GGGR 2025

Global Gender Gap Report 202563Figure 2.13a illustrates that economies with stronger institutional foundations for gender equality tend to achieve higher gender parity scores. This relationship is partly influenced by income level, as most high- income and upper-middle-income economies generally score higher on both the legal framework index and the gender parity index. However, a strong legal framework alone does not guarantee gender-equal outcomes. For instance, 15 economies share the same legal framework score of 82.5%, yet their gender parity scores range from 68.6% in Czechia to 92.6% in Iceland—a disparity of over 20 percentage points. Figure 2.13b underscores the importance of implementation capacity in achieving gender parity. Economies with more favourable enabling conditions —as reflected in higher supportive framework scores—tend to also have higher gender parity scores. While income level remains a relevant factor, the positive correlation between supportive framework scores and gender parity holds across income groups. Taken together, Figures 2.13a and 2.13b highlight that the true effectiveness of gender-equal legislation lies not only in its existence on paper but in the presence of robust, well-aligned mechanisms that ensure these laws are put into practice. WBL legal framework score (0-100, 100 = legal equality) 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Global Gender Gap Index score 2025 (0-100, 100=parity) 55 65 60 70 75 80 90 85 95 Italy Japan Namibia Burundi Madagascar Oman Pakistan Chad High-income Low-income Lower-middle-income Upper-middle-income Iceland Finland Norway United Kingdom New Zealand Bangladesh Morocco GhanaCorrelation between Women, Business, and the Law framework scores (2024) and gender parity score (2025)FIGURE 2.12 Source World Economic Forum calculations using Women, Business, and the Law data.Note Data covers all 148 economies in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index.