Global Gender Gap Report Explained

The Global Gender Gap Report is an index designed to measure gender equality. It was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum.^[1]

It "assesses countries on how well they are dividing their resources and opportunities among their male and female populations, regardless of the overall levels of these resources and opportunities," the Report says.^[2] "By providing a comprehensible framework for assessing and comparing global gender gaps and by revealing those countries that are role models in dividing these resources equitably between women and men, the Report serves as a catalyst for greater awareness as well as greater exchange between policymakers."^[2]

According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2023, it will take exactly 131 years for the gender gap to close.^{[3] [4]}

Methodology

The report's Gender Gap Index ranks countries according to calculated gender gap between women and men in four key areas: health, education, economy and politics to gauge the state of gender equality in a country.

The report examines four overall areas of inequality between men and women in 146 economies around the globe, over 93% of the world's population:

• Economic participation and opportunity – outcomes on salaries, participation levels and access to high-skilled employment
• Educational attainment – outcomes on access to basic and higher-level education
• Political empowerment – outcomes on representation in decision-making structures
• Health and survival – outcomes on life expectancy and sex ratio. In this case parity is not assumed, there are assumed to be fewer female births than male (944 female for every 1,000 males), and men are assumed to die younger. Provided that women live at least six percent longer than men, parity is assumed. But if it is less than six percent it counts as a gender gap.^[5]

Thirteen out of the fourteen variables used to create the index are from publicly available "hard data" indicators from international organizations, such as the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Health Organization.^[6]

Upper limiting value of the Gender Gap Index

1. Economic participation and opportunity
ratio	limit^[7]	weight^[8]	value
Labour force participation	1.0	0.199	0.199
Wage equality for similar work	1.0	0.310	0.310
Estimated earned income	1.0	0.221	0.221
Legislators, senior officials and managers	1.0	0.149	0.149
Professional and technical workers	1.0	0.121	0.121
	sum	1.0	1.0
2. Educational attainment
ratio	limit	weight	value
Literacy rate	1.0	0.191	0.191
Enrolment in primary education	1.0	0.459	0.459
Enrolment in secondary education	1.0	0.229	0.229
Enrolment in tertiary education	1.0	0.121	0.121
	sum	1.0	1.0
3. Health and survival
ratio	limit	weight	value
Sex ratio at birth	0.944^[9]	0.693	0.654
Healthy life expectancy	1.060^[10]	0.307	0.325
	sum	1.0	0.980
4. Political empowerment
ratio	limit	weight	value
Women in parliament	1.0	0.310	0.310
Women in ministerial positions	1.0	0.247	0.247
Years with female head of state	1.0	0.443	0.443
	sum	1.0	1.0

Compilation
1. Economic participation and opportunity	1.000
2. Educational attainment	1.000
3. Health and survival	0.980
4. Political empowerment	1.000
sum	3.980

Gender Gap Index: 3.98 / 4 = 0.9949

This is the upper limiting value of the Gender Gap Index (limes superior) for the female-to-male ratio and for the male-to-female ratio.

WEF Global Gender Gap Index rankings

The highest possible score is 1.0 (equality or better for women, except for lifespan (106% or better for women) and gender parity at birth (94.4% or better for women^[11]) and the lowest possible score is 0. Data for some countries are unavailable.^{[12] [13] [14]} The three highest-ranking countries have closed over 84% of their gender gaps, while the lowest-ranking country has closed only a little over 50% of its gender gap.

