- The number of years it will take to achieve gender parity has increased to 135, according to a new World Economic Forum report.
- At an Open Forum session in Davos, leaders and change-makers met to discuss the report and to convene on what is needed to push through change.
- Anti-discriminatory laws, access to opportunity, improved economic and social lives, and political empowerment will all be critical in the fight to end gender inequities.
At an Open Forum session in Davos, industry leaders, NGOs, and politicians convened to discuss the global outlook for gender equity.
The session ran on the heels of a recent World Economic Forum report that says it will take 135 years to close the global gender gap if we continue to move at the current pace. The gap, which measures how long it will take to achieve gender parity, has widened since the last time it was recorded.
Although some progress has been made in the fields of education and health, Open Forum panelists agreed that policymakers must prioritize political empowerment and economic opportunity if we are to make real headway.
"There was a great belief that if we close the health gaps, if we closed the education gaps, then naturally, the economic and political gaps would close — turns out there isn't anything natural about it," Laura Liswood, Secretary-General of the Council of Women World Leader,s told Davos attendees.
Affirmative action mechanisms have been useful in getting historically marginalized groups into governments and businesses. But, "they definitely have an upgrade problem," said Liswood. "You can get them in, but for some reason, you can't get them up [the ladder]."
Political empowerment
Ensuring there are enough women in leadership roles, especially in politics, will prove critical to making the future more gender-inclusive. Yet across 156 countries the report surveyed, women represented 26% of about 35,500 parliament seats and around 23% of more than 3,400 ministers worldwide.
Philipp Wilhelm, Mayor of Davos, told the Open Forum that he has always found it harder to motivate women to take up political roles. "But if you don't give up, and if you look for women, you will find women who will candidate," he said.
Pushing through affirmative measures in his Swiss municipality resulted in 16 women out of 26 candidates in total running for recent council elections.
However, as fellow panelist, poet, and outgoing curator of Oakland Hub, Samantha Akwei, said, "You can put a woman in a position of power, but that doesn't equate to her having power."
Women must not only enter politics but policies and laws must also change if we are to close the gender divide.
Discriminatory laws include those around maternity leave that prioritize women as caregivers and place less value on their roles in the workplace, as well as laws around property ownership and inheritance rights, safety, and mobility around the world.
"There are still over 100 countries that have some discriminatory laws in place around economic participation," said Liswood. "From hours you can work to amount of weight you can lift, there are all kinds of examples that have subtle impacts."
Improving economic opportunity and participation is a prerogative, agreed attendees.
Economic participation
With 11% of the jobs currently held by women at risk of automation, policymakers must embrace a targeted approach to reskilling women.
"We know economic empowerment for women globally helps to reinforce their status in a home. It reduces gender-based violence, it reduces unwanted pregnancies," said Liswood.
But even income disparities within industries are still not yet bridged. And with the suspension of caregiving and education systems during the pandemic, many women's economic situations have worsened in recent years, the panel heard.
In response, Akwei advocated for a "wisdom economy" that champions the kinds of soft skills many women are taught from a young age. The experts also called for policies that encourage more young girls to aspire to STEM careers.
"We've now managed to get the girls into schools. But are we getting them into careers that have been traditionally considered male-centered ones?" Angela Oduor Lungati, executive director of Ushahidi Inc, asked the room.
From facing discrimination at daycare in Switzerland to trying to recruit more women entrepreneurs in Brazil, Open Forum audience members came forward with their own stories of trying and failing to tackle gender-based discrimination, asking panelists how they could end the gender gaps they witness day-to-day.
Mentorship schemes and sponsorships may go some way to making these shifts, the panel advised. But we can only go so far as a global community without a fundamental shift in mindset. A new framing around women's social and economic roles is one that will benefit everyone, they said.
"Gender equality is for all genders," said Liswood. "Because if it's unequal for some women, it's unequal for some men, your institutions are unequal in some way." She added that while privilege may vary depending on who you are, "we all need to get a better handle on gender parity issues — it's not a zero-sum game."