World Economic Forum report projects 120 years to reach global gender parity

The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2026 indicates that at the current rate of progress, it will take approximately 120 years to achieve global gender parity. The report, which analyzes 145 economies, places global parity at 69.2%, a slight increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous year.

While health and survival (96.2%) and education (96.9%) are nearing parity, significant gaps remain in economic participation and opportunity (61.7%) and political empowerment (22.1%). The report notes that increased female presence in corporate workforces has not yet translated into equivalent participation in economic decision-making and power.

Iceland remains the global leader, being the only country to close more than 90% of its gender gap. Other top-ranking nations include Finland, Norway, Namibia, and the United Kingdom. In Latin America, Ecuador leads the region, followed by Mexico and Costa Rica. Honduras showed significant improvement, rising 16 positions to rank 51st globally.