Nearly every economy tracked by the World Economic Forum over the past 20 years has moved closer to gender equality. Yet women remain significantly underrepresented in the positions carrying the greatest economic, political and technological power – and at the current pace, full global parity is still 120 years away.
Twenty years of progress towards global gender parity is showing signs of fragility, with gains reversing in some areas even as women reach senior leadership in greater numbers. The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026, marking the 20th edition of the index, finds that the global gender gap is now 69.2% closed, where 100% represents full parity. That represents an improvement of just 0.4 percentage points over the past year.
Among the 97 economies continuously tracked since 2006, the gap has closed by 5.2 percentage points to 69.4% – the highest level recorded. But the headline progress masks a continuing divide between representation and power.
Women have increasingly reached boardrooms, C-suites, parliaments and governments, yet remain substantially underrepresented in some of the positions carrying the greatest influence. Yet, women currently hold just 19.1% of CEO roles, while only one in 10 ministerial portfolios held by women is classified as highly influential.
Women are also underrepresented throughout the emerging artificial intelligence economy, accounting for just 19.3% of AI engineers. The findings reinforce a theme repeatedly highlighted by Fair Play Talks – progress in headline representation does not necessarily mean women have secured equal access to the roles where the biggest decisions are made.
FULL GENDER PARITY STILL 120 YEARS AWAY
The 2026 Global Gender Gap Report benchmarks 145 economies across four dimensions:
- Economic participation and opportunity
- Educational attainment
- Health and survival
- Political empowerment
Of these, economic participation and opportunity stands at 61.7% parity, while political empowerment is just 22.1% closed. At the current rate of progress, the WEF estimates that achieving full parity across all measures will take another 120 years.
“Twenty years of data show that gender parity is achievable. Economies at every income level have made progress, so the barrier is not a lack of resources,” said Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. “Parity is a foundation for growth and competitiveness, but it is not inevitable. To accelerate, governments and employers need to learn from the policies that work and apply them faster. A new economy demands a new approach to talent.”
The warning comes despite significant progress in corporate representation over the past two decades. Fair Play Talks has previously highlighted how 101 global companies are leading the way for women in leadership, demonstrating that substantially greater gender balance at senior level is achievable. However, the latest WEF figures suggest that progress across the wider economy remains far less consistent.
ICELAND LEADS AS UK RANKS FIFTH
Iceland remains the world’s most gender-equal economy for the 17th consecutive year, having closed 93% of its gender gap. It remains the only economy to have closed more than 90%.
The top 10 are:
- Iceland — 93%
- Finland — 87.2%
- Norway — 85.7%
- Namibia — 84.5%
- United Kingdom — 84.2%
- New Zealand — 82.8%
- Sweden — 82.3%
- Australia — 81.9%
- Germany — 81.7%
- Ireland — 81.4%
Namibia climbed four places to fourth, making it the highest-ranked economy in Sub-Saharan Africa. Australia entered the global top 10 for the first time. Four economies – Iceland, Finland, Norway and Sweden – have appeared in every top 10 since the index began in 2006. The UK’s fifth-place position comes after years of significant progress in corporate representation.
Fair Play Talks reported in 2025 that UK firms had become global leaders on gender equality in boardrooms. But more recent findings have exposed the continuing gap between board representation and executive power, with women’s UK board representation holding relatively strong while the most senior roles remain disproportionately male.
PROGRESS SLOWED AFTER FIRST DECADE
The WEF’s 20-year data reveals that progress has not been linear. Improvement peaked before the pandemic, when 76% of tracked economies recorded gains, before widespread setbacks followed. Since 2024, more than half of indexed economies have regained momentum. The biggest climbers in this year’s rankings are:
- Kenya — 65th, up 33 places
- Ghana — 56th, up 32
- Guatemala — 50th, up 31
- Angola — 87th, up 30
- Czechia — 77th, up 25
The economies making the greatest overall progress since 2006 – each closing at least 12 percentage points of their gender gap – are Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Iceland, Mexico, Namibia and Nepal.
