The Global Gender Gap Report 2014
Share
Through the Global Gender Gap Report 2014, the World Economic Forum quantifies the magnitude of gender-based disparities and tracks their progress over time. While no single measure can capture the complete situation, the Global Gender Gap Index presented in this Report seeks to measure one important aspect of gender equality: the relative gaps between women and men across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics.
Latest blog posts >>
-
Waste-free consumption: 3 reasons why cities will lead
Friday 14th of June 2019
Cities are engines of economic growth. They are also central drivers of unsustainable patterns of consumption, with urban consumers particularly accustomed to the convenience of on-the-go and home-delivery consumption.
-
What is carbon offsetting?
Friday 14th of June 2019
A growing number of organizations, cities, and even entire countries are talking about becoming carbon neutral. And many such plans are likely to have one thing in common – the presence of a carbon offsetting.
-
It’s time for global businesses to accept local responsibility
Friday 14th of June 2019
The term ‘globalization’ has become increasingly divisive in the recent past. It is high time to redefine it and make globalization a term that emphasizes local opportunities on a global scale, instead of scaling globally in just a few locations.
-
Israel is joining forces with Arab states to save coral from climate change destruction
Friday 14th of June 2019
Scientists from Israel and neighbouring Arab countries are joining forces to save Red Sea coral reefs from the threat of climate change.
-
South Africa’s new carbon tax could help poor people pay less for energy
Friday 14th of June 2019
Climate change needs urgent action by all countries, and by all means. All countries agreed in the Paris Agreement to keep temperature “well below 2℃” and pursue efforts to keep global temperature increase below 1.5℃. Virtually all countries have nationally determined contributions, but currently these are on a path to 3℃ or more. The negative impacts of climate change increase as the temperature increase – and the poor suffer the most.
-
Make housing affordable again, farming is sexy and other top stories of the week
Friday 14th of June 2019
Where the carbon comes from: emissions by country and per capita.⇒ Explore: Climate Change
-
This video game simulates how ancient humans survived climate change
Friday 14th of June 2019
How will climate change remake our world in the 21st century? Will we be able to adapt and survive? As with many things, the past is a good guide for the future. Humans have experienced climate changes in the past that have transformed their environment – studying their response could tell us something about our own fate.
-
Economists risk extinction unless they embrace digital transformation
Friday 14th of June 2019
Mainstream economics has largely failed to keep up with the rapid pace of digital transformation, and it is struggling to find practical ways to address the growing power of dominant tech companies. If economists want to remain relevant, they must rethink some of their discipline’s basic assumptions.
-
Japan faces serious demographic challenges in the coming decades – here’s how it can cope
Friday 14th of June 2019
Japan leads the advanced economies in the speed and magnitude of demographic ageing and has the highest debt-to-output ratio. Rising social insurance expenditures are projected to far outpace revenues and to create a fiscal burden. This column presents sobering projections for Japanese government debt in the absence of reform, but argues that a combination of policies, including policies to encourage greater labour participation by women and to enhance productivity, could achieve sustainability.
-
5 ways your supermarket can stop harming the planet
Friday 14th of June 2019
It was inspiring to read about the launch of Waitrose’s trial in Oxford offering consumers a range of products free of packaging. Their system isn’t revolutionary – smaller supermarkets have been doing the same thing for quite some time, as have many committed people. But it’s the first time that a major supermarket has made a big move away from the packaging-dependent model that has dominated major supermarkets for years.
-
Sherpa climbers carried out the highest-ever spring clean. This is what they found
Friday 14th of June 2019
The world’s highest mountain has gained an unwelcome reputation as the world’s highest rubbish dump, and a recent clean-up operation at Mount Everest collected more than 10,000 kilogrammes of garbage including human excrement, used oxygen bottles, old tents, ropes, cans, plastic wrappers, and four bodies.
-
It’s clean, powerful and available: Are you ready for hydrogen energy?
Friday 14th of June 2019
As the world responds to climate change, energy systems are evolving, and fast. The past 10 years have seen the rise (and dramatic cost reduction) of renewables such as wind and solar, to the extent that they are no longer considered ‘alternative’ energy.
-
Brazil’s mangroves on the front line of climate change
Friday 14th of June 2019
Fishermen like Jose da Cruz have made their living for decades hunting for crabs among Brazil’s vast coastal mangrove forests, dense thickets of twisted plants in deep black mud that grow where fresh-water rivers meet the brackish Atlantic Ocean.