Location		Year ^[15]
Country	Region	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015^[16]	2016^[17]	2017	2018	2020^[18]	2021^[19]	2022
	South Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.444	0.435
	Europe	0.6607	0.6685	0.6591	0.6601	0.6726	0.6748	0.6655	0.6412	0.6869	0.701	0.704	0.728	0.734	0.769	0.770	0.787
	Africa	0.6018	0.6068	0.6111	0.6119	0.6052	0.5991	0.6112	0.5966	0.6182	0.632	0.642	0.629	0.629	0.634	0.633	0.602
	Africa	0.6039	0.6034	0.6032	0.6353	0.6712	0.6624	N/A	0.6659	0.6311	0.637	0.643	0.640	0.633	0.660	0.657	0.638
	South America	0.6829	0.6982	0.7209	0.7211	0.7187	0.7236	0.7212	0.7195	0.7317	0.734	0.735	0.732	0.733	0.746	0.752	0.756
	West Asia	N/A	0.6651	0.6677	0.6619	0.6669	0.6654	0.6636	0.6634	0.6622	0.668	0.669	0.677	0.678	0.684	0.673	0.698
	Oceania	0.7163	0.7204	0.7241	0.7282	0.7271	0.7291	0.7294	0.7390	0.7409	0.733	0.721	0.731	0.730	0.731	0.731	0.738
	Europe	0.6986	0.7060	0.7153	0.7031	0.7091	0.7165	0.7391	0.7437	0.7266	0.733	0.716	0.709	0.718	0.744	0.777	0.781
	West Asia	N/A	0.6781	0.6856	0.6626	0.6446	0.6577	0.6546	0.6582	0.6753	0.675	0.684	0.676	0.680	0.687	0.688	0.687
	Central America	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.7179	0.7128	0.7340	0.7156	0.7128	0.7269	0.728	0.729	0.743	0.741	0.720	0.725	N/A
	West Asia	0.5894	0.5931	0.5927	0.6136	0.6217	0.6232	0.6298	0.6334	0.6261	0.644	0.615	0.632	0.627	0.629	0.632	0.632
	South Asia	0.6270	0.6314	0.6531	0.6526	0.6702	0.6812	0.6684	0.6848	0.6973	0.704	0.698	0.719	0.721	0.726	0.719	0.714
	Central America	N/A	N/A	0.7188	0.7236	0.7176	0.7170	0.7232	0.7301	0.7289	0.744	0.739	0.750	0.753	0.749	0.769	0.765
	Europe	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.734	0.737	0.744	0.747	0.746	0.758	0.750
	Europe	0.7078	0.7198	0.7163	0.7165	0.7509	0.7531	0.7652	0.7684	0.7809	0.753	0.745	0.739	0.738	0.750	0.789	0.793
	Central America	N/A	0.6426	0.6610	0.6636	0.6536	0.6489	0.6465	0.6449	0.6701	0.668	0.676	0.692	0.662	0.671	0.699	0.695
	Africa	0.5780	0.5656	0.5582	0.5643	0.5719	0.5832	0.6258	0.5885	N/A	0.625	0.636	0.652	0.654	0.658	0.653	0.612
	South Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.6651	0.6364	0.646	0.642	0.638	0.638	0.635	0.639	0.637
	South America	0.6335	0.6574	0.6667	0.6693	0.6751	0.6862	0.7222	0.7340	0.7049	0.749	0.746	0.758	0.748	0.734	0.722	0.734
	Europe	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.713	0.710
	Africa	0.6897	0.6797	0.6839	0.7071	0.6876	0.6832	0.6744	0.6752	0.7129	0.710	0.715	0.720	0.715	0.709	0.716	0.719
	South America	0.6543	0.6637	0.6737	0.6695	0.6655	0.6679	0.6909	0.6949	0.6941	0.686	0.687	0.684	0.681	0.691	0.695	0.696
	Southeast Asia	N/A	N/A	0.6392	0.6524	0.6748	0.6787	0.6750	0.6730	0.6719	0.684	0.669	0.671	0.686	0.686	0.678	0.680
	Europe	0.6870	0.7085	0.7077	0.7072	0.6983	0.6987	0.7021	0.7097	0.7444	0.722	0.726	0.756	0.756	0.727	0.746	0.740
	Africa	0.5854	0.5912	0.6029	0.6081	0.6162	0.6153	0.6455	0.6513	0.6500	0.651	0.64	0.646	0.629	0.635	0.651	0.659
