Visualizing the Current State of the Global Gender Gap
The Current State of the Global Gender Gap
As a global society, we still have a long way to go before we reach gender equality around the world.
According to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) latest Global Gender Gap Report, it could take up to 135.6 years to close the global gender gap, based on the current rate of change.
This graphic by Sebastian Gräff gives a breakdown of gender equality worldwide, showing how long it will take before each region reaches gender parity.
How Gender Gap is Measured
In its 15th edition, the Global Gender Gap Report analyzes gender-based discrepancies across 156 different countries. To gauge each region’s gender gap, the report digs into four key areas:
- Economic Participation and Opportunity
- Educational Attainment
- Health and Survival
- Political Empowerment
Each subindex is given its own score, then an average across the four pillars is calculated to give each country a final score between zero (exceptionally unequal) and one (completely equal).
Regional Breakdown
Out of all the regions, Western Europe has the smallest gender gap, with a score of 0.78. At this rate, the gender gap in Western Europe could be closed in approximately 52.1 years, more than 83 years faster than the global estimate.
| Rank | Region | Overall Gender Gap Index (2021) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Western Europe | 0.77 |
| 2 | North America | 0.76 |
| 3 | Latin America and the Caribbean | 0.71 |
| 4 | Eastern Europe and Central Asia | 0.71 |
| 5 | East Asia and the Pacific | 0.69 |
| 6 | Sub-Saharan Africa | 0.67 |
| 7 | South Asia | (Read more...) |