Latest news with #GlobalGenderGapReport2025
Express Tribune
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Gender gap crisis
Listen to article Pakistan's rock-bottom ranking in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025 is a damning indictment of the government's claims regarding women's empowerment. Pakistan fared even lower than Iran, which has several social restrictions on women, and war-torn Sudan, where a large share of the women are internally displaced and unable to access proper healthcare or work, while enduring high rates of sexual violence. Among the most telling gaps in the report is that women still account for only 22.8% of the labour force, almost all of which is in agriculture or 'women's work', such as maids and other domestic work for those with less education, or teaching, and occasionally medicine, for educated women. Even here, it is worth noting that women who study medicine are often referred to as "lady doctors", rather than just doctors, in a manner that often comes across as pejorative. Women are also chronically underpaid, with many employers intentionally underpaying white-collar workers because they probably are not their families' breadwinners. As for political participation, the only reason we have any significant political representation for women is because of reserved seats. Currently, only 12 women members of the National Assembly are directly elected, and almost all of them are from political families. While many women in politics have proven themselves to be competent, the fact that they are only allowed into the field if a male relative opens the door is emblematic of problems across society and in all walks of life. Meanwhile, even data for education — which on the face suggests slight improvements in women's enrolment — is skewed by the fact that male enrolment declined, artificially inflating the improvement for girls. Experts believe that improving women's workforce participation alone could increase GDP by 60%. Female participation in politics and society could also improve professional, educational and health outcomes for women. Bridging the gender gap is, thus, not just a women's issue, but of everyone.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
UAE hires more women than ever before, posts record jump in Global Gender Equality ranking
UAE ranks sixth in Asian Women's Club rankings The UAE has emerged as a global leader in closing the gender gap, with a sharp rise in women's participation in top leadership roles, according to the World Economic Forum 's Global Gender Gap Report 2025. The Emirates climbed five spots in the global ranking, from 74th to 69th, and retained its position as the top-performing country in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This rise in gender parity is supported by LinkedIn's Economic Graph data, which shows that women's hiring into leadership roles in the UAE increased by 4.5% year-on-year, defying a global decline seen over the past year. Worldwide, the trend has reversed some of the progress made between 2015 and 2021, but the UAE is bucking the trend. UAE Among Fastest Movers Globally The report places the UAE in the 'fastest-moving' group of nations, alongside: Bangladesh Chile Ecuador Ethiopia Nicaragua Mexico Saudi Arabia These countries have demonstrated the most progress in narrowing the gender gap across economic, educational, health, and political indicators. The UAE's gender parity score is now 0.724, ahead of all other MENA countries. It is followed by: Israel Bahrain Jordan Tunisia Kuwait Saudi Arabia Oman Lebanon Morocco Egypt Algeria Iran Sudan The Political Empowerment sub-index also saw significant improvement for the UAE. With a political parity score of 37.2%, the country now ranks 32nd globally. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Eat 1 Teaspoon Every Night, See What Happens A Week Later [Video] getfittoday Undo The WEF report notes that the UAE, Mexico, Nicaragua, and Rwanda have achieved full parity in parliamentary representation, with Oman being the only country this year without any women in its national parliament. Women in UAE: More Diverse, Skilled, and AI-Ready Data from LinkedIn's Economic Graph, also featured in the report, offers more insights into what's driving the UAE's strong gender performance: Women in the UAE are up to 28% more likely than men to have multidomain professional experience, giving them a wider range of skills and greater adaptability for future jobs. They are also more likely to possess human-centric skills, such as communication, collaboration, and creativity, that AI and automation cannot replicate. Female professionals in the UAE are slightly more likely than men to focus on learning new skills and report greater confidence in using AI, based on LinkedIn's survey data from early 2025. This suggests that UAE women are not only rising in leadership roles but also preparing effectively for the evolving demands of the AI-driven economy. Long-Term Gains and Global Standing Over the 19 editions of the Global Gender Gap Report, the UAE has been one of the biggest improvers globally, alongside: Iceland Bangladesh Chile Ecuador Mexico In contrast, countries such as North Macedonia, Iran, Sweden, Kazakhstan, and Lesotho have seen the lowest overall gains in gender parity over time.