-
To recruit younger people, you have to understand them. Here’s a guide
Friday 14th of June 2019
Global organizations today are faced with talent shortages, skills gaps and ageing workforces. To overcome these challenges, businesses need to look to younger generations – but what can companies do to attract and retain the best talent from among millennials and Generation Z?
-
We must learn and change after Haiti sexual abuse scandal -Oxfam chief
Friday 14th of June 2019
The truth isn’t always easy. When good journalists in February 2018 exposed the appalling behaviour – let’s call it what it is: sexual abuse – by some Oxfam employees in Haiti in 2011, and our failure then to deal properly with these cases, the message was clear. Oxfam must humbly learn and change.
-
African swine fever could kill 200 million Chinese pigs
Friday 14th of June 2019
It will take years for China to contain the deadly African swine fever virus that has spread throughout the country, which is the world’s biggest pork producer, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) said on Tuesday.
-
This video of Mark Zuckerberg shows how hard it is to deal with fake news
Friday 14th of June 2019
A new deepfake video shows Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg saying words he never spoke.
-
Scientists taught bees a simple number language – and they got it
Friday 14th of June 2019
Most children learn that written numbers represent quantities in pre-school or junior primary school.
-
These are the signs that you’re suffering from burn out at work
Friday 14th of June 2019
It’s normal to feel stressed at work from time to time. But for some people, the stress becomes all-consuming, leading to exhaustion, cynicism and hatred towards your job. This is known as burnout.
-
Thumbs up? This map shows the best places to hitchhike in Europe
Friday 14th of June 2019
From freighthopping to hitchhiking
-
How male bias in data collection puts female lives at risk
Friday 14th of June 2019
What was the spur for writing the book?
-
Women in Switzerland have gone on strike – this is why
Friday 14th of June 2019
It’s one of the wealthiest and democratic countries in the world, but as recently as 1991, some women in Switzerland were still denied the right to vote. As women marched for their rights, the Federal Supreme Court forced the one remaining canton where only men could vote to change its ways.
-
9 ways to reduce the risk of military conflict in Europe
Thursday 13th of June 2019
This article is part of the World Economic Forum’s Geostrategy platform
-
How tech companies compare at protecting your digital rights
Thursday 13th of June 2019
Microsoft has edged past Google to reach the top of a ranking that grades the world’s tech giants on their respect for internet users’ rights.
-
Why we need to choose happiness over economics
Thursday 13th of June 2019
Our knowledge about what it is that people need to feel happy and satisfied with in their lives keeps growing, yet the extent to which people actually feel happy and satisfied with their lives has largely stagnated. There might be small shifts each year that may enable one country to claim it is “happier” than another, but these shifts rest on narrow definitions of happiness and are rarely the result of government policies that would warrant any real celebration.
-
What the rise of powerful companies means for the open market
Thursday 13th of June 2019
People are concerned that the rising power of big successful companies could lower capital investment, weaken productivity, and reduce people’s take-home pay.
-
A quarter of Americans have no retirement savings
Thursday 13th of June 2019
A quarter of non-retired adult Americans have no retirement savings or pension at all. Only 36% think their savings are on track.
-
Our taste for meat is endangering the planet
Thursday 13th of June 2019
The Paris Climate Agreement of 2016 was a triumph of international diplomacy. It was a throwback to the 1980s when an international community – led by a previously skeptical Ronald Reagan – got behind efforts to curb chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and mend the hole in the ozone layer.
-
Retirees will outlive their savings by a decade
Thursday 13th of June 2019
The good news for many of the world’s major economies is that people are living longer. But with longevity comes challenges – and a new report suggests retirees around the globe will outlive their savings, leaving many facing an uncertain future. The World Economic Forum’s Investing in (and for) Our Future report, looks at life expectancy and savings provisions across six major world economies.
-
How fintech is setting Southeast Asia’s SMEs free
Thursday 13th of June 2019
Around 1.7 billion people globally are still unbanked – either having no proper savings or access to credit – according to the 2017 Global Findex Database. In Southeast Asia, only 27% of adults have formal bank accounts and only 33% of businesses have access to proper financing. While the region has been growing exponentially for the past few decades, financial inclusion in the region remains poor.
