Finland took second place, Sweden third, and Iceland fourth. According to the report, Scandinavian countries have eliminated 80% of previously existing gender inequality.
When compiling the country ranking, the authors of the report took into account several criteria. First of all, equality of economic opportunities for men and women, which includes wage levels, employment rates, and access to high-skilled jobs. In addition, such indicators as access to education, women's participation in politics, public and state activities, as well as life expectancy and the gender ratio among the population of a given country were considered.
As Lenta.ru notes, the top twenty mainly includes European countries. To the already mentioned Scandinavian countries were added Denmark (7th place), Ireland (8th), Netherlands (9th), Latvia (10th), Germany (11th), United Kingdom (13th), Switzerland (14th), France (15th), Spain (17th), and finally Moldova (20th). It is noteworthy that countries such as New Zealand (5th place), Philippines (6th), Sri Lanka (12th), Lesotho (16th), Mozambique (18th), and Trinidad and Tobago (19th) made it to the leaders. Russia took 42nd place, improving by 4 points from the previous year.