According to a recent World Economic Forum report released Tuesday, the complete closure of the global gender gap will take 131 years if the current pace continues. In 2023, the gender gap will stand at 68.4% in the 146 countries analyzed in the study. Although the global trend has returned to pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, the report highlights that the pace of change has slowed considerably.
So far, no country has managed to achieve full gender parity, with Iceland leading the ranking for 14 consecutive years and closing the gap by more than 90%. Eight more countries have closed the gap to at least 80% by 2023: Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Sweden, Germany, Nicaragua, Namibia, and Lithuania.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, gender parity is estimated at 74.3%, an increase of 1.7% compared to last year. Globally, the region ranks third with the highest level of gender parity, behind Europe and North America. Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Jamaica have the highest gender parity scores in the region, followed by Chile, Barbados, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and Ecuador. On the other hand, Guatemala, Paraguay, Belize, the Dominican Republic, and El Salvador have the lowest scores.
According to current estimates, it will take 53 years for Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve full gender parity if the current pace is maintained. These data highlight the need for greater efforts to close the gender gap and promote equality in all areas of society.