Hans India
17 hours ago
- Business
- Hans India
India falls two spots in WEF Gender Gap Index, ranks 131
New Delhi: India has ranked 131 out of 146 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, slipping two places from its position last year. With a parity score of just 64.1 per cent, India is among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia, according to the report released on Thursday. India ranked 129 last year. The Global Gender Gap Index measures gender parity across four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. 'One of the dimensions where India increases parity is in Economic Participation and Opportunity, where its score improves by +.9 percentage points to 40.7 per cent. While most indicator values remain the same, parity in estimated earned income rises from 28.6 per cent to 29.9 per cent, positively impacting the subindex score,' the report said. Scores in labour force participation rate remained the same (45.9 per cent) as last year -- India's highest achieved to date. In educational attainment, the report said, India scored 97.1 per cent, reflecting positive shifts in female shares for literacy and tertiary education enrolment, which result in positive score improvements for the subindex as a whole. 'India also records higher parity in health and survival, driven by improved scores in sex ratio at birth and in healthy life expectancy,' it said. However, similar to other countries, parity in healthy life expectancy is obtained despite an overall reduction in the life expectancy of men and women, the report said. 'Where India records a slight drop in parity (-0.6 points) since the last edition is in Political Empowerment. Female representation in Parliament falls from 14.7 per cent to 13.8 per cent in 2025, lowering the indicator score for the second year in a row below 2023 levels,' it said. Similarly, the share of women in ministerial roles falls from 6.5 per cent to 5.6 per cent, moving the indicator score (5.9 per cent) further away this year from its highest level (30 per cent in 2019), it said. With notable gains in political empowerment and economic participation, Bangladesh emerged as the best performer in South Asia, jumping 75 ranks to rank 24 globally. Nepal ranked 125, Sri Lanka 130, Bhutan 119, Maldives 138 and Pakistan 148. The report said the global gender gap has closed to 68.8 per cent, marking the strongest annual advancement since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Scoop
18 hours ago
- Business
- Scoop
Gender Gap Closes At Fastest Rate Since Pandemic
The global gender gap has closed to 68.8%, led by economic and political advances – yet progress is still behind pre-pandemic pace, with full parity an estimated 123 years away. Women outpace men in higher education but only 28.8 % reach senior leadership, a missed opportunity for greater economic resilience and growth amid global uncertainty. Political empowerment sees strongest gains, yet with only 22.9% of the global gap closed to date it remains the biggest barrier to progress on parity worldwide. Geneva, Switzerland, 12 June 2025 – The global gender gap has closed to 68.8%, marking the strongest annual advancement since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet full parity remains 123 years away at current rates, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, released today. Iceland leads the rankings for the 16th year running, followed by Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The 19th edition of the report, which covers 148 economies, reveals both encouraging momentum and persistent structural barriers facing women worldwide. The progress made in this edition was driven primarily by significant strides in political empowerment and economic participation, while educational attainment and health and survival maintained near-parity levels above 95%. However, despite women representing 41.2% of the global workforce, a stark leadership gap persists with women holding only 28.8% of top leadership positions. 