Every year, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report takes stock of where the world stands on gender parity. The newest survey covers 136 economies, most of which have been included since the report’s first edition eight years ago. The report measures the gaps between women and men on education, health, economic participation and political empowerment. Countries are compared and ranked on gender gaps in these four areas and on an index of overall gender parity.
The good news is that gender gaps, while still wide in many countries, are narrowing in most parts of the world. More than 80 per cent of the countries covered have improved. The gaps in education and health have nearly disappeared in many nations. The bad news is that large gaps in economic and political participation persist even in many developed nations. At the current pace of change, women will not approach full parity on these indicators for another 80 years. That is a huge squandered opportunity not only for several generations of women but for their families, their societies and the world.
To be sure, gender gaps vary enormously among nations. We find that the highest ranking country in the world – Iceland – has closed over 87 per cent of its overall gender gap. By contrast, the lowest ranking country – Yemen – has closed only 51 per cent of this gap.