Even though we’re living in the twenty-first century, there’s still a lot wrong in the world. As well as war, global warming and other worries, we humans are still struggling to address gender equality. One measure of this is the pay gap between men and women which still is disgracefully high, despite all the efforts being made by associations and individuals all over the world.
You’ve probably heard about the gender pay gap and Unequal Pay Day. Unequal Pay Day occurs on different days in different countries and marks the date from which women effectively start to work for free when you compare their salary to that of men. In Europe, Unequal Pay Day fell on November 10 this year, meaning women will work for free for almost eight weeks. A disgrace, certainly in Europe, where we claim men and women should be treated equally.
Yet let’s be honest, not every country is the same – at all. Some are just way better at treating everyone the same, both in daily life as when it comes to salary. The World Economic Forum therefore has made a list, ranking countries all over the globe as better or worse for women to live in based on the gender gap. And the results are shockingly clear.
Iceland comes first
It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that Iceland is at the top of the list. In the land of fire and ice, pay parity is enshrined in the law and women have excellent access to educational opportunities. Finland comes in second thanks to its substantial parental leave and very affordable childcare, making it easier for women to stay in work and develop their careers. In third place, another Scandinavian country: Norway.
- Iceland
- Finland
- Norway
- New Zealand
- Sweden
- Namibia
- Rwanda
- Lithuania
- Ireland
- Switzerland
Yemen comes last
So which countries have the most work to do in terms of enshrining gender equality? In the ranking, Yemen scores worst, with a score of 0,492 compared to 0,892 in Iceland. Other countries scoring very poorly are Iraq and Pakistan.
- Yemen
- Iraq
- Pakistan
- Syria
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Islamic Republic of Iran
- Mali
- Chad
- Saudi Arabia
- Mauritania
