overall well-being.