'At a time of heightened global economic uncertainty and a low growth outlook combined with technological and demographic change, advancing gender parity represents a key force for economic renewal," said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director, World Economic Forum. "The evidence is clear. Economies that have made decisive progress towards parity are positioning themselves for stronger, more innovative and more resilient economic progress.' Top 10 Rankings Iceland maintains its position as the world's most gender-equal economy for the 16th consecutive year, with 92.6% of its gender gap closed – the only economy to surpass 90% parity. Finland (87.9%), Norway (86.3%), the UK (83.8%) and New Zealand (82.7%) round out the top five positions. All top 10 economies have closed at least 80% of their gender gaps, the only economies to achieve this milestone. European nations dominate the top 10 rankings with eight positions - Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden have maintained top 10 status since 2006. Gender Parity and Economic Progress The index looks only at gender gaps in outcomes and not at the overall levels of resources and opportunities in a country. It finds a slight correlation between the current income levels of the countries covered and their gender gaps, with richer economies being slightly more gender equal. At the aggregate level, high-income economies have closed 74.3% of their gender gap - slightly higher than the averages observed in lower income groups: 69.6% among upper-middle income, 66.0% among lower-middle-income and 66.4% among low-income economies. Yet, the correlation is low and does not indicate causation. Top performers among the three lower income groups have closed a greater share of their gender gaps than over half of the economies in the high-income group. While resources matter, it is not richer countries alone that can afford to invest in gender parity - economies can integrate parity into their growth strategies at all levels of development. Historically, those who have done well at developing and integrating their full human capital tend to have more sustainable and prosperous economies as a result. Leveraging the full base of talent and diverse ideas in an economy can unlock creativity and drive innovation, growth and productivity. Regional Leaders Northern America leads the world with a gender parity score of 75.8%, showing particularly strong performance in economic participation and opportunity (76.1%) where it leads all regions. The region has made significant progress in political empowerment since 2006, narrowing its political parity gap by 19.3 percentage points. Europe ranks second with a gender parity score of 75.1%, having closed 6.3 percentage points of its overall gap since 2006. The region has particularly strong performance in political empowerment (35.4%) where it ranks highest globally. European economies continue to lead the overall rankings, occupying eight of the top 10 positions. Latin America and the Caribbean stands out as the region with the fastest rate of progress, ranking third with a score of 74.5% and having advanced 8.6 percentage points since 2006 – making the greatest overall progress of all regions. This regional success demonstrates that rapid progress is achievable with focused policy interventions, offering a model for economic acceleration through gender parity. Central Asia places fourth with a score of 69.8%. Armenia (73.1%) and Georgia (72.9%) are the region's top performers, each closing more than 70% of their gender gaps and leading regional progress in economic participation and educational attainment. Eastern Asia and the Pacific ranks fifth with a score of 69.4%, achieving the second-highest regional score for economic participation and opportunity at 71.6%. New Zealand (82.7%), Australia (79.2%) and the Philippines (78.1%) are the top performers in the region, with New Zealand the only economy from the region in the global top 10. Sub-Saharan Africa ranks sixth with a score of 68.0%. The region displays wide variation across countries, yet its success stories demonstrate that progress is possible in all economic contexts. The region has made significant progress in political empowerment, with women now holding 40.2% of ministerial roles and 37.7% of parliamentary seats. Southern Asia ranks seventh with a score of 64.6%. Bangladesh (77.5%) is the region's top performer, and the only Southern Asian economy in the global top 50. Significant improvements in educational attainment since 2006 are creating a foundation for future economic gains. Middle East and Northern Africa ranks eighth with a score of 61.7%. However, the region has shown considerable improvement in political empowerment since 2006, with the regional average more than tripling and gaining 8.3 percentage points in this dimension. Economic Imperatives for Acceleration – Amid New Risks Based on the collective speed of progress of 100 economies covered continuously since 2006, it will take 123 