-
Costa Rica has doubled its tropical rainforests in just a few decades. Here’s how
Thursday 13th of June 2019
Years of unchecked logging laid waste to two-thirds of Costa Rica’s tree canopy, leaving its tropical rainforests facing an uncertain future. But the trees have returned and the resurrected forests support a thriving eco-tourism industry. Towards the middle of the 20th century, indigenous woodland – predominantly tropical rainforest – covered all but a quarter of the country. But then the loggers arrived. The forests were cleared as crews of lumberjacks freely converted Costa Rica’s natural resources into profits. By the early 1980s, the destruction of two-thirds of the forests had ravaged the habitats of indigenous creatures such as the golden toad and poison dart frog.
-
How group psychology is driving global political turmoil
Thursday 13th of June 2019
In the last few decades, the political systems of advanced democracies have witnessed momentous changes. Nationalism and populism have gained support almost everywhere, often at the expense of mainstream parties. New dimensions of conflict have emerged – over immigration, globalisation, and civil rights – in place of the classical divide over redistribution (see Figure 1).
-
This European city is the most educated in the world
Thursday 13th of June 2019
Cities with the highest percentage of university graduates are increasingly on the radar of companies and investors.
-
Good leaders don’t give advice — they coach
Thursday 13th of June 2019
All managers want to see their employees thrive, but it can be tricky to maintain a balance between guiding and hand-holding.
-
These cities have the worst traffic congestion in the world
Thursday 13th of June 2019
TomTom has released its 2018 Traffic Index which highlights congestion levels in 403 cities in 56 countries. Traffic congestion has continued to increase over the past decade with almost 75 percent of cities in the index reporting increased or stable levels of congestion between 2017 and 2018. Mumbai recorded the highest congestion levels of any city last year and commuters there can expect to spend an average of 65 percent extra travel time stuck in traffic. The Colombian capital of Bogota comes second with 63 percent congestion while Lima comes third with 58 percent. India comes in again in fourth place with drivers in New Delhi needing 58 percent more travel time. Moscow leads Europe in traffic jams and drivers underway in the Russian time can expect an extra 57 percent of travel time stuck in gridlock. In the United States, Los Angeles has the worst congestion levels but they are still far less than the cities in this infographic at 41 percent.
-
How Mo Salah may have reduced Islamophobia in Liverpool
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
Besides his second-minute penalty for Liverpool FC against Tottenham Hotspur FC in Madrid on 1 June, Egyptian football striker Mo Salah may have also scored a goal against prejudice, according to a new study.
-
What brands get wrong about China – and how to put it right
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
In April, Burger King was forced to pull a promotional video it had aired in New Zealand following an angry reaction from consumers living 11,000km away.
-
Chart of the day: Unemployment is down across the world’s largest economies
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
The number of employed people in the world’s largest economies is on the rise, as workers enjoy an increasingly healthy job market.
-
This is how Singapore is inspiring cities to solve their traffic problems
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
Despite efforts to encourage a shift to sustainable transportation, traffic congestion is often the focus of debates over mobility. Global demand for automobiles rose significantly in the 1990s, with annual sales stabilising at close to 80 million vehicles since 2017. Faced with the flood of cars, for decades governments have attempted to improve mobility of citizens – some measures focus on widening existing roads and building new ones, while others encourage a switch to alternatives such as public transportation, cycling and walking.
-
The cost of being smuggled into the US has spiked – here’s why
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
When a Freightliner tractor-trailer pulled up to a US Border Patrol checkpoint just north of Laredo, Texas, the agent working the lane thought he recognized the driver as a person of interest. A record check revealed the passenger had two active warrants for arrest on charges of cocaine sales and assault.
-
Companies and governments are paying people to get healthy — and its working
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
In many ways, we have never been less healthy. Nearly 100 million adults in the United States are obese. At any given time, almost 13 million adults in the United Kingdom show symptoms of anxiety or depression.
-
Millennials are transforming African farming
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
Farming has an image problem in large parts of Africa. For many people there, it’s synonymous with poverty. So it’s hardly surprising parents don’t want their children to end up working the land.
-
Raj Kumar’s new book offers a strategy for transforming the global aid industry. Here’s an excerpt
Wednesday 12th of June 2019
This excerpt is from Raj Kumar’s book, “The Business of Changing the World”. The book was chosen as the World Economic Forum Book Club’s monthly book for June. Each month, a new book is selected and discussed among the group, with the author joining in on the last day of the month to reply to some questions from our participants.
