GGGR 2025

Global Gender Gap Report 202570Appendix B Global Gender Gap Report 2025 June 2025 Section A: Computation and composition of the Global Gender Gap Index The methodology of the index has remained stable since its original conception in 2006, providing a basis for robust cross-country and time-series analysis. Three underlying conceptsThere are three basic concepts underlying the Global Gender Gap Index, forming the basis of how indicators were chosen, how the data is treated and how the scale can be used. First, the index focuses on measuring gaps rather than levels. Second, it captures gaps in outcome variables rather than gaps in input variables. Third, it ranks countries according to gender equality rather than women’s empowerment. Gaps vs. levels The index is designed to measure gender-based gaps in access to resources and opportunities in countries, rather than the actual levels of the available resources and opportunities in those countries. We do this to disassociate the Global Gender Gap Index from countries’ levels of development. In other words, the index is constructed to rank countries on their gender gaps not on their development level. For example, advanced economies may be able to offer more education and health opportunities to all members of society, although this is quite independent of the gender-related gaps that may exist within those higher levels of health or education. The Global Gender Gap Index rewards countries for smaller gaps in access to these resources, regardless of the overall level of resources. Thus, in the case of education, for example, the index penalizes or rewards countries based on the size of the gap between male and female enrolment rates, but not for the overall levels of education in the countryOutcomes versus inputs The second basic concept underlying the Global Gender Gap Index is that it evaluates countries based on outcomes rather than inputs or means. Our aim is to provide a snapshot of where men and women stand with regard to some fundamental outcome indicators related to basic rights such as health, education, economic participation and political empowerment. Indicators related to country specific policies, rights, culture or customs – factors that we consider “input” or “means” indicators – are not included in the index but are discussed further in the analytic sections of this appendix, as well as featured in the report’s Economy Profiles. For example, the index includes an indicator comparing the gap between men and women in high-skilled jobs such as legislators, senior officials and managers (an outcome indicator) but does not include data on the length of maternity leave (a policy indicator). This approach has contributed significantly to the index’s distinctiveness over the years and, we believe, continues to provide the most objective basis for discussing underlying contextual factors. 1 Gender equality vs. women’s empowermentThe third distinguishing feature of the Global Gender Gap Index is that it ranks countries according to their proximity to gender equality rather than to women’s empowerment. Our aim is to focus on whether the gap between women and men in the chosen indicators has declined, rather than whether women are winning the so-called “battle of the sexes”. Hence, the index rewards countries that reach the point where outcomes for women equal those for men, but it neither rewards nor penalizes cases in which women are outperforming men in particular indicators in some countries. Thus, a country that has higher enrolment for girls rather than boys in secondary school will score equal to a country where boys’ and girls’ enrolment is the same. The index is focused on assessing gender gaps between women and men across economic, educational, health and political outcomes based on the data available. The Executive Opinion Survey seeks to address additional data gaps by collecting information on differential outcomes based on gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic and/or racial background, income level and disability. Further efforts will be required to capture the relationships between these intersecting categories and additional gender identities.