Gender gap increased in only 6 countries since 2006

According to the Gender Gap Report 2014, as more women have entered the workplace, including politics, there has been a noticeable improvement in the gender gap seen around the world. The report states that more women than men entered the labor force in 49 countries and that now there are 26% more female parliamentarians and 50 % more female ministers than there were nine years ago.

Since the World Economic Forum started publishing the report, there has only been a minor improvement in the gender across the world. Saadia Zahidi, Head of the Gender Parity Program at the World Economic Forum and lead author of the report, stated: “These are far-reaching changes - for economies and national cultures, however it is clear that much work still remains to be done, and that the pace of change must in some areas be accelerated.”

According to the report, the gender gap has been the narrowest under the health and survival category. Globally placed at 96%, there are 35 countries where this gap has been closed entirely. India however, has one of the lowest rankings here.

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After health and survival, the educational attainment gap is next in line at 94 % globally with 25 countries having entirely closed the gap. According to the report, even though political empowerment still has a long way to go, the area has seen the most improvement since 2006.  Economic participation and Opportunity on the other hand need great improvement.

The report also stated that the gender gap increased all over in only 6 countries amongst the 142 surveyed. These were: Sri Lanka, Mali, Croatia, Macedonia, Jordan and Tunisia.