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.7270	0.7338	0.7397	0.7565	0.748	0.768	0.755	0.741	0.745	0.769	0.777
	Southeast Asia	0.6291	0.6353	0.6469	0.6410	0.6482	0.6464	0.6457	0.6509	0.6520	0.662	0.658	0.676	0.683	0.694	0.685	0.690
	Africa	0.5865	0.5919	0.6017	0.6108	0.6110	0.6073	0.6291	0.6560	N/A	0.682	0.684	0.689	0.714	0.686	0.692	0.692
	North America	0.7165	0.7198	0.7136	0.7196	0.7372	0.7407	0.7381	0.7425	0.7464	0.740	0.731	0.769	0.771	0.772	0.772	0.772
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.7180	0.7122	0.7133	0.717	0.729	0.686	0.702	0.725	0.716	0.736
	Africa	0.5247	0.5381	0.5290	0.5417	0.5330	0.5334	0.5594	0.5588	0.5764	0.580	0.587	0.575	0.580	0.596	0.593	0.579
	South America	0.6455	0.6482	0.6818	0.6884	0.7013	0.7030	0.6676	0.6670	0.6975	0.698	0.699	0.704	0.717	0.723	0.716	0.736
	East Asia	0.6561	0.6643	0.6878	0.6907	0.6881	0.6866	0.6853	0.6908	0.6830	0.682	0.676	0.674	0.673	0.676	0.682	0.682
	South America	0.7049	0.7090	0.6944	0.6939	0.6927	0.6714	0.6901	0.7171	0.7122	0.725	0.727	0.731	0.729	0.758	0.725	0.710
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.631
	Central America	0.6936	0.7014	0.7111	0.7180	0.7194	0.7266	0.7225	0.7241	0.7165	0.732	0.736	0.727	0.749	0.782	0.786	0.796
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.5691	0.5773	0.5785	0.5814	0.5874	0.606	0.597	0.611	0.627	0.606	0.637	0.632
	Europe	0.7145	0.7210	0.6967	0.6944	0.6939	0.7006	0.7053	0.7069	0.7075	0.708	0.7	0.711	0.712	0.720	0.733	N/A
	Central America	N/A	0.7169	0.7195	0.7176	0.7253	0.7394	0.7417	0.7540	0.7317	0.740	0.74	0.745	0.749	0.746	0.746	N/A
	West Asia	0.6430	0.6522	0.6694	0.6706	0.6642	0.6567	0.6732	0.6801	0.6741	0.671	0.684	0.684	0.684	0.692	0.707	0.696
	Europe	0.6712	0.6718	0.6770	0.6789	0.6850	0.6789	0.6767	0.6770	0.6737	0.687	0.69	0.688	0.693	0.706	0.711	0.710
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.576	0.575
	Europe	0.7462	0.7519	0.7538	0.7628	0.7719	0.7778	0.7777	0.7779	0.8025	0.767	0.754	0.776	0.778	0.782	0.768	0.764
	Central America	0.6639	0.6705	0.6744	0.6859	0.6774	0.6682	0.6659	0.6867	0.6906	0.686	0.676	0.697	0.701	0.700	0.699	0.703
	South America	0.6433	0.6881	0.7091	0.7220	0.7072	0.7035	0.7206	0.7389	0.7455	0.738	0.726	0.724	0.729	0.729	0.739	0.743
	Africa	0.5786	0.5809	0.5832	0.5862	0.5899	0.5933	0.5975	0.5935	0.6064	0.599	0.614	0.608	0.614	0.629	0.639	0.635
	Central America	0.6837	0.6853	0.6875	0.6939	0.6596	0.6567	0.6630	0.6609	0.6863	0.706	0.702	0.705	0.690	0.706	0.738	0.727
	Europe	0.6944	0.7008	0.7076	0.7094	0.7018	0.6983	0.6977	0.6997	0.7017	0.749	0.747	0.731	0.734	0.751	0.733	0.733
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.670	0.665	0.670	N/A	N/A	0.729	0.728
	Africa	0.5946	0.5991	0.5867	0.5948	0.6019	0.6136	0.6200	0.6198	0.6144	0.640	0.662	0.656	0.656	0.705	0.691	0.710
	Oceania	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.6414	0.6256	0.6255	0.6285	0.6286	0.6286	0.645	N/A	N/A	0.669	0.678	0.674	0.676
	Europe	0.7958	0.8044	0.8195	0.8252	0.8260	0.8383	0.8451	0.8421	0.8453	0.850	0.845	0.823	0.821	0.832	0.861	0.860
