Gender Inequality in Numbers and Facts

According to the World Economic Forum, at the current rate of progress, full gender equality will be achieved in 131 years. This means that neither we nor our grandchildren will see a world where sex does not determine a person's opportunities. Behind this number lie specific data points.

Women perform 75% of all unpaid work globally: childcare, eldercare, and housekeeping. If this work were compensated, it would amount to 10.8 trillion dollars per year — more than the combined revenue of all Fortune 500 companies. Meanwhile, the gender pay gap averages 20%: women earn 80 cents for every dollar earned by a man for comparable work.

Worldwide, 129 million girls are out of school. One in three women globally experiences physical or sexual violence. Women hold only 26% of seats in national parliaments worldwide. Fewer than 10% of heads of state are women. In the Fortune 500, women lead fewer than 10% of companies. Among Nobel Prize laureates, women account for less than 6%.

But there is also encouraging data. Over the past 25 years, the share of girls without access to education has been cut in half. Women's representation in parliaments has doubled. The pay gap is slowly but steadily narrowing. Every percentage point of progress is the result of struggle, activism, and political will. The numbers show both the problem and the path to solutions.