On May 25, 2024, during the sixth phase of voting in the Indian general election, women lined up to vote at a polling station in Saroj village in Badoshi district, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Niharika Kulkarni | AFP | Getty Images
The World Economic Forum says the 2024 election year presents a unique opportunity to make progress in closing the global gender gap.
While global gender inequality narrowed slightly over the past year, it did so at a slower pace than before, the World Economic Forum said in a new report released on Wednesday. The World Economic Forum says it is currently estimated that it will take 134 years, or five generations, to close the global gender gap, and that it will take 131 years by 2023.
The NGO said a full electoral cycle this year could close the gap by increasing women’s representation in politics.
Saadia Zahidi, managing director of the World Economic Forum, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box”: “When so many people around the world are going to vote and there are so many changes in political systems, it’s important here. There is a chance to make a leap.
Zahidi added in a press release: “We cannot wait until 2158 to achieve equality: the time for decisive action is now.”
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, now in its 18th year, is an annual index designed to measure gender equality. It measures gender-based gaps in four areas: economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment.
Despite modest progress at the federal and local levels, political participation is considered an area of serious imbalance. But with about half the world’s population eligible to vote in dozens of elections this year, it’s also seen as an area with huge potential.
“Much like the structure of many industries, there is still this vertical gap in political leadership,” Zahidi said.
according to separate World Economic Forum ReportLast year, women held approximately 27% of parliamentary seats and 23% of ministerial positions, and accounted for less than 10% of the world’s heads of state. Women also hold about 25% of C-suite positions, according to WEF and LinkedIn Data Display.
“With more than 60 national elections due in 2024 and the largest vote in global history, women’s political representation and the overall gender gap are likely to improve,” the report added.
This can be achieved both at the top, by providing more leadership positions for women, and through policies designed to support and empower women.
Last week, Mexico voted in its first female president, Claudia Scheinbaum, whose campaign included promises to reduce violence against women. A day earlier, Iceland elected Halla Tomasdottir as President Following a career in business, that included increasing female representation in financial services.
Europe leads the way on gender equality
The global gender gap now stands at 68.5%, 0.1 percentage points higher than last year, mainly due to small increases in economic participation and opportunity.
“While there are some bright spots, the slow and incremental progress highlighted in this year’s Global Gender Gap Report highlights the urgent need for a renewed global commitment to gender equality, particularly in the economic and political spheres,” Zahidi said.
Iceland has been ranked as the most gender-equal country in the world for 15 consecutive years and is the only country to have narrowed the gender gap by 93.5%.
The top ten are Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden, Nicaragua, Germany, Namibia, Ireland and Spain. While no country has yet achieved full gender equality, the top ten have closed the gap by at least 80%.
Europe continues to lead at the regional level, with a gender equality score of 75%, slightly ahead of North America, which closed the gap by 74.8%.
Latin America ranks third with a score of 74.2%, the region that has improved the most since the index was launched.
Meanwhile, East Asia and the Pacific scored 69.2%, slightly higher than Central Asia’s 69.1%, Sub-Saharan Africa’s 68.4% and South Asia’s 63.7%. The Middle East and North Africa region ranks at the bottom with 61.7%.
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