The Global Gender Gap 2024 Insight Report highlights that global gender parity remains over a century away, with significant disparities persisting in economic and political spheres.

In this blog, we explore the key insights from the recently released Global Gender Gap 2024 Insight Report, providing an overview of global trends, focusing on the Eastern Asia and the Pacific region and Australia. Additionally, we discuss the Victorian Gender Equality Act 2020, highlighting legislative efforts aimed at promoting gender equality.

Overview of the Report

The Global Gender Gap 2024 Insight Report, published by the World Economic Forum, benchmarks gender parity across two-thirds (146) of the world’s economies, measuring gaps in Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. This year's report, the 18th edition, underscores the slow pace of progress towards gender equality, with full parity projected to take 134 years – five generations beyond the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal target. The report highlights the critical role of government and business in advancing gender equality, stressing the need for robust policies and leadership to drive significant change.

Key Takeaways:

• Global gender gap: The global gender gap stands at 68.5% closed, a marginal improvement from last year.
• Countries’ progress: 97% of the economies have closed more than 60% of their gender gaps, compared to 85% in 2006. No country has achieved full parity.
• Top ranking country: Iceland remains the highest-ranking country, having closed 93.5% of its gender gap.
• Lowest ranking country: Sudan ranks last, with 56.8% of its gender gap closed, indicating significant disparities across all measured dimensions.
• Top 10 performers: European economies dominate the top 10, occupying seven spots. The top 10 countries are Iceland (93.5%), Finland and Norway (87.5%), New Zealand (83.5%), Sweden (81.6%), Nicaragua (81.1%), Germany (81%), Namibia (80.5%), Ireland (80.2%) and Spain (79.7%).
• Regional results: 1. Europe (75% closed); 2. Northern America (74.8%); 3. Latin America and the Caribbean (74.2%); 4. Eastern Asia and the Pacific (69.2%); 5. Central Asia (69.1%); 6. Sub-Saharan Africa (68.4%); 7. Southern Asia (63.7%); 8. Middle East and North Africa (61.7%).

Eastern Asia and the Pacific

Eastern Asia and the Pacific ranks fourth globally with a gender parity score of 69.2%. Importantly, while there has been a positive overall increase of 3.1 percentage points since 2006, only New Zealand and the Philippines have ranked in the global top 10 since then. New Zealand is the highest-ranking country in the region and is placed 4th globally (83.5%), while Japan and the Maldives (63.3%), the two lowest-ranking countries in the region, face significant gaps in economic participation and political empowerment despite high levels of educational attainment and health improvements.

Overall, the region shows progress in economic participation, scoring 71.7%, showing improvements since 2023, but significant disparities between countries remain in labour-force participation and workforce representation. Educational Attainment is at 95.1%, with gender gaps in literacy and enrolment levels, while Health and Survival stands at 95%. Political Empowerment remains low at 14.5%, with many countries struggling with female representation in government.

Australia

Australia ranks 24th in the Global Gender Gap Index 2024 with a score of 78% and ranks third in the Eastern Asia and the Pacific region. Despite advancements in educational attainment (94.9%) and health (96%), significant gaps remain in economic participation and political empowerment. Women's representation in leadership positions and wage equality continues to lag. Australia's score in Economic Participation and Opportunity is 73.6%, indicating persistent gender disparities in labour-force participation and senior roles. Political Empowerment stands at 29.4%, highlighting a significant underrepresentation in ministerial and parliamentary positions.

Next Steps outlined in the Report

Global: To accelerate progress, global efforts must focus on implementing robust policies that promote gender equality. Governments and businesses should prioritise gender parity as an economic and social imperative, leveraging collaborative initiatives to drive systemic change.

Eastern Asia and the Pacific: Targeted interventions are needed to address challenges such as labour-force participation and political representation. Strengthening educational policies to ensure equal access and outcomes for both genders is crucial, along with fostering an inclusive political environment that encourages female participation in leadership roles.

Australia: Advance policies that promote gender equality in the workplace, focusing on reducing wage gaps and increasing female representation in leadership positions. Enhancing support for women's economic participation, and promoting gender-sensitive political reforms, can significantly contribute to closing the gender gap.

Gender Equality Act 2020 (Vic)

In Victoria, the Gender Equality Act 2020 commenced on 31 March 2021, with the aim to improve workplace gender equality in Victoria's public sector, universities, and local councils. Mandating these organisations to take positive actions towards gender equality and consider gender in their policies, programs, and services, the Act also established the Public Sector Gender Equality Commissioner to provide education, support implementation, and enforce compliance.

Objectives of the Act include:

• Promoting gender equality and improving the status of women.
• Identifying and eliminating systemic causes of gender inequality in policies and services.
• Recognising and addressing compounded inequalities due to other forms of disadvantage or discrimination.
• Enhancing economic and social participation across all genders.
• Furthering the right to equality as outlined in the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

According to a 2023 state government update, all Victorian public sector organisations with obligations under the Gender Equality Act 2020 have completed workplace gender audits and developed Gender Equality Action Plans (GEAPs). Nearly 300 organisations, representing about 12% of the Victorian workforce, now have strategies and measures in place to improve gender equality, focusing on seven key indicators such as closing the gender pay gap, supporting work-life balance, and achieving equal representation in leadership. These organisations are required to conduct gender impact assessments on all significant policies, programs, and services, and to consider how other forms of disadvantage may exacerbate gender inequality. This comprehensive approach aims to address and mitigate gender inequality more effectively.

Conclusion

The Global Gender Gap 2024 Insight Report and the Victorian Gender Equality Act 2020 both highlight the ongoing challenges and necessary steps towards achieving gender parity. While global progress remains slow, targeted efforts at regional and national levels, such as those in Australia and the broader Eastern Asia and Pacific region, are essential for driving meaningful change. Collaborative initiatives, robust policies, and dedicated leadership are crucial to advancing gender equality and ensuring a fairer, more inclusive society for everybody.

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Resources

Gender Equality Action Plan 2021-2025

Gender Equality Initiatives – Local and Global (CourtHeath blog)

Global Gender Gap 2024 Insight Report, June 2024 – World Economic Forum

Global Gender Gap Report 2024 – Overview

Using The Gender Equality Act 2020 as our strongest lever for change

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A participant in the UN Global Compact, CourtHeath seeks to raise awareness about the sustainable development goals and the principles of the Global Compact with business and government organisations in Victoria. The elimination of all forms of discrimination in respect to employment and occupation is Principle 6 of the Global Compact. The Global Compact repudiates labour discrimination internationally.

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IMAGE: Used under licence from shutterstock.com

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