Executive Summary: World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2017

In its 2017 Global Gender Gap Report, The World Economic Forum said that it would now take 217 years for disparities in the pay and employment opportunities of men and women to close. This means that women will have to wait over two centuries for pay equality, this is 47 years longer than the 170 years previously calculated last year.

Since the WEF began publishing its gender gap report in 2006, this is the first time that “slow but steady progress” towards equality between men and women ground to a halt. In fact, the findings show a widening of the gender gap across: Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, Economic Opportunity and Political Empowerment (the four pillars in the WEF report).

Economic Opportunity (which include salaries, participation and leadership), and Political Empowerment (which includes representation in decision-making structures) had to date shown the fastest progress, however, they have the widest gaps across all four pillars.

Iceland is at the top of the Global Gender Gap Index and has been the world’s most gender-equal country for the last nine years. The UK is 15^th (up four places from last year) on the Global Gender Gap Index (France is 11^th and Germany is 12^th). The report estimates that an additional £188bn could be added to the UK GDP through gender parity.

To download the full report, click here: VIEW FULL REPORT