-
Japan’s historic opportunity to play peacemaker between the U.S. and Iran
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
This article is part of the World Economic Forum’s Geostrategy platform
-
Time to make a fundamental choice about the future of healthcare
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
For the first time in human history, infections do not head the WHO list of biggest killers in the world. Long-term conditions – such as diabetes, cardiovascular, airways and kidney disease and mental illness – are bigger threats. This is, paradoxically, compounded by the improved survival rates thanks to the 20th century’s medical advances.
-
How voice technology will change your life
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
The consumer world is being overhauled, from how we access products, services, content and education to how we build relationships, both with each other and with the world around us, how we engage with the devices that power our every day, how we live in our homes, and how we discover.
-
Hydrogen isn’t the fuel of the future. It’s already here
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
When the leaders of the world’s economic powerhouses meet at this year’s G20 in Japan, two important decarbonization options are expected to finally garner the attention they deserve: carbon capture and hydrogen. The urgent need to reduce CO2 emissions means these two technologies – together and on their own – will be necessary alongside accelerated efficiency, exponential renewables growth and nuclear power.
-
3 ways to fight short-termism and relaunch Europe
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
Short-termism is the excessive focus of decision-makers on short-term goals at the expense of longer-term objectives. Short-termism often has negative consequences: recent research confirms that corporate executives would delay or sacrifice projects creating durable value in order not to miss short-term earnings targets. Immediate gains provide a strong incentive to executives to postpone or cancel long-term capital expenditure.
-
This ‘tripod foot’ is making hiking easier for people with prosthetic legs
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
Hiking trails and other rough terrain are especially difficult for people with prosthetic legs. Now, engineers have come up with a more stable option.
-
Sexist or supportive? Jury out on free travel for women in Delhi
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
Delhi’s pledge to make public transport free for women has split opinion in India, with supporters hoping it entices more women into work and detractors calling it a sexist gimmick.
-
Depressed about climate change? Here’s how psychotherapy can help
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
Apologies in advance, but I’m hoping that reading this will help you feel depressed – about biodiversity loss and our lack of progress over the climate crisis. The thing is, in these extreme circumstances, a bit of depression about the environment could be precisely what we need – it’s the only sane response.
-
Chart of the day: Where America’s refugees came from in 2018
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
Historically, the United States has resettled more refugees than any other country.
-
Plastic straws and bags no more: Canada aims to clean up its act
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
Canada plans to ban some single-use plastics like straws, bags and cutlery by early 2021 to reduce non-recyclable waste and protect the world’s oceans, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.
-
These technologies are playing a major role at the Cricket World Cup
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
The world’s great cricketing nations are currently slugging it out in a series of one-day international matches at the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup.
-
There isn’t a single country on track to make the UN’s targets for gender equality
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
There isn’t a country in the world that’s currently set to achieve gender equality by the UN’s target of 2030.
-
This Danish scheme is offering free kayak rides… for picking up trash
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
On some European waterways a fleet of kayaks has been fitted with an unusual accessory… a trash can. These bright green boats are free to rent, but volunteers are required to work for their trip by collecting floating waste.
-
Localized microfactories – the new face of globalized manufacturing
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
The way products have been manufactured has evolved significantly over the past decades. Today, most are built in large factories in low-cost regions, primarily in Asia but also increasingly in eastern Europe and South America.
-
How we can defeat cholera for good
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
When Cyclone Idai ripped through Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe on the night of March 14, it wrought unimaginable devastation and claimed more than 1,000 lives. In its aftermath, and that of Cyclone Kenneth the following month, flooding and the loss of infrastructure created the conditions for an explosive outbreak of cholera, a deadly diarrheal disease that can kill a person within hours if left untreated.
-
The good fight – why conflict can be extremely effective for your workplace
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
It sounds like an oxymoron, but psychologist and business strategist Liane Davey insists there is such a thing as healthy conflict at work. Fighting at work doesn’t have to be destructive or end in someone going home with a figurative black eye. Instead, office tensions can be a starting point for respectful dialogue, problem-solving and behavioral change that helps teams move closer toward their goals.
-
5 new female-led companies achieve billion-dollar status
Tuesday 11th of June 2019
Unicorns are mythical creatures that captured popular imagination long ago — and even today! In the business world, unicorn companies are an equivalent chimera— they’re mythical to start-up founders who dream of joining billion-dollar valuation club. At the moment, there are 357 companies worldwide that have achieved this status (358 if you count Jay-Z as a business, man).