years to reach full parity globally – an 11-year improvement from last edition's estimate but still falling more than a century short of the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the fastest-moving economies demonstrate that rapid acceleration is possible when gender parity becomes a national priority. The economies that proved most successful at bridging their gender gaps across each income group respectively are Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Ecuador, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. Political empowerment has seen the most improvement overall, with the gap narrowing by 9.0 percentage points since 2006, yet at the current pace it will still take 162 years to fully close this gap. Economic participation and opportunity has gained 5.6 percentage points over time, with economic parity projected to take 135 years at current rates. Both technological transformation as well as geoeconomic fragmentation create new risks that could reverse the economic gains made by women in recent decades. Women in lower- and middle-income economies in particular moved into formal and better remunerated employment in export sectors in recent years. These roles could be at risk in the face of potential trade contractions. As evidenced by the COVID-19 emergency, while both men and women suffer under trade shocks, effects for women tend to last longer and are harder to reverse, exacerbating pre-existing disparities in earnings, assets and wealth. It will therefore be important to keep the gendered job and wage impacts of trade fragmentation and its effects on growth and prosperity at the forefront as trade policy evolves in 2025. Workforce Transformation Reveals Massive Untapped Potential Educational attainment is rising, but its economic return remains uneven. Women outpace men in higher education, but their presence in senior leadership stagnates as education levels rise - even the most educated women represent less than one third of top managers. This underutilisation of human capital represents both a systemic inefficiency and a missed economic opportunity. 'Women's progress in leadership continues to decline. As the global economy transforms, AI accelerates, and countries look to combat stagnating growth, this leadership gap should set alarm bells ringing,' said Sue Duke, Global Head of Public Policy, LinkedIn. 'The varied experience and uniquely human skills that women bring to the leadership table are essential to unlocking the full promise of an AI-powered economy, yet are being overlooked at exactly the moment they are needed most." The path to leadership is less and less linear for workers overall, but especially for women. LinkedIn data reveals that it is now over twice as common for leaders to have worked in at least two different industries, functions or companies - suggesting both greater adaptability and potential barriers to linear advancement within single sectors. Career breaks are at the heart of this dynamic, with women being 55.2% more likely to take them than men. Women also spend on average half a year more than men away from work, with caregiving responsibilities driving most of these interruptions. This shift from rigid career ladders reflects the reality of modern work patterns, where lateral moves, sector transitions and re-entry after breaks are becoming the norm rather than the exception. About the Global Gender Gap Report The Global Gender Gap Report, now in its 19th edition, benchmarks gender-based gaps in economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. As the longest-standing index tracking progress since 2006, it provides comprehensive analysis of developments in 148 economies representing over two-thirds of the world's population. The report integrates the latest internationally comparable statistics from organizations such as the International Labour Organization, UNESCO, UN Women, World Bank, and the World Health Organization, as well as data from the World Bank's Women, Business and the Law dataset and LinkedIn's Economic Graph. While the 2025 edition analyses data collected primarily for the year 2024, the report also tracks trends over time using a constant sample of 100 economies included in every edition since 2006, allowing for robust long-term comparisons. The report supports the Global Gender Parity Sprint to 2030, a World Economic Forum platform that mobilises a coalition of businesses, governments, and international organizations to accelerate progress on economic gender parity.
