Pakistan has ranked 145th among 146 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, Islamabad, with the country closing 56.4 percent of its overall gender gap.
According to the report, Pakistan has a female population of 107 million and recorded its highest overall level of gender equality since the index was launched.
As stated by the World Economic Forum, Pakistan ranked 95th in women’s political empowerment, 135th in providing educational opportunities to women, and an overall gender gap ranking of 143rd.
The report noted improvements in literacy and secondary and tertiary education enrolment, while women’s estimated earned income increased by 4 percent compared to 2021.
However, female labor force participation declined in 2022. According to the global report, women’s representation in managerial and legislative roles in Pakistan is only 4.5 percent, which reflects a severe lack of access to top-level decision-making positions.
As reported by the World Economic Forum, South Asia ranked as the lowest-performing region, with 62.3 percent of its gender gap closed. Bangladesh ranked first in the region and 71st globally, followed by Nepal at 96th, Sri Lanka at 110th, Maldives at 117th, Bhutan at 126th, India at 135th, Pakistan at 145th and Afghanistan at 146th.
Afghanistan recorded the lowest level of overall gender parity globally, with 43.5 percent of its gender gap closed.
Globally, Iceland topped the 2022 rankings with 90.8 percent of its gender gap closed, followed by Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden.
This World Economic Forum report serves as a clear warning for Pakistan, highlighting extremely low female representation in the sectors of education, health, and particularly administration and legislation. Although marginal improvements were observed in income and educational enrollment, the decline in female labor force participation and the country’s overall ranking of 145th indicate that Pakistan still has a long way to go to achieve gender equality.
