Global gender parity remains a distant goal despite steady progress, with the World Economic Forum (WEF) projecting that it will take approximately 120 years to close the gender pay gap worldwide. The Geneva-based organization released its annual Global Gender Gap Report on Wednesday, highlighting that although the disparity between men and women has narrowed significantly, complete equality is still far from reach.

The report evaluates gender gaps by examining political empowerment, economic participation and opportunity, health and survival, and educational attainment across 145 economies. According to the latest findings, the overall gender gap has decreased to 69.4 percent, marking the most favorable outcome in the two decades since the WEF began tracking this data. This improvement represents a acceleration from estimates a decade ago, which projected a 170-year timeframe to achieve parity.

“We see progress across countries at all income levels, indicating that the issue is not a lack of resources but rather the need to adopt effective policies more broadly,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director at the WEF. She emphasized that governments and employers must expedite the implementation of successful strategies to bridge the remaining divide.

Despite the positive trends, the report underscores that the current pace of change remains insufficient to provide gender equality for individuals alive today. The persistence of disparities in political representation, workforce participation, and wage equality continues to hinder faster progress. The WEF’s analysis suggests that closing these gaps will require coordinated efforts to address structural barriers and accelerate reforms both in the public and private sectors.

The report’s comprehensive approach sheds light on varying rates of advancement around the world, with some regions making greater strides in education and health, while others lag in economic and political dimensions. As efforts to improve gender equality continue, the WEF calls for increased focus on measuring progress and scaling policies that have demonstrated effectiveness.

In sum, while notable improvements have been achieved in narrowing gender disparities, the timeline for global equality remains extended, signaling ongoing challenges in transforming societal norms and institutional frameworks.