GGGR 2023

Gender gaps in the workforce2 This chapter sheds light on global workforce, leadership and skilling patterns across industries and across time to give a more nuanced picture of the current anatomy of gender gaps in labour markets and senior leadership to equip decision- makers with the data to tackle gender gaps in the most targeted and impactful way possible. As we approach the middle of 2023, the global economy has resisted slipping into recession, yet the risks to future growth and broad-based prosperity remain many and expected volatility high. Risks include those inherent in ongoing geopolitical conflicts, open questions about the future of trade and global supply chains, large-scale climate events, as well as the disruptive impact of emerging technologies. Many of these risks are expected to have a disproportionately negative effect on women, especially for women in vulnerable situations. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicts modest global growth in the near term at 2.8% in 2023, improving marginally in 2024.1 Yet, further down the line, the World Bank projects falling long- term global economic prospects in the absence of deep structural transformation.2 Unlocking all talent in the workforce, in innovation and leadership will be critical in brightening the current prospects. Increases in the cost-of-living are set to remain elevated, with baseline global inflation expected around 7% in 2023, significantly above traditional central bank targets of 2%. This will continue to put disproportionate pressure on individuals with low incomes.3 Furthermore, labour markets are showing signs of cooling after a post-pandemic period of high demand for workers and upward pressures on wages. In the longer run, International Labour Organization (ILO) projections point to rising global unemployment and informal work as well as further slowing productivity growth.4 The 2022 edition of the Global Gender Gap Report raised concerns over the state of gender parity in the labour market. Not only was women’s participation slipping globally, but other markers of economic opportunity were showing substantive disparities between women and men. Since the last edition, while women have (re-)entered the labour force at higher rates than men globally, leading to a small recovery in gender parity in the labour-force participation rate, gaps remain wide overall and in several specific dimensions. Labour-force participation Between 2019 and 2020, the global women’s labour-force participation rate declined by 3.4%, as compared to 2.4% for men.5 Women have been (re-)entering the workforce at a slightly higher rate than men since then, resulting in a modest recovery in gender parity. Between the 2022 and 2023 editions, parity in the labour-force participation rate increased from 63% to 64%. However, the recovery remains unfinished, as parity is still at the second- lowest point since the first edition of the index in 2006 and significantly below its 2009 peak of 69%. At the regional level, developments have been uneven. After all regions saw a downturn in the 2022 edition, the most marked recovery this year is observed in Southern Asia, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean, Eurasia and Central Asia, East Asia and the Pacific, then Sub-Saharan Africa. Parity in labour-force participation in both Europe and North America saw virtually no change compared to the 2022 edition, while the Middle East and North Africa saw a slight drop. Overall, the lowest levels of parity in participation on average at the regional level are in the Middle East and North Africa (30%) and Southern Asia (34%). Of all regions, North America attains the highest score of 84%, followed by Europe at 82% and East Asia and the Pacific at 80%. Global Gender Gap Report 2023 June 2023Evolving gender gaps in the global labour market 2.1 Global Gender Gap Report 2023 33