Parity has progressed by just 4.1 percentage points since the first edition of the report in 2006, with a significant slowdown in the overall rate of change. Closing the overall gender gap will take 131 years. At the current rate, it will take 169 years for economic parity and 162 years for political parity.
“Although there have been encouraging signs of a recovery towards pre-pandemic levels, women continue to bear the brunt of the current cost-of-living crisis and labor market disruptions,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum. , who continues: «For an economic recovery, all the power of creativity and of different ideas and skills is needed. We cannot afford to lose momentum on women’s participation and economic opportunity.”
The global report on gender disparity, now in its 17th edition, analyzes the evolution of gender-based inequalities in four areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. It is the longest-running index, tracking progress towards closing these gaps since its inception in 2006. It also explores the impact of recent global shocks on the gender inequality crisis in the labor market.
Soars Northern Europe
For the 14th consecutive year, Iceland is confirmed as the first country in the world for gender equality and the only one to have closed more than 90% of the gender gap. While no country has yet achieved full gender parity, the top nine finishers have closed at least 80% of their gap.
Top 8 Global Gender Gap report 2023
Compared to the 2022 edition, Europe surpasses North America with the highest gender parity of all regions, at 76.3%. A third of countries in the region rank in the top 20, and over half (56%) have achieved at least 75% parity. However, progress is mixed: 10 countries, led by Estonia, Norway and Slovenia, have recorded an improvement of at least 1 percentage point, while another 10 countries – including Austria, France and Bulgaria – have recorded declines of at least 1 percentage point.