Pakistan Ranks Among Bottom Three Globally in Gender Gap, WEF Report Says

Pakistan has ranked third from the bottom in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026, with an overall gender parity score of 59.5 per cent. According to the report, Pakistan recorded its strongest year-on-year improvement in a decade, driven largely by gains in educational attainment. However, significant gaps remain in economic participation, political empowerment, education and other areas. The report said only 28.21 per cent of women participated in the labour force, compared with 81.46 per cent of men, while female literacy stood at 48.52 per cent against 69.14 per cent for men.

IANS 19 September 2026 08:47

Pakistan ranked third‑to‑last in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026, with overall gender parity of 59.5 per cent, a new report has said. The report from Pakistan-based Dawn said that Pakistan’s gender parity improved by a modest 3 percentage points year‑on‑year. It has narrowed its gender gap by 5.2 per cent since 2006. “Furthermore, the 2026 edition marks its strongest year-on-year improvement in a decade, driven primarily by substantial gains in educational attainment,” the report said. Pakistan showed the lowest score out of the 38 lower-middle-income economies, as well as the seven South Asian countries, included in the report.

Despite the modest progress in gender parity, Pakistan ranked 130th on education, 144th on economic participation and opportunity, 127th on health and survival, and 107th on political empowerment among the countries covered. Pakistan's economic participation ranking advanced three places from its 147th rank in the same index in 2025. The report revealed that 81.46 per cent of men participated in the labour force, compared to only 28.21 per cent of women.

Women hold just 6.13 per cent of positions among legislators, senior officials and managers, while they account for 30.96 per cent of professional and technical workers. The country ranked 115th for wage equality for similar work and 140th for estimated earned income. Nearly 4.9 per cent of firms in Pakistan had a female majority ownership, while only 3.4 per cent firms had female top managers.

The male literacy rate in the country stood at 69.14 per cent, while female literacy rate was at 48.52 per cent. Boys’ enrolment in primary education was at 83.01 per cent compared to 81.08 per cent among girls, while in secondary education, male enrolment stood at 49.99 per cent, compared to 46.48 per cent in female enrolment.

Disclaimer: “This story has been published from a syndicated news feed. Only the headline and subtitle have been edited by EPN.”