POLITICAL PROGRESS GOES INTO REVERSE
Political empowerment has recorded the biggest long-term improvement of the four categories, but it is also showing the clearest signs of reversal. Among economies tracked throughout the past 20 years, political empowerment has increased by eight percentage points.
In 2006, there was approximately one female minister for every 8.1 male ministers. Today that ratio is approximately one woman for every 4.3 men. Representation in parliaments has also improved, moving from approximately one woman for every 5.6 men in 2006 to around one woman for every three men today.
Yet political empowerment now scores lower than it did in 2016 and slipped another 0.4 percentage points during the past year. At the very top, the reversal is particularly stark. Across the WEF’s constant sample of 97 economies, the proportion led by a woman head of state peaked at 27% in 2022 – its highest level in half a century. It has since fallen back to 2016 levels, effectively erasing the gains made during the first part of the past decade.
EUROPE RECLAIMS GLOBAL LEAD
Europe has reclaimed its position as the world’s most gender-equal region, closing 75.7% of its gender gap. The region has narrowed the gap by seven percentage points since 2006, while seven of the world’s top 10 economies are European.
Europe also leads globally on political empowerment at 37%, with its parity score at head-of-state level having tripled since 2006. Northern America ranks second at 75.2%, slipping 0.6 percentage points from last year and losing the top regional position as Canada’s score improved and the US score declined.
The region nevertheless leads globally in economic participation and opportunity at 77.1% and has reached 100% parity in educational attainment. However, its political empowerment score fell by 3.3 percentage points, driven mainly by lower female representation in ministerial positions.
LATIN AMERICA RECORDS FASTEST LONG-TERM PROGRESS
Latin America and the Caribbean ranks third at 74.5% parity and leads the world in health and survival at 97.7%. It has achieved the fastest long-term trajectory of any region, narrowing its gender gap by 8.6 percentage points since 2006 – the largest improvement globally.
Even at that pace, however, full regional parity remains around 60 years away. Eastern Asia and the Pacific rises to fourth at 70.3%, with New Zealand and Australia both appearing in the global top 10.
The region also records the world’s second-highest economic participation and opportunity score at 71.4%. Central Asia ranks fifth at 70%. The region has improved by 2.9 percentage points since 2006, but at its current pace is projected to be the last region to reach parity.
WIDE REGIONAL DIFFERENCES REMAIN
Sub-Saharan Africa ranks sixth at 68.8%, improving by 1.6 percentage points over the past year. It also has the widest variation between economies of any region, with Namibia ranking fourth globally.
Its strongest long-term improvement has been among legislators, senior officials and managers, where parity has risen by 28.7 percentage points since 2006. Southern Asia ranks seventh at 64.5% and remains the lowest-scoring region for economic participation and opportunity at just 40.9%.
However, it has recorded the largest improvement in education of any region, rising by 15 percentage points since 2006, with almost all economies now achieving parity in tertiary enrolment.
The Middle East and Northern Africa ranks eighth at 62.5%, improving by 0.2 percentage points from last year. Its educational gender gap has narrowed to less than 3%, while political empowerment remains the lowest of any region at just 11.5% parity.
WOMEN REACH LEADERSHIP, BUT NOT THE MOST POWERFUL ROLES
Perhaps one of the most significant findings for employers is the continuing divide between representation and power. Drawing on data from the LinkedIn Economic Graph Research Institute, the WEF finds that women’s representation in top-level management has stalled at an average of under 30% across 62 economies since 2024.
The leadership pipeline is also narrowing. Across the 16 economies with hiring data, women’s share of new hires into top-level management positions has fallen every year since 2022, from 34.8% to 32.3% during the first two quarters of 2026.
Inside the C-suite, the differences become even more pronounced. Women hold:
- Just 19.1% of CEO roles
- Around one-quarter of CFO and COO roles
- Around two-thirds of Chief Human Resources Officer and Chief People Officer roles
- Fewer than one in five Chief Information Officer roles
- Fewer than one in 10 Chief Technology Officer roles
The imbalance is particularly significant because CFO and COO positions are traditionally among the most common routes to the CEO role. The findings echo previous analysis warning that failing to level the playing field for women pursuing leadership roles creates a significant business risk.
