Summary of The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2020

Summary:

According to The World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2020, it will take another 99.5 years to achieve global gender equality. The annual report benchmarks 153 countries on their progress toward equality. This report is based on four categories – economic participation and opportunity, education, health, and political empowerment.

There is still a long way to go before we achieve global gender equality, however not all should be viewed as negative.  Read our summary below with some encouraging views of how this problem can be solved and what the future may hold.

Women in Politics:

Although we have seen a small increase, women represented in politics still remains the area with the least progress.

• Worldwide in 2019, women held only 25.2% in parliamentary lower-house seats and 21.2% of ministerial positions.
• In 2018 that number for women was 24.1% and 19% respectively. 

At this rate, the slow but steady increase means it would take about 95 years to close the political gender gap. So why is this happening?

Reasons the Economic Gap is Widening:

According to the report, there are a few reasons the economic gender gap is widening:

• Low levels of women in leadership positions.
• Not enough women are entering the fields where wage has growth such as technology-driven jobs.
• Lack of health care and lack of access to capital are limiting women’s professional opportunities.

More Women Role Models in Leadership:

Studies show that when more women are represented in high power roles publicly, the statistics of women in this roles increase. This data presents the idea that women role models may be contributing to shaping labor market outcomes.

Closing the Under-representation Gap for Women:

To prevent the economic gender gap, we need to work on closing the under-representation gap in emerging roles for women. Three key areas must be addressed:

• Ensuring women are equipped with the skills required to work these in-demand professions.
• Enhancing diversity in job hiring.
• Continuing to create inclusive work cultures.

How is the Forum Helping to Close the Gender Gap?

The Forum has created a Platform to address these issues in three interconnected ways:

1. Growth and Competitiveness
2. Education, Skills and Work
3. Equality and Inclusion

Already over 150 of the world’s leading companies are currently working through the Forum’s Platform. The goal is to improve the gender gap with the goal of reaching 1 billion people with improved economic opportunities.

Takeaways:

While we may not be where we’d like to be with gender parity, speaking about these issues openly moves us in a positive direction. With the combined forces of technology and globalization, there’s no better time to transform our current way of life into one with more economic gender inclusivity! 

At Meixu.com, our platform encourages women business owners to stand together rather than against each other. Share our resources and spread words of encouragement and success within our community and the community of women at large. Share your comments on this topic or reach out to us directly at info@meixu.com if you’d like to join us in igniting women’s businesses!