	Europe	0.6520	0.6824	0.7341	0.7331	0.7025	0.7018	0.6984	0.7089	0.7588	0.761	0.755	0.778	0.779	0.781	0.784	0.791
	Africa	0.6448	0.6421	0.6622	0.6752	0.6762	0.6763	0.6630	N/A	N/A	0.674	0.667	0.649	0.642	0.628	0.644	0.641
	West Asia	0.6700	0.6665	0.6654	0.6680	0.6598	0.6624	0.6691	0.6750	0.6855	0.687	0.681	0.679	0.677	0.708	0.732	0.731
	Europe	0.7524	0.7618	0.7394	0.7449	0.7530	0.7590	0.7629	0.7583	0.7780	0.779	0.766	0.778	0.776	0.787	0.796	0.801
	Africa	0.6653	0.6725	0.6679	0.6704	0.6782	0.6811	0.6778	0.6811	0.6661	0.704	0.705	0.695	0.688	0.673	0.666	0.672
	Europe	0.6540	0.6648	0.6727	0.6662	0.6908	0.6916	0.6716	0.6782	0.6784	0.685	0.68	0.692	0.696	0.701	0.689	0.689
	Central America	0.6067	0.6144	0.6072	0.6209	0.6238	0.6229	0.6260	0.6304	0.6821	0.667	0.666	0.667	0.668	0.666	0.655	0.664
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.618	0.64	0.659	0.656	0.642	0.660	0.647
	South America	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.7108	0.7090	0.7084	0.7119	0.7085	0.7010	0.702	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.728	0.752
	Central America	0.6483	0.6661	0.6960	0.6893	0.6927	0.6945	0.6763	0.6773	0.6935	0.688	0.69	0.711	0.706	0.722	0.716	0.705
	Europe	0.6698	0.6731	0.6867	0.6879	0.6720	0.6642	0.6718	0.6742	0.6759	0.672	0.669	0.670	0.674	0.677	0.688	0.699
	Europe	0.7813	0.7836	0.7999	0.8276	0.8496	0.8530	0.8640	0.8731	0.8594	0.881	0.874	0.878	0.858	0.877	0.892	0.908
	South Asia	0.6011	0.5936	0.6060	0.6151	0.6155	0.6190	0.6442	0.6551	0.6455	0.664	0.683	0.669	0.665	0.668	0.625	0.629
	Southeast Asia	0.6541	0.6550	0.6473	0.6580	0.6615	0.6594	0.6591	0.6613	0.6725	0.681	0.682	0.691	0.691	0.700	0.688	0.697
	West Asia	0.5803	0.5903	0.6021	0.5839	0.5933	0.5894	0.5927	0.5842	0.5811	0.580	0.587	0.583	0.589	0.584	0.582	0.576
	West Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.535	N/A
	Europe	0.7335	0.7457	0.7518	0.7597	0.7773	0.7830	0.7839	0.7823	0.7850	0.807	0.797	0.794	0.796	0.798	0.800	0.804
	West Asia	0.6889	0.6965	0.6900	0.7019	0.6957	0.6926	0.6989	0.7032	0.7005	0.712	0.719	0.721	0.722	0.718	0.724	0.727
	Europe	0.6456	0.6498	0.6788	0.6798	0.6765	0.6796	0.6729	0.6885	0.6973	0.726	0.719	0.692	0.706	0.707	0.721	0.720
	Central America	0.7014	0.6925	0.6980	0.7013	0.7037	0.7028	0.7035	0.7085	0.7128	0.703	0.724	0.717	0.724	0.735	0.741	0.749
	East Asia	0.6447	0.6455	0.6434	0.6447	0.6524	0.6514	0.6530	0.6498	0.6584	0.670	0.66	0.657	0.662	0.652	0.656	0.650
	West Asia	0.6109	0.6203	0.6275	0.6182	0.6048	0.6117	0.6103	0.6093	0.5968	0.593	0.603	0.604	0.605	0.623	0.683	0.639
	Central Asia	0.6928	0.6983	0.6976	0.7013	0.7055	0.7010	0.7213	0.7218	0.7210	0.719	0.718	0.713	0.712	0.710	0.710	0.719
	Africa	0.6486	0.6508	0.6547	0.6512	0.6499	0.6493	0.6768	0.6803	0.7258	0.719	0.702	0.694	0.700	0.671	0.692	0.729
	East Asia	0.6157	0.6409	0.6154	0.6146	0.6342	0.6281	0.6356	0.6351	0.6403	0.651	0.649	0.650	0.657	0.672	0.687	0.689
	West Asia	0.6341	0.6409	0.6358	0.6356	0.6318	0.6322	0.6320	0.6292	0.6457	0.646	0.624	0.679	0.630	0.650	0.621	0.632
