New Study Finds the Global Gender Pay Gap Won't Be Closed Until 2186 The World Economic Forum breaks down how far we have to go in its latest Global Gender Gap report.
By Nina Zipkin •
The pay gap between men and women is a persistent concern all over the world, but according to new findings from the World Economic Forum, we have a long way to go before we reach parity.
In its annual Global Gender Gap report, the organization found that "at the current rate of change, and given the widening economic gender gap since last year, it will not be closed for another 170 years." That means women and men won't be paid equally all over in the world until 2186, based on the WEF's research.
It may be a false equivalency, but think about this: Elon Musk wants to make humans an interplanetary species starting in 2024. We can settle on another planet, but equal pay for equal work is still somehow beyond our grasp.
Ranking 144 countries, a number of factors are taken into consideration in measuring the gender gap, including the population of women's participation in the labor force, income, literacy and education, rates of health and survival, and women's participation in government, including how long a country has had a female head of state.
Related: Tech's Gender Wage Gap Is Real, Partly Because Men Don't Believe It Is.
The United States isn't terrible, but it's not fantastic either. On the overall gender gap ranking, it comes in at number 45, behind Trinidad and Tobago, and ahead of Australia. The country is number 26 on the economic participation ranking, number one in educational attainment (along with 23 others), 62 for health and survival and 73 on the political empowerment ranking.
The top country on the list is Iceland -- but it's not immune from concerns about pay inequality. Just last week on its election day, 48 percent of Iceland's parliament seats were filled by women. But earlier in the month, activists were protesting the country's wage gap.
In Iceland, women earn anywhere from 14 to 18 percent less than their male co-workers, and on Oct. 24, women all over the country staged a walkout at 2:38 p.m. -- leaving their jobs 14 percent earlier.
