Belgium has gone up five places to 27th position in a global ranking on gender equality, according to a new report launched by the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.
The Global Gender Gap report, first established in 2006, acts as a framework for capturing the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracking their progress over time. It measures gender-based gaps in the areas of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
Coming in on top of the 2020 edition of the report, which ranks a total of 153 countries, is Iceland, followed consecutively by Norway, Finland, Sweden and Nicaragua.
Jumping 21 places since the previous edition of the report, Spain nabs 8th place. France comes in 15th position, the United Kingdom in 21st and the Netherlands drops 11 places, coming in at 38th.
According to the report, the overall global gender gap will close in 99.5 years, on average, across the 107 countries covered continuously since the first edition of the report.
"At the present rate of change, it will take nearly a century to achieve parity, a timeline we simply cannot accept in today’s globalised world, especially among younger generations who hold increasingly progressive views of gender equality," said Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab.
The top five most-improved countries in the overall ranking this year are Ethiopia, Spain, Mali, Albania and Mexico.
At the tail end of the ranking are Yemen, Iraq, Pakistan and Syria.
Evie McCullough
The Brussels Times
