Gender gap closes at fastest pace since pandemic, says WEF

THE global gender gap has closed to 68.8%, marking the strongest annual advancement since the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, released on Thursday.

- PHILIPPA LARKIN

However, the report says full parity remains 123 years away at current rates.

"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," said Saadia Zahidi, the managing director of the World Economic Forum (WEF). "The evidence is clear. Economies that have made decisive progress towards parity are positioning themselves for stronger, more innovative and more resilient economic progress.”

A key finding of the report was that at the aggregate level, high-income economies have closed 74.3% of their gender gap - slightly higher than the averages observed in lower income groups: 69.6% among upper-middle income, 66.0% among lower-middle-income,and 66.4% among low-income economies. However, the top performers among lower income economies have closed a greater share of their gender gaps than over half of the economies in the high-income group.