	Central Asia	0.6742	0.6653	0.7045	0.7058	0.6973	0.7036	0.7013	0.6948	0.6974	0.693	0.687	0.691	0.691	0.689	0.681	0.700
	Southeast Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.6993	0.7044	0.713	N/A	0.703	0.748	0.731	0.750	0.733
	Europe	0.7091	0.7333	0.7397	0.7416	0.7429	0.7399	0.7572	0.7610	0.7691	0.752	0.755	0.756	0.758	0.785	0.778	0.771
	West Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.6084	0.6083	0.6030	0.6028	0.5923	0.598	0.598	0.596	0.595	0.599	0.638	0.644
	Africa	0.6807	0.7078	0.7320	0.7495	0.7678	0.7666	0.7608	0.7530	0.7255	0.706	0.706	0.695	0.693	0.695	0.698	0.700
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.652	0.652	0.669	0.681	0.685	0.693	0.709
	Europe	0.7077	0.7234	0.7222	0.7175	0.7132	0.7131	0.7191	0.7308	0.7208	0.740	0.744	0.742	0.749	0.745	0.804	0.799
	Europe	0.6671	0.6786	0.6802	0.6889	0.7231	0.7216	0.7439	0.7410	0.7333	0.738	0.734	0.706	0.712	0.725	0.726	0.736
	Europe	0.6983	0.6967	0.6914	0.6950	0.6996	0.6966	0.6968	0.7013	0.6943	0.701	0.696	0.702	0.707	0.711	0.715	0.716
	Africa	0.6385	0.6461	0.6736	0.6732	0.6713	0.6797	0.6982	0.7016	0.7214	0.698	0.704	0.692	0.691	0.719	0.725	0.735
	Africa	0.6437	0.6480	0.6664	0.6738	0.6824	0.6850	0.7166	0.7139	0.7281	0.701	0.7	0.672	0.662	0.664	0.671	0.632
	Southeast Asia	0.6509	0.6444	0.6442	0.6467	0.6479	0.6525	0.6539	0.6518	0.6520	0.655	0.666	0.670	0.676	0.677	0.676	0.681
	South Asia	N/A	0.6350	0.6501	0.6482	0.6452	0.6480	0.6616	0.6604	0.6557	0.652	.65	0.669	0.662	0.646	0.642	0.648
	Africa	0.5996	0.6019	0.6117	0.5860	0.5680	0.5752	0.5842	0.5872	0.5779	0.599	0.591	0.583	0.582	0.621	0.591	0.601
	Europe	0.6518	0.6615	0.6634	0.6635	0.6695	0.6658	0.6666	0.6761	0.6707	0.668	0.664	0.682	0.686	0.693	0.703	0.703
	Africa	0.5835	0.6022	0.6117	0.6103	0.6152	0.6164	0.6129	0.5810	0.6029	0.613	0.624	0.614	0.607	0.614	0.606	N/A
	Africa	0.6328	0.6487	0.6466	0.6513	0.6520	0.6529	0.6547	0.6599	0.6541	0.646	0.652	0.664	0.663	0.665	0.679	0.679
	North America	0.6462	0.6441	0.6441	0.6503	0.6577	0.6604	0.6712	0.6917	0.6900	0.699	0.7	0.692	0.721	0.754	0.757	0.764
	Europe	0.7128	0.7172	0.7244	0.7104	0.7160	0.7083	0.7101	0.7037	0.7405	0.742	0.741	0.740	0.733	0.757	0.768	0.788
	East Asia	0.6821	0.6731	0.7049	0.7221	0.7194	0.7140	0.7111	0.7204	0.7212	0.709	0.705	0.713	0.714	0.706	0.716	0.715
	Europe	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.689	0.681	0.693	0.706	0.710	0.732	0.732
	Africa	0.5827	0.5676	0.5757	0.5926	0.5767	0.5804	0.5833	0.5845	0.5988	0.593	0.597	0.598	0.607	0.605	0.612	0.624
	Africa	N/A	0.6883	0.7266	0.7195	0.7329	0.7251	0.7350	0.7349	0.7370	0.741	0.75	0.741	0.721	0.723	0.758	0.752
	Southeast Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.691	0.690	0.665	0.681	0.677
	Africa	0.6864	0.7012	0.7141	0.7167	0.7238	0.7177	0.7121	0.7094	0.7219	0.760	0.765	0.777	0.789	0.784	0.809	0.807
	South Asia	0.5478	0.5575	0.5942	0.6213	0.6084	0.5888	0.6026	0.6053	0.6458	0.658	0.661	0.664	0.671	0.680	0.683	0.692
