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WEF report places Pakistan among lowest-ranked countries in gender equality index. (Img: Dynamite News)
Geneva: Pakistan has been placed among the lowest-ranked countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2026, securing the 143rd position out of 145 economies worldwide.
The report shows that Pakistan closed 59.5 percent of its overall gender gap, marking its strongest year-on-year improvement in nearly a decade. However, the country continues to face major challenges in women’s participation in the workforce, economic opportunities, political representation and equal rights.
The findings have once again brought global attention to the gender equality debate in Pakistan, where progress in education has not yet translated into equal participation in jobs, leadership roles and decision-making spaces.
According to the World Economic Forum report, Pakistan improved its overall gender parity score by 2.8 percentage points compared with the previous year. The country’s gender parity score has increased from 54.3 percent in 2006 to 59.5 percent in 2026, showing gradual progress over two decades.
The WEF index evaluates countries across four major areas, including economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Despite improvements, Pakistan ranked third from the bottom among 145 economies. It also recorded the lowest score among the 38 lower-middle-income economies and South Asian countries covered in the report.
The biggest improvement for Pakistan came in educational attainment. The country achieved a parity score of 91.7 percent in education, its highest performance among all four categories measured by the WEF.
The report stated that education has been the main reason behind Pakistan’s overall improvement, with gender parity in education rising by around 21 percentage points since 2006. Progress was recorded across primary, secondary and tertiary education enrolment.
However, literacy levels continue to show a significant gap. The male literacy rate was recorded at 69.14 percent while female literacy remained lower at 48.52 percent.
Economic participation continues to be Pakistan’s weakest area in the global gender ranking. Pakistan scored only 36.4 percent in economic participation and opportunity, ranking 144th worldwide in this category.
The report highlighted a major difference in workforce participation between men and women. Male labour force participation stood at around 81.46 percent, while female participation remained at 28.21 percent. Women’s representation in senior positions also remained limited. Female participation among legislators, senior officials and managers was recorded at around 6.13 percent.
In professional and technical roles, women accounted for nearly 30.96 percent of workers. The report also pointed towards continued income inequality, with Pakistan ranking among the lowest-performing countries in estimated earned income parity.
Pakistan scored 14.1 percent in political empowerment and ranked 107th globally. Although women’s representation in parliament and government positions improved compared with previous years, the gap between men and women in political leadership remains wide.
Women account for around 21.69 percent of parliamentarians, while men hold nearly 78.31 percent of parliamentary positions. At the ministerial level, women represent only 3.45 percent of positions compared with 96.55 percent held by men.
The report also highlighted Pakistan’s history of female political leadership, noting that a woman has served as head of state for 4.73 years during the last five decades.
Pakistan performed comparatively better in the health and survival category. The country achieved a score of 95.9 percent in this segment, reflecting stronger parity in areas such as sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy.
However, the report noted that improvements in health outcomes alone have not been enough to close wider social and economic gaps.
The report also examined legal and social indicators affecting women in Pakistan. It highlighted concerns related to inheritance rights, access to justice, divorce rights and reproductive autonomy.
According to the findings, women have near-equal access to financial services and assets in some areas, but significant gaps remain in other legal protections. The report also recorded that around 24.9 percent of women in Pakistan have experienced gender-based violence during their lifetime.
The latest WEF ranking has renewed discussions about women’s empowerment, workplace participation and equal opportunities in Pakistan. While improvements in education indicate positive movement, experts have often pointed towards the need for stronger economic policies, workplace inclusion and greater representation of women in leadership roles.
The report highlights that achieving gender equality requires progress beyond education, including employment opportunities, income equality and social reforms.
Pakistan’s future performance in global gender rankings will depend on how effectively educational progress is converted into economic participation and leadership opportunities for women.
The findings are expected to fuel discussions among policymakers, civil society groups and institutions working on women’s empowerment and equal opportunity reforms.