They also build on evidence highlighted earlier this year through Fair Play Talks’ Breaking the Ceiling analysis of 101 global companies leading the way for women in leadership.
WOMEN CEOS CAN CHANGE THE PIPELINE
There is evidence that increasing women’s representation at CEO level can have effects throughout an organisation. Recent research showing that women CEOs are driving significant gains in boardroom and executive diversity worldwide. However, reaching the top does not necessarily remove gendered barriers.
Separate research has found that women CEOs face disproportionate pressure as shareholder activism increases, raising questions not only about women’s access to senior leadership but also about their experience once they get there.
Together with the latest WEF findings, the evidence suggests the challenge is no longer simply increasing the number of women in leadership. It is ensuring women can reach, remain in and exercise influence from the positions where the most consequential decisions are made.
REPRESENTATION IS NOT THE SAME AS INFLUENCE
The same pattern is visible in government. The number of ministerial portfolios headed by women has risen by 26% since 2008. But only one in 10 portfolios held by women was classified as highly influential in 2008 – a proportion that remains virtually unchanged today.
According to the WEF, this points to a barrier in how positions are allocated rather than in the availability of female talent. Governments have nevertheless expanded legal protections for women substantially over recent decades. Data from the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law project shows that 96% of reforms have expanded women’s legal rights worldwide.
Europe, Northern America and Latin America and the Caribbean implemented much of their reform activity during the 1990s and 2000s. The Middle East and Northern Africa started later but progressively increased its reform activity and has become the most reform-intensive region during the current decade.
ECONOMIC EQUALITY EXTENDS BEYOND WHO GETS PROMOTED
The WEF’s economic participation score of 61.7% also highlights why gender equality cannot be measured through leadership representation alone. Women continue to experience differences in pay, economic security, career continuity and access to opportunity throughout their working lives.
Fair Play Talks recently reported how gender pay inequality could cost women millions over their careers, illustrating how differences in compensation can compound over decades. Caregiving can also have major consequences for women’s workforce participation.
Recent research found that nearly half a million women exited the US workplace in 2025 as caregiving pressures mounted. Meanwhile, two-thirds of sandwich-generation working women have been identified as being at high risk of burnout.
These pressures matter because every woman pushed out of work, prevented from progressing or forced to scale back her career can also affect the future pipeline into senior leadership.
WOMEN RISK BEING LEFT BEHIND BY THE AI ECONOMY
The WEF report also identifies a potentially significant new gender divide: artificial intelligence. According to LinkedIn data, women are less represented in AI companies than in comparable non-AI companies at every organisational level.
At individual-contributor level, women represent 36.6% of employees in AI firms compared with 44.8% in comparable non-AI firms. At top-management level, women’s representation ranges from 25.3% to 27.7%.
Within AI occupations, women are disproportionately concentrated in data annotation roles, which are often among the lower-paid positions within the AI ecosystem. Women make up just 19.3% of AI engineers.
There has been some progress among founders. The proportion of women founders with AI engineering skills has increased from 2.3% in 2019 to 8.7% during the first two quarters of 2026. However, the WEF warns that men continue to progress faster.
GENDER PARITY IN LEADERSHIP STALLS
“Progress towards gender parity in leadership has stalled for a fourth year. Based on the current trajectory, girls born today will not see equal representation at the top in their lifetime. And the issue is even more pronounced for women working in AI roles,” said Sue Duke, Managing Director for EMEA & LATAM and Head of Global Public Policy & Economic Graph at LinkedIn.
“But we can change that trajectory by tackling the persistent barriers holding women back as their careers progress – from better investment in skills, hiring based on capability, and normalising non-linear careers.”
As AI reshapes jobs and creates new career paths, the findings suggest access to training, skills and emerging technology roles will become an increasingly important gender equality issue.
