World Economic Forum Says Gender Equality Is 123 Years Away: UN Projects $7 Trillion Boost To Global Economy If Gap Closes

The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Global Gender Gap Index reveals that only 68.8% of the global gender gap has been closed across 148 economies. This marks an increase of just 0.3 percentage points from last year, according to Benzinga. At this pace, full gender parity will take 123 years. Iceland tops the list for the 16th consecutive year, the only nation surpassing 90% parity. The top 10 economies with 80% gender parity are largely European, including Finland, Norway, Sweden, Germany, and Ireland. The Health and Survival gap has narrowed to 96.2%, and Educational Attainment has reached 95.1%, indicating near parity in these areas. Economic Participation remains low at 61%, and Political Empowerment trails further behind at 22.9%. UN Women estimates that closing the gap could add $7 trillion to the global economy.