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In the aftermath of the pandemic, headlines focused on the consequences of lockdowns and the rise in gender inequality in work and education. So where are we today? The Global Gender Gap report published by the World Economic Forum in June 2023 provides data on gender parity for women. The annual report is an index demonstrating the momentum around gender parity across four key elements for gender inclusion: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. The Index, now in its seventeenth year, covers 146 countries. The ‘Drop to the Top’ refers to the decline of women in C-suite and senior leadership roles.
The measurements used in the WEF index are based on gender parity. Gender parity demonstrates the proportionate representation of men and women in specific sectors, such as economic activity, education, and health. These pillars illustrate the level of preparedness in countries to capitalize on the full participation of women. The pandemic disrupted women’s participation across all aspects; economic, health, and educational opportunities. The Index demonstrates the global parity score is back to pre-pandemic levels. Great news, but there is a lot more work to do. In 2020 the WEF report predicted it would take 100 years to achieve parity. This figure has now increased to 131 years. At this rate of progress, we won’t see global gender parity for five generations. The statistics are even more concerning when you delve into specific sectors; it will take 162 years to close the Political Empowerment gender gap and 169 years to close the Economic Participation and Opportunity gender gap.
No country has achieved full gender parity. However, the top nine countries have closed at least 80% of their gap; Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, and Lithuania. Iceland is the only country to reach 90% (91.2%). Namibia (80.2%) and Nicaragua (81.1%) are the two unexpected countries in the top ten. Ireland (79.5%) and Rwanda (79.4%) have dropped out of the top 10 countries. In previous reports, North America has dominated the Index. Still, this year its ranking of 75% lowers the country to second place, while Europe has taken the lead at 76.3%. The order of regions is as follows; Europe, North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean (74.3%, Eurasia and Central Asia (69%), East Asia and the Pacific (68.8%), Sub-Saharan Africa (68.2%) trailing at 62.% is the Middle East and North Africa.
