The Global Gender Gap Report

By Paige Churchman (New York City)

On November 12, the World Economic Forum released its 2008 Global Gender Gap Report. This ambitious 181-page study covers an astounding 92% of the world’s population. There’s been some real progress. Eighty-seven countries (more than two thirds of the 130 studied) have narrowed their gaps since 2007.

Norway ranks at the top of the list (i.e., the smallest gap), with the rest of the Scandinavian countries close at its heels. The US sits in twenty-seventh place, just behind Barbados. That’s twenty-seventh out of 130 countries. At the very bottom was Yemen, where women receive only 45% of the resources that Yemeni men do.

In the four areas the study examined – the economy, politics, education and health – guess where the least progress has been made? (Hint: In which two areas do you feel least empowered?)

“The world as a whole has closed about 95% of the health gaps, over 90% of the gaps on education, about 60% of the gaps on economic participation, and only about 16% of the gaps on political empowerment, says co-author Saadia Zahidi. “It shows us that women are almost as equally educated and almost as healthy as men…but are not being channeled into the economy in the same way and not being channeled into the decision-making processes.”

The apparent correlation between gender gap scores and competitiveness would seem to suggest that countries would benefit from channeling women into their economic and political structures. “We hope to highlight the economic incentive behind empowering women, in addition to promoting equality as a basic human right,” says Laura D. Tyson, another co-author.

But does that mean the large global gender gap is at least part of why we are in the financial mess we’re in now? The authors answer is that the report is based on last year’s data but they do know that:

• In a financial downturn, women’s employment feels the effects first;
• Perhaps if women were in more decision-making positions, the current situation would be different because when people with diverse views make the decisions, the decisions look different; and
• Other studies (not this one) have shown that women are more risk-averse than men so, yes, maybe if women had more power in financial institutions, those companies wouldn’t have racked up so many risky debts.

But that’s all supposition, not territory that this study and its exhaustive data aspire to. Instead, the authors of the study wish to call awareness to gender inequality and give policy-makers concrete information so they can make changes happen. Tyson even sees opportunity in the current financial morass. “We’re going to have to change the way in which the global economy is functioning, the way in which companies are functioning as we make that change. There’s the opportunity to develop new inclusive leadership styles, new inclusive leadership structures.”

The world seems to be marching slowly towards a gender equality we have never before seen. Is such a balance possible, or is this status quo we live in so wide and so deeply ingrained that maybe we’ve come to think of our lower status as the natural order? Can we imagine a world or a workplace where women are not considered less valuable? Can we imagine women coming into their own full and authentic power? Can we imagine what that looks like? Absolutely!