Einar H. Dyvik
Research expert covering Nordics and global data for society, economy, and politics
Gender equality worldwide - statistics & facts
Even though several milestones have been achieved over the past decades, gender equality remains an issue all around the world, although the most pressing issues and levels of gender equality vary from region to region and country to country. At the most general level, gender equality refers to equal rights and opportunities for both women and men across different dimensions. It can be discussed as something abstract – like distribution of power and influence as well as something specific like working conditions and domestic work.
These long-term prospects indicate just how lengthy and complicated the road towards gender equity can be. As a matter of fact, it is often argued that gender equality has stagnated – either in some parts of the world or across specific dimensions. Women continue to lag behind men in terms of economic opportunities and political empowerment. For instance, less than one fourth of parliamentarians around the world are women. However, the global gender gap considering educational attainment as well as health and survival were considered closed as of 2023.
How can gender equality be measured?
When measuring gender equality, several parameters are taken into consideration. Perhaps the most known indicator of gender equality worldwide is the Global Gender Gap Index. Each year, the index benchmarks national gender gaps on economic, political, educational, and health-based criteria based on 14 indicators in these categories. Iceland enjoys the smallest overall gender gap, according to the 2024 index, followed by other Nordic countries like Finland, Norway, as well as New Zealand. Conversely, gender parity in Afghanistan is deemed the most challenged. Another relevant indicator of global gender equality is the Gender Inequality Index. This index measures inequality in achievement between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment, and the labor market. In 2021, Denmark topped the ranking, while once again Yemen was considered the least gender equal country in the world.When will gender equality be achieved?
In a macro-regional perspective, South Asia, as well as the Middle East and North Africa, have the longest way to go before closing the gender gap, with only around 63 percent closed as of 2022. Europe, on the other hand, has made the most progress towards gender parity, having closed more than 76 percent of the gender gap. At the same time, however, it is estimated that gender parity will not be achieved in Europe for another 67 years. While this is many years from now, gender equal societies in several other regions of the world are not expected for over another 150 years. Furthermore, this is not necessarily a process constantly changing in one direction, but drawbacks may occur such as when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling that established the right to abortion in the United States.These long-term prospects indicate just how lengthy and complicated the road towards gender equity can be. As a matter of fact, it is often argued that gender equality has stagnated – either in some parts of the world or across specific dimensions. Women continue to lag behind men in terms of economic opportunities and political empowerment. For instance, less than one fourth of parliamentarians around the world are women. However, the global gender gap considering educational attainment as well as health and survival were considered closed as of 2023.
What impacts gender equality?
Conflicts and crisis have a negative impact on gender equality. As a result of the Taliban taking control of Afghanistan in 2021, gender equality was the lowest in the whole world in Afghanistan as of 2023. Another example is the COVID-19 pandemic, whose economic effects were more heavily felt by women than men as the gender poverty gap increased in 2020 and 2021. The pandemic also created further complications for gender equality when schools and other care facilities had to close as the care responsibilities often fell onto women rather than men. Furthermore, domestic violence reporting skyrocketed during the lockdown period all across the world.
