Gender gap to take 134 years to reach full equality: World Economic Forum

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The global gender gap is estimated to take 134 years to reach full parity, or roughly five generations, based on current data, according to a report by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

The global gender gap score in 2024 for all 146 countries included in the report stands at 68.5%, which is improved by just 0.1 percentage points from last year, said the report that was published Tuesday.

"The lack of meaningful, widespread change since the last edition effectively slows down the rate of progress to attain parity," it said.."The current global economic and regulatory context is shaping gender parity outcomes.

"Economic prospects for women and girls are threatened by the continued downturns and prolonged crises. While the adoption of economic policies to advance gender equality has increased overall, across regions there are stark differences in not only adoption but also resourcing and implementation," it said.

Iceland is again ranked first in the world with a score of 93.5%. It has been leading the index for a decade and a half, and continues to be the only economy to have closed more than 90% of its gender gap.

European economies occupy seven of the top 10 spots -- Finland coming second with a score of 87.5%, followed by Norway at third with 87.5%.

Sweden ranks fifth with 81.6%, Germany seventh at 81%, Ireland is ninth with 80.2% and Spain is in 10th spot with a score of 79.7%.

The remaining three spots in the top 10 are occupied by New Zealand in fourth with 83.5%, Nicaragua sixth at 81.1% and Namibia in eighth place at 80.5%.

"Raising the required resources to close the gap requires a fundamental mindset to recognize gender parity as an engine for new, high-quality growth," said the report. "Business efforts to improve gender parity are gaining momentum in Latin America, the Middle East, and East Asia."

WEF said the Global Gender Gap Index annually benchmarks the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions -- economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment.

"Among the 146 economies covered in the 2024 index, the Health and Survival gender gap has closed by 96%, the Educational Attainment gap by 94.9%, the Economic Participation and Opportunity gap by 60.5%, and the Political Empowerment gap by 22.5%," it said.