World Economic Forum: True Gender Parity is 123 Years Away

Global gender equality could take more than a century to achieve at the current pace of change, with the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report projecting 123 years before full parity is reached.

The organisation's annual assessment examines gender equality across 148 economies worldwide, revealing that the global gender gap closed to 68.8% in 2025.

However, this marks a modest advance of just 0.4 percentage points from the previous year's figure of 68.4%.

Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the WEF, says that the report “arrives at a decisive moment, with the world in flux as technological breakthroughs, geopolitical conflict and economic uncertainty are creating unprecedented challenges as well as bringing new opportunities”.

“Amid such change, gender parity is both a principle and a strategy,” she adds.

“Economies that tap into the full spectrum of their talent and human capital are best positioned to navigate an era of transformation and accelerate productivity and prosperity.”

At Sustainability LIVE: The Net Zero Summit, co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: The Net Zero Summit, the Women in Sustainability panel is set to bring experts together on this topic.

The regional picture of gender parity

Iceland continues to lead the global rankings for the 16th consecutive year, having addressed 92.6% of its gender gap.

Since 2022, it has remained the sole economy to surpass the 90% threshold for gender gap closure.

European nations fill the majority of top tier positions, claiming eight of the ten highest rankings, with Finland, Norway and Sweden positioned directly behind Iceland.

The UK advanced to fourth position with 83.8% of its gender gap addressed, whilst Moldova secured a top ten placement for the first time, entering at seventh position.

North America topped the regional assessment with 75.8% of its gender gap closed, though economic parity in the region has progressed by just 0.6 percentage points since 2006.

The Middle East and North Africa recorded the lowest global parity at 61.7%, although the region has demonstrated gradual advancement, with its political empowerment metric more than tripling since 2006.

Women in leadership positions

The WEF's findings indicate that female representation in senior leadership roles continues to trail behind women's educational accomplishments.

Although women now surpass men at tertiary education levels globally, only 29.5% of tertiary-educated senior managers are female.

The proportion of women in top management increased from 25.7% in 2015 to 28.1% in 2024, yet progress has decelerated considerably since 2022.

Women remain predominantly concentrated in lower-remuneration, people-focused sectors including healthcare and education, whilst traditionally male-dominated industries such as infrastructure recorded gains of 8.9% in female participation.

“At a time of heightened global economic uncertainty and a low growth outlook combined with technological and demographic change, advancing gender parity represents a key force for economic renewal,” Saadia says.

“Economies that have made decisive progress towards parity are positioning themselves for stronger, more innovative and more resilient economic progress."

Political empowerment challenges

Political empowerment exhibits the most substantial gender gap, with merely 22.9% parity achieved globally.

Women constitute fewer than one-third of parliamentary speakers worldwide and remain markedly underrepresented in cabinets overseeing economy, infrastructure and defence portfolios.

Latin America and the Caribbean ranked second globally for political empowerment at 35%, with 15 economies having experienced female heads of state over the past five decades.

Sub-Saharan Africa improved its political empowerment metric to 22.2%, with women now occupying 40.2% of ministerial positions and 37.7% of parliamentary seats throughout the region.

Implementation versus legislation

The report identified a nearly universal "implementation gap" between gender-equal legislation and the infrastructure required to enforce such policies.

Even economies with sophisticated legal frameworks demonstrated significant disparities in practical support for gender equality initiatives.

The findings suggest that adopting stringent legal standards alone proves insufficient without robust implementation mechanisms to close gender gaps.

Women are 55.2% more likely than men to take career breaks, lasting an average of 19.6 months compared with 13.9 months for men, primarily due to parenting responsibilities.

The care economy remains underleveraged as an economic solution to both demographic and workforce transitions, according to the report.

Based on data from 100 economies tracked continuously since 2006, Bangladesh, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Mexico and Saudi Arabia are progressing most rapidly towards parity.

“Change is possible and progress is within reach,” says Saadia.

Women in sustainability

At Sustainability LIVE: The Net Zero Summit, co-located with Procurement & Supply Chain LIVE: The Net Zero Summit, Sustainability Magazine will be hosting discussions about gender parity.

The two-day event is set to take place at the Queen Elizabeth II Centre in Westminster, London, between the 4-5 March 2026, bringing together sustainability experts from around the globe for a series of enlightening panel discussions, engaging workshops and unparalleled networking opportunities.

Diversity, equity and inclusion will be high up on the agenda, especially during the panel on Women in Sustainability. 

This panel will showcase the leadership, innovation and impact of women advancing sustainability across all kinds of industries, and you can expect to hear personal stories, strategic insights and lessons from the field as some of the world's most influential changemakers share how they are shaping inclusive and effective approaches to climate action.

Explore how diverse leadership is driving real progress at Sustainability LIVE: The Net Zero Summit in Spring.

Secure your tickets to attend now and save more than £200 with our Early Bird offer.