	Europe	0.7250	0.7383	0.7399	0.7490	0.7444	0.7470	0.7659	0.7608	0.7730	0.776	0.756	0.737	0.747	0.736	0.762	0.767
	Oceania	0.7509	0.7649	0.7859	0.7880	0.7808	0.7810	0.7805	0.7799	0.7772	0.782	0.781	0.791	0.801	0.799	0.840	0.841
	Central America	0.6566	0.6458	0.6747	0.7002	0.7176	0.7245	0.7697	0.7715	0.7894	0.776	0.78	0.814	0.809	0.804	0.796	0.810
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.629	0.635
	Africa	0.6104	0.6122	0.6339	0.6280	0.6055	0.6011	0.6315	0.6469	0.6391	0.638	0.643	0.641	0.621	0.635	0.627	0.639
	Europe	0.7994	0.8059	0.8239	0.8227	0.8404	0.8404	0.8403	0.8417	0.8374	0.850	0.842	0.830	0.835	0.842	0.849	0.845
	West Asia	N/A	0.5903	0.5960	0.5938	0.5950	0.5873	0.5986	0.6053	0.6091	0.604	0.612	N/A	0.605	0.602	0.608	0.609
	South Asia	0.5434	0.5509	0.5549	0.5458	0.5465	0.5583	0.5478	0.5459	0.5522	0.559	0.556	0.546	0.550	0.564	0.556	0.564
	Central America	0.6935	0.6954	0.7095	0.7024	0.7072	0.7042	0.7122	0.7164	0.7195	0.772	0.721	0.722	0.722	0.730	0.737	0.743
	Oceania	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.635	N/A
	South America	0.6556	0.6659	0.6379	0.6868	0.6804	0.6818	0.6714	0.6724	0.6890	0.666	0.676	0.678	0.672	0.683	0.702	0.707
	South America	0.6619	0.6624	0.6959	0.7024	0.6895	0.6796	0.6742	0.6787	0.7198	0.683	0.687	0.719	0.720	0.714	0.721	0.749
	Southeast Asia	0.7516	0.7629	0.7568	0.7579	0.7654	0.7685	0.7757	0.7832	0.7814	0.790	0.786	0.790	0.799	0.781	0.784	0.783
	Europe	0.6802	0.6756	0.6951	0.6998	0.7037	0.7038	0.7015	0.7031	0.7051	0.715	0.727	0.728	0.728	0.736	0.713	0.709
	Europe	0.6922	0.6959	0.7051	0.7013	0.7171	0.7144	0.7071	0.7056	0.7243	0.731	0.737	0.734	0.732	0.744	0.775	0.766
	West Asia	N/A	0.6041	0.5948	0.5907	0.6059	0.6230	0.6264	0.6299	0.6403	0.645	0.643	0.626	0.629	0.629	0.624	0.617
	Europe	0.6797	0.6859	0.6763	0.6805	0.6826	0.6812	0.6859	0.6908	0.6936	0.693	0.69	0.708	0.711	0.724	0.700	0.698
	Europe	0.6770	0.6866	0.6994	0.6987	0.7036	0.7037	0.6980	0.6983	0.6927	0.694	0.691	0.696	0.701	0.706	0.708	N/A
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.794	0.8	0.822	0.804	0.791	0.805	0.811
	West Asia	0.5242	0.5647	0.5537	0.5651	0.5713	0.5753	0.5731	0.5879	0.6059	0.605	0.583	0.584	0.590	0.599	0.603	0.636
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.6427	0.6414	0.6573	0.6657	0.6923	0.6912	0.698	0.685	0.684	0.682	0.684	0.684	0.668
	Europe	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.7037	0.7116	0.7086	0.720	0.72	0.727	0.730	0.736	0.780	0.779
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.655	0.672
	Southeast Asia	0.6550	0.6609	0.6625	0.6664	0.6914	0.6914	0.6989	0.7000	0.7046	0.711	0.712	0.702	0.707	0.724	0.727	0.734
	Europe	0.6757	0.6797	0.6824	0.6845	0.6778	0.6797	0.6824	0.6857	0.6806	0.675	0.679	0.694	0.693	0.718	0.712	0.717
	Europe	0.6745	0.6842	0.6937	0.6982	0.7047	0.7041	0.7132	0.7155	0.7443	0.784	0.786	0.805	0.784	0.743	0.741	0.744
	Africa	0.7125	0.7194	0.7232	0.7709	0.7535	0.7478	0.7496	0.7510	0.7527	0.759	0.764	0.756	0.755	0.780	0.781	0.782
