Report Says That gender gap Might Take Almost 136 Years To Diffuse

The Global Gender Gap Report 2021 from the World Economic Forum reveals that it might take almost 136 years for the gender gap to reduce. This gap has grown by 36 years, compared to last year's report which said it might 99 years for the same thing. The COVID-19 pandemic is to be blamed for increasing the gap by 36 years.

The World Economic Forum examined the data from 156 countries, and considered four main areas for their research. These include economic:

• opportunity
• political power
• education
• health.

The report noted that although there was progress in the health and education sectors, there was a wide gender gap in politics, which might remain as it is for 145 years. This has increased considerably compared to the 2020 report which stated that it might take 95 years for political gender gap to diffuse. Besides this, the economic gender gap is expected to remain as it is until 2288.

Saadia Zahidi, the managing director of the World Economic Forum said that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women might still be underestimated.

“Women, including white collar women who are working from home, are now under a sort of double shift scenario, where they are primarily responsible for care responsibilities in the home, while at the same time obviously working under increased stress in the workplace,” she says.

The increase in digitalisation, and automation have reduced women's economic participation. WEF’s The Future of Jobs Report 2020 noted that "84% of employers are accelerating their digitalisation agenda, and 50% of employers intend to accelerate the automation of jobs."

Nordic countries top the list with least amount of gender gap

According the latest report from the WEF, Afghanistan ranks 156th; Guyana, ranks 53rd; and Niger, ranks 138th in terms of gender gap. The United States ranks 30th, while the Middle East and North Africa continue to have a huge gender gap.

Among the Nordic countries, Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden too the list. India ranks 112th in the list.