It will take another 134 years for world to achieve Gender parity; World Economic Forum report

For countries such as Kenya, which lie in the Sub-Saharan Africa, gender parity will be achieved after 4 generations. This is equivalent to countries in Northern America. 

While Caribbean countries and those in Europe are expected to achieve gender parity earlier, in 2 and 3 generations respectively, the Middle East, Southern and Easter Asia and the Pacific will achieve it after 7 generations. 

Countries in Central Asia are projected to be the last to achieve gender parity, after 9 generations. 

The report indicates that as of today, the world has closed 68.5% of the gender gap, with Iceland being named the most gender-equal country. 

Europe leads with a gender parity score of 75%, as North America ranks second with 74.8%, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean at 74.2%. 

Eastern Asia and Pacific rank fourth with 69.2%, Central Asia follows with a score of 69.1%, Sub-Saharan Africa with 68.4%, Southern Asia 63.7%, and the Middle East and North Africa ranked eight with 61.7%. 

In addition, the report found that women constitute 42% of the global workforce, but only 31.7% of senior leadership positions. In terms of remuneration, 56% of economies have laws on equal remuneration, and only 1 in 5 have transparency and enforcement mechanisms in pay equity. 

“The slow progress that had been made in women being hired into leadership roles is now starting to erode from a peak seen in 2022. As the global economy has cooled, it is women that have been disproportionately hit, reinforcing the systemic issues that hold women back in the workplace,” said Sue Duke, Vice-President Global Public Policy and Economic Graph, LinkedIn. 

The report also shows the concentration of women in AI engineering has more than doubled since 2016, indicating some progress in the sector.