Rabat – Morocco has ranked among the bottom ten countries in the latest Global Gender Gap Report from the World Economic Forum.
The report, which evaluates gender disparities across economic, political, educational, and health-related metrics, places Morocco in the company of nations such as Bangladesh, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, and India.
The North African country landed in the 137th place on a list of 146 countries. The findings show that Morocco, with only 40% gender parity in estimated earned income, continues to struggle with economic inequality between men and women.
The ranking places Morocco just above Sudan and Bangladesh, which have even lower scores. One of the stark indicators of this disparity is in labor force participation, where all these countries, including Morocco, register less than 50% parity. Iran has the lowest rate at a mere 20%.
Despite the low ranking, there are areas of progress. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, to which Morocco belongs, has seen a slight improvement in economic participation and opportunity, with a regional score of 43%.
This marks a 1.8 percentage point increase from last year and a 3 percentage point improvement since 2006. Morocco is among seven economies in the region where gender parity in technical and professional roles exceeds 70%.
In the political realm, the region ranks eighth globally in Political Empowerment, achieving only 11% gender parity. However, Morocco has made notable strides, particularly in women’s representation in ministerial roles, where women hold 26% of these positions.
In addition, women constitute 24% of parliamentary roles in Morocco, one of the higher percentages in the region, though still far from achieving full parity.
Across the broader region, Tunisia, Jordan, and Egypt also show varying degrees of progress in political empowerment, with Tunisia leading in ministerial representation at 36%. The United Arab Emirates remains the only country in the region to achieve full gender parity in its parliament.
In terms of health and educational attainment, Egypt emerges as a regional leader, achieving 96% parity in health and survival. While Egypt ranks 110th globally in educational attainment, it has closed 96.6% of its educational gender gap, showing particular strength in primary and tertiary education enrollment. However, the country lags behind in literacy rates and secondary education parity.
The report sheds light on the persistent underrepresentation of women in senior and managerial roles globally, with only 40% parity in these positions. This trend is mirrored in the MENA region, although some countries, like Oman and Jordan, exceed the global average in gender parity for legislative, senior officer, and managerial roles.
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