Suicide & gender inequality: a cross-national examination

Abstract Suicide is one of the leading causes of death globally and is increasing in many countries across the world. Gender inequality has been demonstrated to be predictive of suicide. However, scholars have argued over the direction of gender inequality’s impact on suicide. Using the gender inequality index the results indicate that as countries become more equal, the suicide rate increases for males and females. Furthermore, the findings illustrate that as female educational levels and female labor force participation increase, suicide increases. These findings provide support for the status integration theory of suicide.