The World Economic Forum has ranked Iceland as the world’s best performer in terms of gender equality.
The Global Gender Gap Report 2021 is the fifteenth annual publication of an ongoing study that reflects economic participation, educational opportunities, political empowerment and women’s health.
Iceland ranks just ahead of Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden, with Syria, Pakistan, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan in the bottom five of the 156 countries surveyed. Poland ranks more or less in the middle, in 75th place.
This is the 12th consecutive year, according to Fréttablaðið, that Iceland is in first place, and this year Iceland’s score on the scoring system was slightly higher than last year.
“Of course it’s good news that we’re back at the forefront, but that doesn’t mean gender equality has been achieved.” – Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir said in an interview with Fréttablaðið. “It places a responsibility on us as a leading state to do it even better and set a good example” – she added.
This is the first set of data investigated since the outbreak of the coronavirus and shows that the pandemic negatively affected gender equality on a global scale. This is partly because of widespread traditions where women take on more of the housework and caring for children at home, and because women are more likely to work in the jobs outside the home that are most affected by the pandemic.
Although the report does not address the issue of domestic violence, Katrín Jakobsdóttir took the opportunity to raise it as it has a direct impact on the status of women in society.
“The epidemic has increased the amount of unpaid work women do in caring for their homes and children, and we are seeing an increase in domestic violence around the world.” Katrín said.
Although the World Economic Forum estimates it will take 135 years to close the gender gap in the world at the current rate of change, Katrín wants Iceland to meet the UN’s goal of full equality between men and women by 2030.
“There are a huge number of unfinished business,” said Katrín. “Our role is to initiate change and to encourage the peoples of the world to accelerate their plans for full equality.”
Source: Yle