Indian Express
20 hours ago
- Business
- Indian Express
Knowledge Nugget: Why Global Gender Gap Report 2025 is important for your UPSC exam
Take a look at the essential concepts, terms, quotes, or phenomena every day and brush up your knowledge. Here's your knowledge nugget for today. (Relevance: Global indices are important markers for comparative understanding of a country's progress. UPSC has asked questions about these indices. The key highlights of these reports are also important for adding value to your Mains answers. In this regard, the comprehensive understanding of this report becomes essential for your exam.) The 19th edition of the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 was published by the World Economic Forum (WEF) with the global gender gap at 68.8 per cent for 148 countries, marking the strongest annual advancement since the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet full parity remains 123 years away at current rates. The report shows that across all dimensions in 2024, the gender parity has risen, and in 11 of the 14 indicators, marking a notable acceleration from last year's result. No country has yet achieved full gender parity. 1. The Global Gender Gap Index is released annually by the WEF. It was first introduced in 2006 to benchmark the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. The index lies between 0 and 1, with 1 denoting complete parity. The gender gap is the distance from full parity. 2. 'Among the 148 economies covered in the 2025 index, the Health and Survival gender gap has closed by 96.2%, the Educational Attainment gap by 95.1%, the Economic Participation and Opportunity gap by 61.0%, and the Political Empowerment gap by 22.9%'. The report said. Women represent 41.2 per cent of the global workforce, but a stark gap persists with women only holding 28.8 per cent of top leadership positions, as noted in the report. 3. Iceland retains the world's most gender-equal economy for the 16th consecutive year, closing 92.6% of the gender gap – the only economy to reach 90% parity- followed by Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Bangladesh emerged as the best performer in South Asia, jumping 75 ranks to rank 24 globally. Nepal ranked 125, Sri Lanka 130, Bhutan 119, Maldives 13,8 and Pakistan 148. 4. India has ranked 131 out of 148 countries, slipping two places from its position last year. The Indian economy's overall performance improved in absolute terms by +0.3 points. With a parity score of just 64.1 per cent, India is among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia. In 2024, India ranked 129. 5. In Economic Participation and Opportunity, India's score has improved by +0.9 percentage points to 40.7 per cent. The parity in estimated income rises from 28.6 per cent to 29.9 per cent, positively impacting the subindex score. 6. In educational attainment, the report said, India scored 97.1 per cent, reflecting positive shifts in female shares for literacy and tertiary education enrolment, which result in positive score improvements for the subindex as a whole. 7. 'India also records higher parity in health and survival, driven by improved scores in sex ratio at birth and in healthy life expectancy,' it said. However, similar to other countries, parity in healthy life expectancy is obtained despite an overall reduction in the life expectancy of men and women, the report said. 8. In terms of political empowerment, India experienced a slight decline in parity (-0.6 points) since the last edition. Female representation in Parliament falls from 14.7 per cent to 13.8 per cent in 2025, lowering the indicator score for the second year in a row below 2023 levels. Similarly, the share of women in ministerial roles falls from 6.5 per cent to 5.6 per cent. Top 10 countries closing the gender gap in 2025 📍Gender Inequality Index (GII): GII is published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in their Human Development Report. It measures gender inequalities in three key dimensions — reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market. The score ranges from 0, where women and men fare equally, to 1, where one gender fares as poorly as possible in all measured dimensions. India has a GII value of 0.403, ranking it 102 out of 172 countries in 2023. 📍Gender Development Index (GDI): It is published by UNDP. GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources, measured by female and male estimated earned income. According to the Human Development Report 2025, the 2023 female HDI value for India is 0.631 in contrast with 0.722 for males, resulting in a GDI value of 0.874. 📍Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI): It is a composite scheme developed by UNDP and UN Women to assess the status of women's achievements relative to men's in four dimensions of human development: life and good health; education, skill-building and knowledge; labour and financial inclusion; and participation in decision-making. 📍Women's Empowerment Index (WEI): It is a composite index developed by UNDP and UN Women to measure the level of women's empowerment across five dimensions: health, education, inclusion, decision-making, and violence against women. A value close to 1 indicates higher empowerment across the five dimensions, and a value close to 0 indicates lower empowerment. India's score is 0.52. Which of the following gives 'Global Gender Gap Index' ranking to the countries of the world? (UPSC CSE 2017) (a) World Economic Forum (b) UN Human Rights Council (c) UN Women (d) World Health Organization (Source: India slips to 131st position in Global Gender Gap Index 2025, WEF Gender Gap Index 2025: Top 10 best and worst countries for gender parity, Where do women stand in global indices? Must-know insights for UPSC aspirants, Knowledge Nugget: Why Human Development Report 2025 is UPSC essential) Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X. 🚨 Click Here to read the UPSC Essentials magazine for May 2025. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at Khushboo Kumari is a Deputy Copy Editor with The Indian Express. She has done her graduation and post-graduation in History from the University of Delhi. At The Indian Express, she writes for the UPSC section. She holds experience in UPSC-related content development. 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