WORKPLACE SUPPORT REMAINS PART OF THE PROBLEM
Employers also need to consider what happens further down the career pipeline. Previous research has found that less than one in three women feel supported at work.
Other research has highlighted how meaningful work can play an important role in helping women thrive. And women themselves increasingly appear to be demanding more than symbolic commitments.
Another recent study found that two-thirds of women believe employers treat International Women’s Day more as a celebration than an accountability exercise. The latest WEF findings strengthen the case for shifting the focus from statements and representation targets alone towards examining the systems that determine who progresses, who stays and who ultimately holds power.
WHAT EMPLOYERS SHOULD DO NEXT
For businesses, the 2026 findings suggest that headline representation figures should be the beginning of the analysis, not the end. Employers should examine whether women have equal access to:
- Operational and profit-and-loss roles that commonly provide routes into CEO positions.
- CFO, COO and technology leadership roles, where female representation remains particularly low.
- Sponsorship and senior-level advocacy, rather than mentoring alone.
- Stretch assignments and strategically visible projects that influence promotion decisions.
- Fair recruitment and promotion processes based on transparent criteria.
- AI training, reskilling and emerging technology roles.
- Equal pay, bonuses, equity and other forms of financial reward.
- Flexible working and caregiving support that allows women to remain and progress in the workforce.
- Career pathways that accommodate non-linear careers without permanently penalising those who take career breaks.
- Accountability measures that track who is promoted into the roles carrying the greatest influence.
The distinction matters. A company may achieve gender balance on its board while women remain underrepresented in the operational roles that lead to the CEO position. It can improve recruitment while simultaneously losing women during key career stages. And it can celebrate diversity while women remain largely excluded from the technological roles likely to shape the next generation of business leadership.
WHAT WOMEN CAN DO TO STRENGTHEN THEIR PATH TO SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The latest findings also highlight some practical considerations for women seeking to progress into senior leadership. While responsibility for removing structural barriers sits with employers, women can take steps to strengthen their visibility, experience and access to the roles most likely to lead to the top.
Seek out roles that build routes to the C-suite
One of the clearest findings in the WEF report is that women remain particularly underrepresented in CEO, COO, CFO and technology leadership roles. Women seeking senior leadership positions may therefore want to look beyond title progression alone and consider whether their next role gives them experience in areas such as commercial strategy, operations, profit-and-loss responsibility, finance, technology or business transformation. These are often the roles that build the experience and organisational influence required for progression into the most senior executive positions.
Build sponsors, not just mentors
Mentors can provide valuable advice and guidance, but sponsors can actively advocate for someone when promotions, appointments and high-profile assignments are being discussed. Women aiming for senior roles can benefit from developing relationships with leaders who understand their work, recognise their potential and are prepared to put their name forward when influential opportunities arise. That is particularly important given previous research highlighted that women continue to face an uneven playing field when pursuing leadership positions.
Ask for visible, career-building assignments
Not all experience carries equal weight when promotion decisions are made. Women can actively seek out projects that provide exposure to senior decision-makers, involve strategic responsibility or demonstrate measurable business impact. That might mean leading a transformation programme, taking responsibility for a major client, managing a significant budget or moving into an assignment outside their traditional functional area. The aim is not simply to accumulate more work, but to build a track record in areas organisations value when appointing senior leaders.
Invest in AI and emerging tech skills
The WEF’s finding that women account for just 19.3% of AI engineers points to a potential new leadership divide. Even for women who do not work directly in technology, understanding how AI affects their industry, workforce and business model is likely to become increasingly important for senior leadership. Developing AI literacy, participating in transformation projects and gaining experience overseeing technology-driven change can help ensure women are not excluded from one of the fastest-growing sources of organisational influence.
