It might take 134 years for women to have the same work opportunities as men around the world. This is because economies and job markets are still bouncing back from the pandemic.
This information comes from the World Economic Forum, based on its Global Gender Gap Report 2024.
According to Indermit Gill, the top economist at the World Bank, if women’s participation in the workforce goes up, the world economy could grow by 20%. But for this to happen, we need better policies and changes to remove barriers that women face.
He mentioned this at the launch of the World Bank’s ‘Women, Business, and the Law 2024‘ report earlier this year.
Women in the Workforce
Data from different sources like the World Bank, International Labour Organization, and LinkedIn shows how women are doing in the job market and where there are opportunities for improvement.
- Women’s participation in the workforce in 101 countries has gone up from 63.5% to 65.7% over the past 18 years.
- The gap in economic participation and opportunities for women has closed by 17 years since last year. However, it is still the second-largest gap to close, with big differences between countries.
- Global unemployment rates are back to pre-pandemic levels, but they may increase this year due to slowing productivity and growing income inequalities.
- Women make up 42% of the global workforce and 31.7% of senior leaders. However, they lag behind men in nearly every industry.
- Women hold 50% of entry-level jobs, but only 25% of top positions like CEOs.
- Women make up nearly half of entry-level jobs but only one-quarter of C-suite roles. Sue Duke from LinkedIn said, “With the job market slowing down, it is mostly women who are affected. This is especially true now as new technology like Artificial Intelligence changes how we work.”
- LinkedIn data shows that women are better than men at important skills like leadership and teamwork. Duke said, “As AI becomes more common, it could help close the gender gap.”
- LinkedIn also found that during tough economic times, fewer women get top jobs. The number of women in leadership positions serves as a key indicator of overall employment equality.
Gender Gaps in Different Industries
Reports from the World Economic Forum and other sources also provide information on women’s participation in various industries:
- Since 2016, more women have been working in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, but they still only make up 28.2% of the workforce. It’s especially hard for women to get top positions in this area.
- Women are making significant gains in AI (Artificial Intelligence) jobs as technology becomes more important in business.
- According to LinkedIn, the number of women in AI engineering has more than doubled since 2016. Although women are still underrepresented, their participation in sectors like Technology and Media is on the rise.
- Gender differences exist in how men and women are preparing for future jobs, especially in tech fields.
- Coursera data shows gender equality in online courses for skills like leadership, teaching, and mentoring.
However, gender parity remains low in important areas like AI and big data (30%), programming (31%), and cybersecurity (31%). This makes it hard to close workforce gaps.