Gender Gap: Initiatives Shaping the World

By “Global Gender Gap World Economic Forum report 2023: Women will not achieve equality with men for another 131 years. This alarming rate of progress shows how important it is to take action for gender equality at every social and economic level.

Unfortunately, as crises mount, women's work performance suffers more, and the risk of global gender parity reversing may increase. In 2022, amid crises, rising living costs, and pandemics, progress toward gender parity has stalled. Research by UN Women shows that more women than men left the labour market in 2020 to meet caregiving responsibilities that have intensified with stay-at-home orders. And even before the pandemic, on an average day, women were devoting about three times as many hours to unpaid housework and care than men.

What is the Global Gender Gap Index?

Global Gender Gap Index, or Global Gender Gap Index, annually assesses the current state and evolution of gender equality in four key dimensions:

• economic opportunities (participation and opportunities in economic life),
• educational achievements,
• health,
• participation in politics.

Results of the latest report

The report, published in 2023, included 146 countries. The Global Gender Gap Index shows what percentage of the gender gap has been closed to achieve 100% parity, that is, the complete equalization of opportunities for women and men. This can be read as a percentage of that gender gap that has already been closed.

The global gender gap rate in 2023 for all 146 countries included in the edition is 68.4% closing the gap. Taking into account the constant sample of 145 countries that were included in the 2022 and 2023 editions, the overall score changed from 68.1% to 68.4%, an improvement of 0.3 percentage points compared to last year's edition.

The report showed that no country in the world has yet achieved full gender equality. The closest to this goal is Iceland, which has been at the forefront of closing the gender gap for 14 years. This year's score is 91.2 percent, and it is the only country that has crossed the 90 percent barrier. Norway (87.9 percent), Finland (86.3 percent), New Zealand (85.6 percent) and Sweden (81.5 percent) are next. Algeria (57.3 per cent), Chad (57 per cent) and Afghanistan (40.5 per cent) ranked last in the world ranking.

Poland took 60th place in the ranking with a score of 72.2 percent, which means that it moved up 17 places compared to last year. The result translates into 24th place in Europe out of 36 countries.

Gender equality is not just a women's issue, but a common goal for all

Equality does not mean that women and men will become identical. Gender equality means that the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men will not depend on the gender they are born with.

Gender equality assumes that the interests, needs and priorities of both women and men are taken into account, thus recognizing and respecting the diversity of groups of women and men.

Gender equality is not just a women's issue, but it should affect and involve both women and men. This is considered both a human rights issue and a prerequisite and an indicator of human-centred sustainable development. It is also an indicator of democracy.

Anne Hathaway calls for investment in women and gender equality

On March 8, 2024, in her inspirational speech, Anne Hathaway shed light on the significant financial inequalities in the world, highlighting rising military spending and underfunding of gender equality initiatives. The actress and activist also drew attention to the important, though often overlooked, contribution of women to the global economy through their unpaid care work. According to the data, women spend about three times more time than men on free childcare, which, if given a monetary value, would account for more than 40% of GDP.

Anne Hathaway called for a global change of approach:

“This is the path to a world full of limitless possibilities and power for all. Each of us can do something to invest in gender equality.”

It encouraged support for women's organizations, education on gender inequality, and commitment to change. Her words serve as a reminder that a commitment to gender equality not only supports social justice, but is also crucial to the sustainable development of the global economy. Investing in women is investing in the future of all of us.

Watch Anne Hathaway's speech on #IWD2024:

In response to these challenges, Jobs Door announces the launch of a new initiative, which aims to promote gender equality and the appreciation of the values derived from the diversity of environments in the workplace. This decision was dictated by the recognition of the importance of this issue, as well as the need for a deeper public awareness of the obstacles that women face in the professional sphere. By starting these activities, we want not only to educate, but also to build a community that will actively work for gender equality.

Sources: gender equality | European Institute for Gender Equality (europa.eu)