Global Gender Gap Narrows Amid Progress and Challenges
The World Economic Forum's report indicates significant advancements towards gender parity but warns of ongoing disparities and future risks.
The latest Global Gender Gap Report 2025 indicates that the global gender gap has closed at its fastest rate since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, revealing that while significant progress has been made, achieving full gender equality may take an estimated 123 years.
Released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the report highlights a 68.8% narrowing of the gender gap, reflecting an improvement of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.
According to Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the WEF, advancing gender parity is crucial for economic renewal in a landscape marked by global economic uncertainties.
Zahidi emphasized that economies that successfully progress towards gender parity have a tendency to become more innovative and resilient.
The report notes that women now exceed men in higher education enrollment globally, with female university attendance outpacing male attendance by nearly 30 percentage points in certain regions.
Despite these gains in education, women hold only 28.8% of senior leadership positions and constitute 41.2% of the global workforce, predominantly employed in lower-paying sectors such as care and education.
Sue Duke, global head of public policy at LinkedIn, remarked on the declining progress of women in leadership roles, noting that as the economy modernizes and embraces artificial intelligence, addressing the leadership gap becomes increasingly critical.
Duke pointed out that the unique skills women possess are vital for maximizing the potential of an AI-driven economy.
Iceland continues to lead the global rankings as the most gender-equal nation for the 16th consecutive year, with 92.6% of its gender gap closed.
Other leading countries include Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
The report identified Latin America and the Caribbean as the fastest-improving region, advancing 8.6 percentage points since 2006, with countries like Ecuador, Mexico, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia noted as significant movers in the pursuit of gender equality.
However, the report also cautioned about new global risks that could potentially reverse progress, such as trade fragmentation and uneven adoption of AI technologies.
Women in lower-income nations, who gained formal employment through global trade, may be particularly susceptible to forthcoming economic shocks associated with these challenges.
Additionally, findings showed that women are 55.2% more likely to take career breaks compared to men, spending, on average, half a year longer away from the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities.
The 19th edition of the report assesses 148 economies and focuses specifically on gender gaps in outcomes without accounting for the overall levels of resources and opportunities available in each country.
A slight correlation was observed between the income levels of these countries and their respective gender gaps, indicating that wealthier nations tend to exhibit more gender equality.
Released by the World Economic Forum (WEF), the report highlights a 68.8% narrowing of the gender gap, reflecting an improvement of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year.
According to Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the WEF, advancing gender parity is crucial for economic renewal in a landscape marked by global economic uncertainties.
Zahidi emphasized that economies that successfully progress towards gender parity have a tendency to become more innovative and resilient.
The report notes that women now exceed men in higher education enrollment globally, with female university attendance outpacing male attendance by nearly 30 percentage points in certain regions.
Despite these gains in education, women hold only 28.8% of senior leadership positions and constitute 41.2% of the global workforce, predominantly employed in lower-paying sectors such as care and education.
Sue Duke, global head of public policy at LinkedIn, remarked on the declining progress of women in leadership roles, noting that as the economy modernizes and embraces artificial intelligence, addressing the leadership gap becomes increasingly critical.
Duke pointed out that the unique skills women possess are vital for maximizing the potential of an AI-driven economy.
Iceland continues to lead the global rankings as the most gender-equal nation for the 16th consecutive year, with 92.6% of its gender gap closed.
Other leading countries include Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
The report identified Latin America and the Caribbean as the fastest-improving region, advancing 8.6 percentage points since 2006, with countries like Ecuador, Mexico, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia noted as significant movers in the pursuit of gender equality.
However, the report also cautioned about new global risks that could potentially reverse progress, such as trade fragmentation and uneven adoption of AI technologies.
Women in lower-income nations, who gained formal employment through global trade, may be particularly susceptible to forthcoming economic shocks associated with these challenges.
Additionally, findings showed that women are 55.2% more likely to take career breaks compared to men, spending, on average, half a year longer away from the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities.
The 19th edition of the report assesses 148 economies and focuses specifically on gender gaps in outcomes without accounting for the overall levels of resources and opportunities available in each country.
A slight correlation was observed between the income levels of these countries and their respective gender gaps, indicating that wealthier nations tend to exhibit more gender equality.