Global Gender Gap Narrows Slightly, Gap Is Still The Widest In The Political Sphere [Maps]

The global gender gap narrowed slightly in 2013, with Iceland still distinguished as having the smallest gender gap, according the recently released World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2013.

The study looked at gender disparities in 136 countries in the areas of economics, politics, education and health. The study found that while women are faring almost as well as men in terms of health and survival, they were falling far behind in politics.

From the report:

"On average, in 2013, over 96 percent of the gap in health outcomes, 93 percent of the gap in educational attainment, 60 percent of the gap in economic participation and 21 percent of the gap in political empowerment has been closed."

Iceland wasn’t the only European country that ranked high on the World Economic Forum’s list. Seven of the top 10 countries were in Europe. The highest-ranking country from the Americas was Nicaragua, at No. 10, and the highest-ranking Asian country was the Philippines, at No. 5.

The United States ranked 23rd on the Global Gender Gap Index.

Here’s a map of the 136 countries color-coded by their rank on the Global Gender Gap Index. Click on any country to see its rank and score.

The Score: The closer a country’s score is to one, the smaller the gender disparities in that country. A number higher than one indicates that country favors women.

<

Politics:

Gender disparities are the highest in the sphere of politics. According to the report, “The highest-ranking Nordic countries have closed more than half of this gap. The bottom countries, such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia, have closed none of that gap.”

Here’s a map of the 136 countries analyzed by the WEF, color-coded by the number of women in ministerial positions in each country. Click on any country to see how it scored in other political indicators.

Economics:

Inequalities in the workplace continue to persist, according to the WEF. While in some countries, like Brazil and China, women form a large portion of the workforce, few are in senior positions. In other countries, like Yemen and Mauritania, few women work. In more advanced economies, like France and Spain, the gender wage gap is still alarmingly wide.

Here’s a map of the 136 countries analyzed by the WEF, color-coded by wage inequalities in each country. Click on any country to see how it scored in other economic indicators.

Education:

The gender gap in education is fast closing, as the WEF estimates there is 93 percent equality, on average worldwide.

Here’s a map of the 136 countries analyzed by the WEF, color-coded by gap in access to primary education in each country. Click on any country to see how it scored in other educational indicators.

Health:

With 96 percent equality, the gender gap is the narrowest in this category. However, the "sex at birth" ratio remains worryingly skewed toward male babies in countries like China and India.

Here’s a map of the 136 countries analyzed by the WEF, color-coded by the sex at birth ratio in each country. Click on any country to see how it scored in other health indicators.