For the second year in a row, The Economist’s annual glass-ceiling index (GCI) shows that out of 29 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Iceland is the best country to be located in if you are a working woman.
The data was released at a time when the world is observing International Women’s Day on March 8.
The GCI is a yearly assessment of where women have the best and worst chances of equal treatment at work in countries in the OECD, a group of mostly rich countries.
Sweden, Norway, Finland and France round out the top five positions in the index.
The Nordic countries are particularly good at helping women complete university, secure a job, access senior positions, and take advantage of quality parental-leave systems and flexible work schedules.
Japan, Turkey and South Korea are last on the list for the 12th consecutive year running.
This can, in part, be explained by societal norms in Asia still expecting women to choose between having a family or a career.
The biggest improvers from the 2023 index include Australia, Poland and the Czech Republic.
Declining in their positions from last year include New Zealand, America and Britain, who all dropped by 3 or 5 places.
Highlights of The Economist’s 2024 glass-ceiling index
The wage gap remained the same, at 12 percent.
In Britain and America, the wage gap was higher than the OECD average (at 14.5 percent and 17 percent respectively) – the share of women in management went up slightly from 33.5 percent to 34.1 percent.
America is one of the strongest countries on this measure, at 42.6 percent, along with the Scandinavian countries.
The US continues to be the only OECD country to not offer any paid maternity or paternity leave, which every year drags them down the ranking.
Some of the most generous countries on this measure are in Scandinavia and Eastern European regions.
The percentage of women on boards hit 33 percent for the first time across the OECD.
The leaders in this measure are New Zealand, France and Denmark.
This is the twelfth year that The Economist has released its glass-ceiling index.
When it was launched in 2013 there were five indicators and 26 countries; today it consists of ten indicators including maternity and paternity leave for 29 OECD countries.
Best and worst OECD countries to be a working woman
1. Iceland
2. Sweden
3. Norway
4. Finland
5. France
6. Portugal
7. Poland
8. Belgium
9. Denmark
10. Australia
11. Austria
12. Spain
13. New Zealand
14. Canada
15. Slovakia
16. Italy
17. Ireland
18. Czech Republic
19. Britain
20. Greece
21. Germany
22. United States
23. Netherlands
24. Hungary
25. Israel
26. Switzerland
27. Japan
28. Turkey
29. South Korea