Best countries for women – ranked

The world’s best countries for women in terms of gender equality have been announced. We take a look at the updated results

Norway is the best country to be a woman according to the latest academic report on women’s status and empowerment around the world. The Nordic countries again performed well with Norway followed by Finland, Iceland, Denmark and Luxembourg.

At the other end of the index, Afghanistan was ranked the worst country to be a woman following the Taliban takeover in 2021. Other poor performers were Syria, Yemen, Pakistan and Iraq.

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, in partnership with the Peace Research Institute of Oslo, periodically updates its Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Index. The index ranks 170 countries by women’s equality.

The index assesses women’s inclusion in society, sense of security and exposure to discrimination – key indicators of how women are faring in different communities and cultures. This is the third edition of the index since its launch in 2017.

“In Denmark, Norway and Sweden, both fathers and mothers have access to at least a year of paid parental leave, also helping to even out childcare responsibilities.”

– GIWPS

“The collapse of the Afghan government and rise of the Taliban in August 2021 clearly jeopardize past progress for Afghan women and threaten reversals in access to rights and justice.”

– GIWPS

“Women are critical to achieving sustainable peace”

– GIWPS

insights

The global report draws on recognised data sources to measure women’s inclusion, justice and security in 170 countries. The latest edition suggests that the global rate of improvement has slowed significantly, with widening disparities across countries.

“This reflects,” the report says, “a worsening of inequalities in the status of women, as countries at the top, continue to improve while those at the bottom get worse, mirroring global trends in wealth and income inequality.”

Norway is the world’s best country for women in 2022. The 10 best countries for women are all in Europe with Canada (12) the highest-ranked non-European country.

Nordic countries continue to perform well with their efforts to improve women’s rights and opportunities. Recently, the Swedish government has had success with addressing sexual harassment and violence against women while the Danish and Finnish governments have distributed guidance to employers on connecting survivors with support to combat workplace harassment.

In 2018, Iceland set the standard by becoming the first country to require companies with at least 25 employees to prove that they were paying men and women equally. Norway has led the way in improving conditions for women in sports by signing an equal pay agreement for men’s and women’s soccer teams and national football associations.

New Zealand (13) is the highest-placed Asia-Pacific country with Singapore (15), the highest-placed Asian county. The UAE is the highest-placed country in the Middle East. The UK is ninth while the USA is 21st.

Among regions, the Middle East and North Africa generally perform poorly overall. Six of the top 10 most improved countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa: Central African Republic, Mali, Cameroon, Benin, Kenya and Rwanda.

The full report can be downloaded here.

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Lead image: lzf/Shutterstock