Dec 18, 2019

Women won't see equal pay for another 257 years, report says

Marisa Fernandez

illustration of hands reaching into the air — Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios

Women around the world aren't expected to see equal pay until 2277 at the current rate of change, according to findings from the Global Gender Gap Report 2020, which measured the gender gap from 153 countries across economics, politics, education and health.

The big picture: Though the report says that women in the U.S. are "relatively well-represented" in high management roles, the global economic gender gap is expected to widen for several reasons: Women are highly represented in jobs being displaced by automation, aren't entering professions with high wage growth and spend more time than men in caretaker and volunteer roles.

The findings: It would take almost 100 years to close the broader gender gap across economics, politics, education and health for the participating countries. In terms of just equal pay, it would take longer — 257 years, up from 202 years since last year's report.

The U.S. dropped two spots on the gender parity rankings since last year, falling to 53rd.
Iceland was recognized as the most gender-equal country for the 11th year in a row.
Yemen ranked lowest on the list.

Go deeper: IMF looks to reframe women's equality

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Women won't see equal pay for another 257 years, report says

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