World Economic Forum's 2016 report found that globally, there was a step back in economic, political, health and education equality between men and women compared to the previous year. Among those categories, the worst gap exists in political participation -- which requires a 77 percent increase in participation to close the equality gap. Overall, there world is 32 percent away from global gender equality -- an achievement which the WEF predicts occur in 2186. Pictured, Afghan women cast their ballots for the parliamentary elections in Kabul, Afghanistan, on, September 18, 2010. File Photo by Hossein Fatemi/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- The World Economic Forum's 2016 Global Gender Gap Report shows the world took a step back in terms of equality in economic participation and opportunity while the United States dropped 17 spots.
The WEF report, which analyzed 144 countries, was released Wednesday. It "quantifies the magnitude of gender disparities and tracks their progress over time, with a specific focus on the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics."
The United States fell from 28th place to 45th place when compared to last year's report primarily due to a more transparent measure for determining estimated earned income, the WEF said.
Globally, the countries evaluated are 4 percent away from closing the gender gap in health outcomes between women and men, unchanged since last year, and 5 percent away from closing the gap in the educational attainment, a 1 percent improvement since last year. But the economic participation gender gap increased to 41 percent -- the highest since 2008.
Nations are 77 percent away from closing the political gap, which "continues a trend of slow but steady improvement," the WEF said. The WEF projects the overall divide between men and women -- which is 32 percent away from being equal -- won't close completely until 2186, an increase of 53 years from last year due to the setback.
The top 10 countries with the highest levels of equality in descending order are Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Rwanda, Ireland, the Philippines, Slovenia, New Zealand and Nicaragua.
The countries that improved the most in closing the gender gap in descending order are Nicaragua, Nepal, Bolivia, Slovenia, France, Cameroon, Iceland, Ecuador, India and Namibia.
The 10 countries with the lowest levels of equality, starting with the worst, are Yemen, Pakistan, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Iran, Mali, Morocco, Cote d'Ivoire and Lebanon.
