Story at a glance
- The World Economic Forum published its Global Gender Gap Report 2022.
- The annual report found that the global gender gap closed by 68 percent and at that pace will take 132 years to reach full parity.
- In North America, the gender gap closed by 76.9 percent but still leaves 167 million women facing a gender gap.
There have been struggles to close gaps in gender equality in the last year, as the world experienced a pandemic, skyrocketing inflation, climate change and more. A new global report has found that in 2022 the gender gap closed by 68 percent — and at that pace will take 132 years to reach full parity.
The World Economic Forum has published its Global Gender Gap Report 2022, examining four key categories: economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment. The results revealed that though more women around the world have moved into paid work and leadership positions, here have been plenty more setbacks.
“The economic and social consequences of the pandemic and geopolitical conflict have paused progress and worsened outcomes for women and girls around the world – and risk creating permanent scarring in the labor market,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director at World Economic Forum.
The report said that no country out of the 146 analyzed has yet achieved full gender parity, but 10 economies have closed at least 80 percent of their gender gaps — with Iceland leading at 90.8 percent and other Scandinavian countries, such as Finland at 86 percent, Norway at 84.5 percent and Sweden at 82.2 percent, close behind.
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In comparison, North America, including the U.S., Canada and Mexico, has closed 76.9 percent of its gender gap — which means there are still 167 million women facing a remaining a gap of 23.1 percent along its matrices.
That’s something the U.S. Department of Labor backs up, with data released in March showing women are paid on average 83 percent of what men are. Women of color are paid even less, about 57 percent of what white non-Hispanic men make.
However, the report found that North America is the most advanced region in terms of being able to close its gender gap and could close the gap completely within its own borders in anywhere from 62 to 59 years.
North America has also fared better when it comes to educational attainment, with both the U.S. and Canada attaining parity in literacy rate and higher education. Both countries also reported near parity for healthy life expectancy.
However, North America was found to have the third-widest regional gap on political empowerment — with only 33.7 percent of parity achieved in 2022. The report also noted that the U.S. has never elected a female head of state.
Globally, the workforce is an area that the report identified as an emerging crisis, riddled with long-standing structural barriers for women. In 2022, the gender parity in the labor force stood at 62.9 percent — the lowest level registered since the World Economic Forum began compiling its report.
Among the workers who remained in the labor force, unemployment rates increased and have remained consistently higher for women.
The gender parity in the labor force last year was exacerbated by the pandemic, as the majority of care work fell on women, as child care facilities and schools closed down.
The World Economic Forum emphasized that investing in human capital can drive national prosperity and make it easier for local populations to achieve work life balance. The report calls on world leaders to tap into their creativity and push for a strong recovery.
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