Make your ambitions visible
Organisations cannot always act on aspirations they do not know about. Women seeking progression may benefit from being explicit with managers and senior leaders about the positions they want to move towards, the experience they still need and the opportunities they would like to be considered for. That can also help reveal whether an organisation genuinely supports progression or whether women are repeatedly encouraged to wait, accumulate more experience or remain in support functions while others receive career-building opportunities.
Don’t assume a non-linear career is a disadvantage
LinkedIn’s Sue Duke specifically highlighted the importance of “normalising non-linear careers” as part of removing barriers to women’s progression. Career breaks, caregiving responsibilities, lateral moves or periods of part-time work do not erase leadership capability. Women returning from a break or changing direction can focus on articulating the skills, judgement, resilience and experience they have gained rather than treating a non-linear career path as something that needs to be apologised for.
Examine the culture as well as the job title
Progression is not simply about securing the next senior position. It also matters whether the organisation provides the conditions needed to succeed once there. Fair Play Talks has previously reported that less than one in three women feel supported at work, while women in senior positions can also face disproportionate scrutiny. Recent research has also found that women CEOs face disproportionate pressure as shareholder activism surges. Before taking a senior role, women may therefore want to consider not only the title and salary but also who gets supported, who gets heard, how failure is treated, whether flexibility is genuinely available and whether senior women stay and progress within the organisation.
Know your value
Pay inequality can compound over an entire career, as highlighted in recent research warning that gender pay inequality could cost women millions over their working lives. Understanding market rates, negotiating salary and reviewing the wider package – including bonuses, pensions, equity and long-term incentives – can therefore have consequences far beyond one promotion. For women aspiring to senior leadership, progression should ultimately be about more than getting a bigger title. It should mean gaining greater influence, decision-making authority, commercial responsibility, economic reward and a genuine route to the positions where organisational power sits.
TWENTY YEARS OF PROGRESS — BUT NO GUARANTEE IT WILL CONTINUE
The 20-year perspective of the Global Gender Gap Report provides both evidence of what is possible and a warning against assuming progress will continue automatically. Nearly every economy tracked consistently since 2006 has become more gender equal. But the first decade delivered faster gains than the second.
Political empowerment is reversing. Women’s progress into the highest levels of management has stalled. The pipeline into senior leadership is narrowing. And women risk being underrepresented in one of the fastest-growing areas of the global economy: artificial intelligence.
Twenty years on, the gender equality challenge is therefore becoming more nuanced. It is no longer simply about whether women are present. The bigger question for employers and governments is whether women have equal access to economic opportunity, career progression and the positions where real power resides. As Zahidi stressed, gender parity is achievable. But it is not inevitable.
Download the Global Gender Gap Report 2026 here.
RELATED ARTICLES
A new global index reveals which of the world’s largest corporations are building gender-balanced leadership teams, and how accelerating women into senior roles is delivering stronger business performance.
Women’s representation on UK boards remains steady at 43% of FTSE 350 roles, unchanged from last year, while top executive positions continue to be dominated by men, according to the latest FTSE Women Leaders Review.
For much of the past decade, progress on gender equality at work has been slow but measurable. However, according to new research, that progress is at risk of going into reverse and the consequences for organisations are becoming impossible to ignore in the year ahead.
Companies led by women are significantly outperforming their male-led peers in appointing women to both corporate boards and senior management positions, according to a new global study.
Shareholder activists are increasingly targeting chief executives and women CEOs are paying a disproportionate price, reveals a new study.
New research shows that the true cost of gender pay inequality is likely to be far greater than many professionals realise.
Between January and August 2025, more than 455,000 women left the US workforce, citing unaffordable childcare, inflexible work arrangements and structural inequality, new research finds.
New research shows caregiver burnout among sandwich generation working women is driving higher healthcare costs, rising depression rates and growing workforce retention risks.
A new report to mark Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day has revealed that only 28% of women feel their company’s culture actively supports them.
It’s actually not vacations or perks, but making meaningful contributions that are key to helping women to thrive at work, according to a new study.
New research to suggests women increasingly want employers to move beyond symbolic gestures and demonstrate real support through workplace policies, benefits and leadership opportunities.
