Philippines, Singapore gender equality high in Asia, but region lags Europe: WEF
SINGAPORE -- The Philippines and Singapore rank highly in Asia, and are within the top 50 countries globally for gender equality, even as the region lags Europe and the Americas in closing the gap between women and men, a World Economic Forum report released Thursday showed.
Estimating that the worldwide gap will take 123 years to close at the current rate, the report put regions like Europe and the Americas ahead of Asia in overall opportunities and advancement for women in 148 economies. The top 10 in the global rankings were largely European nations, with Iceland at number one, followed by Finland and Norway.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Japan Today
15 hours ago
- Japan Today
Premier League 'under strain' despite record £6.3 bil revenues
Fan protests over rising ticket prices have become commonplace in the Premier League soccer The combined revenue of Premier League clubs rose to a record £6.3 billion ($8.5 billion, 7.5 billion euros) in the 2023/24 season, but fan unrest and worsening competitive balance are cause for concern, according to financial experts Deloitte. The rise in income for England's 20 top-flight clubs was fueled by commercial income surpassing £2 billion for the first time and a rise in matchday revenue beyond £900 million. English clubs continue to enjoy a huge financial advantage over their European rivals. Spain's La Liga, the second highest revenue-generating league, earned just over half that amount at 3.8 billion euros, almost 50 percent of which came from Real Madrid and Barcelona. However, fan protests have become a common sight at Premier League stadiums over rising ticket prices and the squeezing out of local supporters to make way for more tourists willing to spend more for a special matchday experience. "There can be no doubt that the system in English football is under strain," said Tim Bridge, the lead partner in the Deloitte Sports Business Group. "Repeated reports of fan unrest at ticket price and accessibility demonstrate the challenge in the modern era of balancing commercial growth with the historic essence of a football club's role and position in society: as a community asset." There is also uncertainty over the implications of an incoming independent regulator for England's top five leagues. And for the past two seasons, all three promoted clubs from the Championship have been immediately relegated back to the second tier. "The financial implications of the 'yo-yo effect' on clubs, their spending, and overall competitiveness are major factors to address in order to continue attracting high levels of investment across the system," added Bridge in Deloitte's Annual Review of Football Finance. Total revenue of European clubs rose by eight percent in the 2023/24 campaign to 38 billion euros, boosted by increased commercial revenue and stadium developments. The women's game also continues to grow commercially, particularly in England's Women's Super League (WSL). Collective revenues in the WSL rose 34 percent to £65 million in 2023/24 and are projected to reach £100 million in the upcoming season. © 2025 AFP


Japan Times
a day ago
- Japan Times
Japan ranks 118th out of 148 countries in gender gap report
Japan ranked 118th out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, maintaining the same position as last year — the lowest among Group of Seven countries. The Swiss think tank's annual report, released Thursday, evaluates gender parity across four categories: education, health, political empowerment and economic participation. Complete equality between men and women would be recorded as a 100% score. Japan's overall mark was 66.6%, up slightly from 66.3% from the previous year, but still below the global average of 68.8%. Japan recorded its strongest gains in economic participation, where its score climbed to 61.3% from 56.8% in 2024. The WEF looked into five areas within that category, with the rise driven by a slight increase in female labor force participation (from 54.8% to 55.6%). A higher share of women in leadership roles such as legislators, senior officials and managers (from 14.6% to 16.1%), and improved parity in estimated earned income (59.2%, up from 58.3%) also pushed up the score for the category. Japan still only ranked 112th overall in the category, however. Educational attainment and health scores remain areas of near gender parity, with little change from the previous year at 99% and 97%, or 66th and 50th respectively, for the category scores. Political empowerment is still by far Japan's weakest category. The country's score in this area dropped to 8.5%, down from 11.8% last year, reflecting a decline in female representation at the highest levels of government. Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's Cabinet, reshuffled in November, includes just two female ministers — down from five in the previous administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Although the most recent Lower House election last October saw a record number of women elected, they still account for only 15.7% of Lower House lawmakers. 'Japan's efforts toward gender equality remain behind those of other countries, and we must take this result seriously and humbly,' Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said in a news conference Thursday. A Cabinet Office survey conducted last year of local assembly members revealed that women in politics face a myriad of challenges balancing their legislative responsibilities with family life, harassment and entrenched gender stereotypes. 'Gender equality in politics is essential to ensuring that diverse perspectives are reflected in governance, and we remain committed to advancing these efforts,' he said, adding that the government is promoting anti-harassment training and taking steps to improve child care and eldercare support in government workplaces. Globally, political empowerment continues to be the greatest obstacle to gender parity, with an average achievement rate of just 22.9%, according to the WEF. At the current rate of progress, the organization estimates it will take 123 years to achieve full gender parity worldwide. Iceland retained the top spot in the global rankings for the 16th consecutive year, with a gender equality score of 92.6%. Finland and Norway followed, scoring 87.9% and 86.3%, respectively. Pakistan ranked last with 56.7%. The United States placed 42nd (75.6%), while South Korea (101st, 68.7%) and China (103rd, 68.6%) both ranked ahead of Japan.

Nikkei Asia
a day ago
- Nikkei Asia
Philippines, Singapore gender equality high in Asia, but region lags Europe: WEF
SINGAPORE -- The Philippines and Singapore rank highly in Asia, and are within the top 50 countries globally for gender equality, even as the region lags Europe and the Americas in closing the gap between women and men, a World Economic Forum report released Thursday showed. Estimating that the worldwide gap will take 123 years to close at the current rate, the report put regions like Europe and the Americas ahead of Asia in overall opportunities and advancement for women in 148 economies. The top 10 in the global rankings were largely European nations, with Iceland at number one, followed by Finland and Norway.