Global Gender Gap Index 2016: Australia drops to 46th in gender parity list

Office workers and shoppers walk through Sydney's central business district in Australia, September 7, 2016. Reuters/Jason Reed

Australia still has a big economic gender gap problem. In the new World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2016, Australia has slipped down to 46^th place from 36^th in 2015, lagging behind New Zealand, Canada, United Kingdom and even behind United States.

The Global Gender Index 2016 finds economic parity between the sexes in each country. It measures progress towards parity between men and women in Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, Economic Participation and Opportunity, and Political Empowerment. According to the current report, the progress towards gender equality has slowed dramatically with the gap at 59 percent.

Australia is at 46^th place out of 144 countries, down from its 36^th rank from last year, scoring 0.721 out of 1.00 (0.00=imparity, 1.00=parity). It ranks 1^st in Educational Attainment, but ranks low in three other areas. It is only 42^nd in Economic Participation and Opportunity, 61^st in Political Empowerment, and 72^nd in Health and Survival.

In comparison, the number one in the list, Iceland, is 1^st in Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment, 9^th in Economic Participation and Opportunity, and a low 104^th in Health and Survival. Australia’s nearest neighbour, New Zealand, is also doing well at 9^th place, although it has average ranks in the four key areas.

Doing just a rank better than Australia is the United States, which places 45^th. Like Australia, it is number one in Educational Attainment but has paltry scores in other areas. United Kingdom is at 20^th, while Canada is 35^th.

The top four most gender-equal countries are again the Nordic nations of Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden respectively. The African nation of Rwanda has moved one place ahead of Ireland to 5^th place, and Ireland, Philippines, Slovenia, New Zealand and Nicaragua make up the top 10.

At the end of the spectrum are Middle Eastern and North African countries: Lebanon, Cote d’Ivoire, Morocco, Mali, Iran, Chad, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan and Yemen (135^th to 144^th places respectively).

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“These forecasts are not foregone conclusions. Instead, they reflect the current state of progress and serve as a call to action to policy-makers and other stakeholders to double down on efforts to accelerate gender equality,” said Saadia Zahidi, head of Education, Gender and Work, and member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum.

Top 20 most gender-equal countries: