Pakistan’s gender parity ranking hits new low

ISLAMABAD: The World Economic Forum (WEF) has unveiled its highly anticipated Global Gender Gap Report 2024, providing a comprehensive assessment of gender equality across 146 countries. The 18th edition of the report highlights both global progress and persistent challenges in closing the gender gap in key areas such as economic participation, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.

Pakistan’s performance in the 2024 index reflects significant gender disparities, prompting calls for renewed efforts to enhance gender equality in the country, according to the report circulated in Pakistan by Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the WEF.

Pakistan’s Performance

Pakistan ranks 145th out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024, with a score of 0.570. This represents a decline from its 142nd position in 2023, highlighting growing challenges in achieving gender parity.

Amir Jahangir, Chief Executive Officer of Mishal Pakistan, said, “Pakistan’s performance in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 is a stark reminder of the persistent gender disparities that hinder our nation’s progress. Despite some improvements in educational attainment, significant gaps remain in economic participation, political empowerment, and health.”

He further said, “Pakistan’s performance in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 highlights the urgent need for more effective and impactful gender empowerment initiatives. While efforts have been made, the overall impact on gender parity remains limited.

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To address these challenges, the report says, “the government must prioritize comprehensive policies that promote women’s participation in the workforce, ensure equitable access to quality education at all levels, and enhance women’s representation in political and leadership roles. Strengthening institutional frameworks and fostering a culture of inclusivity are crucial steps towards achieving gender parity and unlocking the full potential of Pakistan’s human capital.”

The report underscores critical areas where Pakistan must focus its efforts to bridge the gender gap: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.”

Regional Context – South Asia

In South Asia, Pakistan ranks seventh with a gender parity score of 63.7%. The region has shown modest improvements since 2006, but challenges persist. South Asia ranks lowest in economic participation and opportunity, with significant gender disparities in labor-force participation and leadership roles, the report says.

Educational attainment scores 94.5%, indicating progress but with gaps in literacy and education, particularly in Pakistan and Nepal. Health and survival remains stable at 95.4%, while political empowerment sees a slight decline to 26%, reflecting gender imbalances in ministerial and parliamentary representation across the region.

Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, stated, “Gender parity is fundamental to whether and how economies and societies thrive. The Global Gender Gap Report 2024 highlights the urgent need for action to close gender gaps and ensure equal opportunities for all. Pakistan’s performance underscores the critical need for comprehensive strategies to address gender disparities and promote inclusive growth.”

Global Overview

In 2024, the global gender gap score across 146 countries is at 68.5% closed. Compared to last year, the gap has narrowed slightly by +0.1 percentage point to 68.6% for both the full sample and the 101 countries tracked since 2006.

According to the report, progress has slowed, indicating it will take 134 years to achieve full gender parity, far beyond the 2030 sustainable development goal target. Iceland leads the index with 93.5% closure, while European economies dominate the top 10, including Finland, Norway, and Sweden. Health and survival and educational attainment gaps are nearly closed, while economic participation and opportunity and political empowerment remain more challenging, with significant regional variations, it says.

The Global Gender Gap Report 2024 calls for concerted efforts by governments, businesses, and civil society to accelerate progress towards gender equality.

It says that in Pakistan, addressing the gender gap requires targeted policies that promote women’s economic participation, enhance educational opportunities, improve healthcare access, and increase political representation.

The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the international organization for public-private cooperation.

Mishal Pakistan, the country partner institute of the WEF, generates primary data on more than 200 indicators measuring Pakistan’s growth and competitiveness.