	Europe	0.7319	0.7444	0.7281	0.7345	0.7554	0.7580	0.7266	0.7266	0.7325	0.742	0.738	0.746	0.746	0.795	0.788	0.788
	South Asia	0.7199	0.7230	0.7371	0.7402	0.7458	0.7212	0.7122	0.7019	0.6903	0.686	0.673	0.669	0.676	0.680	0.670	0.670
	South America	N/A	0.6794	0.6674	0.6726	0.6407	0.6395	0.6409	0.6369	0.6504	0.670	0.679	0.689	0.695	0.707	0.729	0.737
	Europe	0.8133	0.8146	0.8139	0.8139	0.8024	0.8044	0.8159	0.8129	0.8165	0.823	0.815	0.816	0.822	0.820	0.823	0.822
	Europe	0.6997	0.6924	0.7360	0.7426	0.7562	0.7627	0.7672	0.7736	0.7798	0.785	0.776	0.755	0.755	0.779	0.798	0.795
	West Asia	N/A	0.6216	0.6181	0.6072	0.5926	0.5896	0.5626	0.5661	0.5775	0.568	0.567	0.568	0.568	0.567	0.568	N/A
	Central Asia	N/A	0.6578	0.6541	0.6661	0.6598	0.6526	0.6608	0.6682	0.6654	0.675	0.679	0.678	0.638	0.626	0.650	0.663
	Africa	0.7038	0.6969	0.7068	0.6797	0.6829	0.6904	0.7091	0.6928	0.7182	0.718	0.716	0.700	0.704	0.713	0.707	0.719
	Southeast Asia	0.6831	0.6815	0.6917	0.6907	0.6910	0.6892	0.6893	0.6928	0.7027	0.706	0.699	0.694	0.702	0.708	0.710	0.709
	Southeast Asia	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.6855	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.637	0.628	0.638	0.662	0.720	0.730
	Africa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.683	0.697
	Central America	0.6797	0.6859	0.7245	0.7298	0.7353	0.7372	0.7116	0.7166	0.7154	0.720	0.723	N/A	N/A	0.756	0.749	N/A
	Africa	0.6288	0.6283	0.6295	0.6233	0.6266	0.6255	N/A	N/A	0.6272	0.634	0.636	0.651	0.648	0.644	0.649	0.643
	West Asia	0.5850	0.5768	0.5853	0.5828	0.5876	0.5954	0.6015	0.6081	0.6183	0.624	0.623	0.625	0.628	0.635	0.638	0.639
	Africa	0.6797	0.6833	0.6981	0.7067	0.7169	0.7220	0.7228	0.7086	0.6821	0.708	0.704	0.721	0.724	0.717	0.717	0.724
	Europe	0.6797	0.6790	0.6856	0.6896	0.6869	0.6861	0.6894	0.6935	0.7056	0.702	0.7	0.705	0.708	0.721	0.714	0.707
	West Asia	0.5919	0.6184	0.6220	0.6198	0.6397	0.6454	0.6392	0.6372	0.6436	0.646	0.639	0.649	0.642	0.655	0.716	0.716
	Europe	0.7365	0.7441	0.7366	0.7402	0.7460	0.7462	0.7433	0.7440	0.7383	0.758	0.752	0.770	0.744	0.767	0.775	0.780
	North America	0.7042	0.7002	0.7179	0.7173	0.7411	0.7412	0.7373	0.7392	0.7463	0.740	0.722	0.718	0.720	0.724	0.763	0.769
	South America	0.6549	0.6608	0.6907	0.6936	0.6897	0.6907	0.6745	0.6803	0.6871	0.679	0.681	0.710	0.715	0.737	0.702	0.711
	Oceania	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.625	0.670
	South America	0.6664	0.6797	0.6875	0.6839	0.6863	0.6861	0.7060	0.7060	0.6851	0.691	0.694	0.706	0.709	0.713	0.699	N/A
	Southeast Asia	N/A	0.6889	0.6778	0.6802	0.6776	0.6732	0.6867	0.6863	0.6915	0.687	0.7	0.698	0.698	0.700	0.701	0.705
	West Asia	0.4595	0.4510	0.4664	0.4609	0.4603	0.4873	0.5054	0.5128	0.5145	0.484	0.516	0.516	0.499	0.494	0.492	N/A
	Africa	0.6360	0.6288	0.6205	0.6310	0.6293	0.6300	0.6279	0.6312	0.6364	0.650	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.731	0.726	0.723
	Africa	0.6461	0.6464	0.6485	0.6518	0.6574	0.6607	N/A	N/A	0.7013	0.709	0.71	0.717	0.721	0.730	0.732	0.734

