June 2023 Global Gender Gap Report 2023 Preface Saadia Zahidi Managing Director Recent years have been marked by major between participating countries and a wider setbacks for gender parity globally, with previous network of leaders. Focusing on corporate action, progress disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic’s the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Lighthouse impact on women and girls in education and the Programme brings together a cross-industry group workforce, followed by economic and geopolitical of organizations taking action to drive better and crises. Today, some parts of the world are seeing faster DEI outcomes through CEO leadership, and partial recoveries while others are experiencing knowledge-sharing on initiatives that have achieved deteriorations as new crises unfold. Global gender signi昀椀cant, quanti昀椀able and sustained impact for gaps in health and education have narrowed underrepresented groups. over the past year, yet progress on political empowerment is effectively at a standstill, and This year’s edition of the Global Gender Gap women’s economic participation has regressed Report also analyses new data on labour market rather than recovered. outcomes for women, at both the macro-economic and industry level. We are grateful to LinkedIn The tepid progress on persistently large gaps and Coursera for their continued collaboration in documented in this seventeenth edition of the providing unique data and new measures to track Global Gender Gap Report creates an urgent case gender gaps in workforce participation, senior for renewed and concerted action. Accelerating leadership and online skilling. We also thank the progress towards gender parity will not only members of the Centre for the New Economy and improve outcomes for women and girls but bene昀椀t Society Advisory Board for their leadership, the over economies and societies more widely, reviving 150 partners of the Centre, and the Global Future growth, boosting innovation and increasing Council on the Future of the Care Economy and resilience. The report provides a tool for consistent Community of Chief Diversity and Inclusion Of昀椀cers tracking of gender gaps across the economic, for expert guidance, as well as a network of national political, health and education spheres, and is ministries of economy, education and labour for designed for leaders to identify areas for individual their commitment to advancing gender parity. and collective action. We would like to express our gratitude to Silja At the World Economic Forum, the Centre for Baller, Kusum Kali Pal, Kim Piaget and Ricky Li the New Economy and Society complements for their leadership of this project. We would also measurement of gender gaps with a set of initiatives like to thank our colleagues Attilio Di Battista, Eoin and coalitions dedicated to advancing progress. O’Cathasaigh, Gulipairi Maimaiti and Mark Rayner The Gender Parity Accelerators are working for their support. towards gender parity in economic participation – scaling policies and strategies to improve women’s We hope the data and analysis provided in this representation in the workforce and in leadership report can further accelerate the speed of travel – as well as pay equity. Accelerators are currently towards parity by catalysing and informing action present in 14 countries in Latin America and the by public- and private-sector leaders in their Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa, efforts to close the global gender gap. With the Central Asia, East Asia and the Paci昀椀c, and Sub- myriad challenges the world faces, we need the full Saharan Africa. The Global Learning Network linked power of human creativity and collaboration to 昀椀nd to the Accelerators surfaces successful policies pathways to shared prosperity. and practices and promotes knowledge exchange Global Gender Gap Report 2023 4