Gender pay gap ‘may take 118 years to close’ – World Economic Forum

It will take another 118 years until the global pay gap between men and women is finally closed. That’s the year 2133.

So say the authors of the Global Gender Gap Report 2015, who have spent 10 years measuring the economic gender gap between men and women.

They found that since 2006, an extra quarter of a billion women have entered the labour force – and yet the annual pay for women only now equals the amount men were earning 10 years ago.

In many countries, more women are graduating from university than men but – crucially – this is not necessarily translating into more women occupying skilled roles or leadership positions.

Over the past decade, the gap between women’s and men’s economic situation has declined by only 3% and the World Economic Forum experts estimate that it will be possible to eliminate it not early than 2133.

However, some countries have solved this problem. For example, in Norway and Sweden women and men performing the dame job get the same money – on average 40 000 $ a year. In other Nordic countries the situation is a bit worse. So, in Iceland, where discrimination against wmen in all spheres of life is the least, according to the World Economic Forum report, women earn by 11% less than men, in Denmark – by 10%.

This year, Yemen was recognized as a country where priority of men over womnen is the greatest. The World Economic Forum estimates that for every dollar earned by men a woman receives 27 cent.

In the past, EU statistics agency announced about the wage gap reduction. On average, in 2013, women were paid by 16,4% less than men, and in 2008, when financial crisis came, rhey were paid by 17, 3% less than men,  – says Reuter agency.

The WEF report looks at whether men and women have the same rights and opportunities in each country in four areas: health, education, economic participation and political empowerment.

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