Criticisms and controversies

There are criticisms that the report overly focuses on women's disadvantages compared to men and does not measure equality in the gender gap. Gender imbalances to the advantage of women do not affect the score.^[20] So, for example, the indicator "number of years of a female head of state (last 50 years) over male value" would score 1 if the number of years was 25, but would still score 1 if the number of years was 50. Due to this methodology, gender gaps that favor women over men are reported as equality and would not cause deficits of equality in other areas to become less visible in the score, excepted for life expectancy. To put it more simply: women could be better off in all areas and still the index would deem that country perfectly equal.

The index is designed to "measure gender-based gaps in access to resources and opportunities in countries rather than the actual level of the available resources and opportunities in those countries."

In an academic publication from 2010, Beneria and Permanyer criticized the Global Gender Gap Index for only capturing inequality in certain aspects of women's lives therefore making it an incomplete measure of gender inequality.^[21]

In an academic publication from 2019, Stoet and Geary argued that the Global Gender Gap Index has limitations as a measure of gender equality, because of the way it caps scores and because it ignores specific issues on which men are known to fall behind (e.g., risks of working in hazardous jobs).^[22] According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, the index do not penalize a country where women outperform men in certain aspect and consider that parity is achieved in life expectancy only if women live five years longer than men.

See also

• • Gender Empowerment Measure Gender Inequality Index
• Gender-Related Development Index
• Social Institutions and Gender Index
• Female labour force in the Muslim world
• Gender pay gap
• Women's rights in 2014
• Women Peace and Security Index

External links

• Web site: Women Leaders and Gender Parity . World Economic Forum . Geneva, Switzerland . 2008-11-19 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081113001001/http://www.weforum.org/en/Communities/Women%20Leaders%20and%20Gender%20Parity/index.htm . 2008-11-13 .
• Daily chart: Sex and equality, The Economist, Oct 25th 2013

Reports

• Book: The Global Gender Gap Index 2014. Ricardo Hausmann . Laura D. Tyson . Yasmina Bekhouche . Saadia Zahidi . 2014. World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2014-11-26.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2013. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2013 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2013-10-26.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2012. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2012 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2012-10-26.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2011. World Economic Forum.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2010. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2010 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2010-10-20.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2009. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi. 2009. World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2009-11-02. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20130405044225/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2009.pdf. 2013-04-05.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2008. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2008 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2008-11-19.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2007. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2007 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2008-11-19.
• The Global Gender Gap Report 2006. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2006 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2008-11-19.

Notes and References

1. News: Global Gender Gap Report 2017. 2018-05-11. en-US. 2018-05-12. https://web.archive.org/web/20180512044451/http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2017/?doing_wp_cron=1526073649.7157220840454101562500. dead.
2. 2008 Report, p. 24
3. Web site: Global Gender Gap Report 2023 . 2023-08-17 . World Economic Forum . en.
4. Web site: To fight climate change, more female leaders are fundamental . 2023-08-17 . European Investment Bank . en.
5. 2014 report, page 5
6. 2008 Report, p. 5
7. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2018.pdf The Global Gender Gap Report 2018
8. GGGR 2018, p. 6; Table 2: Calculation of weights within each subin-dex
9. GGGR 2018, p. 5, Construction of the Index, § 2. Data truncation at equality benchmark: … In the case of sex ratio at birth, the equality benchmark is set at 0.944,
   GGGR 2018, p. 42, Country Score Card: … except for the sex ratio at birth (0.944)
10. GGGR 2018, p. 5, Construction of the Index, § 2. Data trun-cation at equality benchmark: … the case of healthy life expectancy the equality benchmark is set at 1.06.
    GGGR 2018, p. 42, Country Score Card: … and the healthy life expectancy (1.06) indicators.
11. 2016 Report, Page 6
12. The Global Gender Gap Report 2012. Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2012 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland. 2012-10-26.
13. Web site: The Global Gender Gap Report 2013. World Economic Forum. 12–13.
14. Web site: Global Gender Gap Report 2014 - Reports - World Economic Forum. Global Gender Gap Report 2014.
15. Years of report publication. Values may reflect data collected the previous year.
16. Web site: Global Gender Gap Report 2015 - Rankings . World Economic Forum . 28 April 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160417125436/http://reports.weforum.org/global-gender-gap-report-2015/rankings/. 17 April 2016. live.
17. Web site: Global Gender Gap Report 2017 - Rankings. 17 November 2017 . World Economic Forum. 17 November 2017.
18. Web site: Global Gender Gap Report 2020. World Economic Forum. 18 December 2019.
19. Web site: Global Gender Gap Report 2021. World Economic Forum. 30 March 2021.
20. Web site: The Global Gender Gap Report 2009 . Ricardo Hausmann. Laura D. Tyson. Saadia Zahidi . 2009 . World Economic Forum, Geneva, Switzerland . 2009-11-02 . (...) the Index rewards countries that reach the point where outcomes for women equal those for men, but it neither rewards nor penalizes cases in which women are outperforming men in particular variables . 4 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130405044225/http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2009.pdf . April 5, 2013 .
21. Beneria, L., Permanyer, I.,(2010). The Measurement of Socio-economic Gender Inequality Revisited, Development and Change, 41:3, pp.375-399
22. Stoet, G. & Geary, D.C. (2019). A simplified approach to measuring national gender inequality, PLOS ONE 14(1): e0205349. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0205349