In this article, we are going to discuss the 20 most feminist countries in the world. You can skip our detailed analysis of the economic benefits of feminism, the effects of gender equality on economic growth, the gender gap in the United States, and the companies promoting workplace gender equality, and go directly to the 5 Most Feminist Countries in the World.
There are people who believe that we do not need feminism today, but nothing could be further from the truth. Women have struggled for equality and against oppression for centuries, and although some battles have been partly won – such as the right to vote and equal access to education – women are still disproportionately affected by all forms of violence and by discrimination in every aspect of life.
The concept of feminism reflects a history of different struggles, and the term has been interpreted in fuller and more complex ways as its understanding has developed. In general, feminism can be seen as a movement to put an end to sexism, sexist exploitation and oppression, and to achieve full gender equality in law and in practice.
The Economic Benefits of Feminism:
When more women work, economies grow. Women’s economic empowerment boosts productivity, increases economic diversification, and income equality, in addition to other positive development outcomes. For example, increasing the female employment rates in OECD countries to match that of Sweden could boost their cumulative GDP by over $6 trillion, recognizing however, that growth does not automatically lead to a reduction in gender-based inequality. Conversely, it is estimated that gender gaps cost the economy some 15% of GDP.
The Effects of Gender Equality on Growth:
With women’s increasing labor force participation and representation at various levels of power, it is possible to quantify women’s contributions in business management and public administration, improving the quality of decision-making, and contributing to faster overall development.
The McKinsey Global Institute examined 1,000 large companies from 15 countries, concluding that representation of women at the management level significantly improves corporate profitability and that the correlation between participation of women in management and better profitability has significantly strengthened in recent years.
Women being active in society also increases the representation of various development ideas, knowledge, experience, and policy priorities. This, in turn, boosts diversity and improves the quality of policy debate, which leads to more productive and beneficial policies and management decisions for the general public.
Gender Gap in the United States:
The U.S. ranked 43rd out of 146 countries in the latest Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum. This is partly due to the WEF giving more weight to countries where women hold a significant number of ministerial positions or are heads of state. In the U.S., this would include the number of women serving in the president’s cabinet – there are currently 12 women serving in President Joe Biden’s cabinet. Overall, American women remain woefully behind their European counterparts when it comes to political participation, with less than 30% of congressional seats being held by women.
While access to reproductive care wasn’t a factor considered in the WEF ranking, the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022, which effectively removed all federal protections for abortion, could hurt women’s economic participation and life expectancy in the U.S., causing the country to fall further in the index.
Companies Promoting Workplace Gender Equality:
For women just beginning their careers, the lack of progress made towards workplace equality is discouraging. But some companies are leading the charge to fix that and ensure that women in their workplace are set up for career growth right from the very beginning.
Since its inception in the late 1800s, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) has always had women leaders, so it’s not surprising that the medical supply company is still a leading workplace for women today. This commitment has landed Abbott Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) on the Top Companies for Executive Women list for several years now, which considers factors such as the representation of women as corporate officers, in management, and profit-and-loss ranks. It also weighs programs and policies that promote the advancement of women.
Stocks of the healthcare company were held by 63 Hedge Funds in the Insider Monkey database in Q2, 2023 with Fisher Asset Management holding the largest stake of about 9.67 million shares, valued at just over $1.05 billion. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) ranks among Ken Fisher’s Top 15 Healthcare Stock Picks.
Another major company that has made significant strides in workplace gender equality is the Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), which takes investing in women literally via its initiative by the same name. Women represent over 50% of the company’s global workforce and over 45% of its management team. The Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) has also created a culture where women’s pay is, on average, greater than 99% of that received by men across the U.S., UK, France, Ireland, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The company announced in June that it has committed more than $500 million in equity investments to funds led by minority and women entrepreneurs, more than double its initial commitment of $200 million.
The Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) announced that its profits grew 19% in its most recent quarter, the latest of the big banks to see its bottom line boosted by higher interest rates. The nation’s second-largest bank by assets revealed that it posted a profit of $7.4 billion in the three months ended June 30, up from $6.2 billion in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, BAC earned 88 cents, compared with 73 cents one year ago. Analysts were expecting a profit of 84 cents per share. The Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) is counted among the 20 Best Companies to Work for in 2023.
With that said, here are the Most Feminist Countries in 2023.
Methodology:
To collect data for this article, we have referred to a number of sources – The first is the Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, second being the Countries with the Most Gender Equality Index by U.S. News, and last but not least, we have the Gender Equality in Legal Treatment Index by the Council on Foreign Relations.
Then, similar to the methodology we used for our article – 25 Most Liberal Cities in the U.S. – we picked countries that appeared in at least three of the aforementioned sources and assigned them a score based on their rankings in each index. For instance, if we picked the top 30 countries from the World Economic Forum Index, the #1 city will get a score of 30/30 = 1 and the #2 city will get a score of 29/30 = 0.97 and so on. The same process was repeated for all the indexes and thus we determined an average score for each country, and ranked it accordingly. The following scores have been assigned from a total of 4.
If you want to read about the least feminist countries, here are the 20 Most Sexist and Misogynistic Countries in the World.
Copyright: baranq / 123RF Stock Photo
20. Luxembourg
Insider Monkey Score: 1.27
Luxembourg is the only E.U. state with a ministry whose responsibility is exclusively gender equality. Its missions and initiatives focus mainly on legal and factual equality between women and men.
The Law of 15 December 2016 incorporated the principle of equal salaries in the Grand Duchy’s legislation. Since that date, it is illegal for there to be any difference in the salaries paid to men and women carrying out the same task or work of equal value.
19. Latvia
Insider Monkey Score: 1.3
The past decades have seen the gradual transformation of the status and role of women in Latvia, as the country has regained its independence from the Soviet Union and joined intergovernmental organizations, such as the European Union, thus promoting equality of both genders.
After exhibiting a high pay gap between the sexes in 2020 with a difference of 22.3% between male and female pay rates, Latvia witnessed a dramatic improvement in 2021 with the difference falling to 14.2%.
Latvia ranks 19th in our List of the Most Feminist Countries.
18. Ireland
Insider Monkey Score: 1.5
Ireland’s strong commitments to gender equality and the elimination of gender based violence is reflected in the country’s foreign, international development, and domestic policies. Over 46% of Ireland’s bilateral Official Development Assistance is focused on addressing gender equality and women’s empowerment.
17. Lithuania
Insider Monkey Score: 1.56
Lithuania’s National Programme on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men is aimed to ensure a consistent, sophisticated, and systematic approach to gender equality issues in all fields.
The programme pursues four main priorities – equal opportunities for women and men in the labor market, gender balance in decision-making, gender mainstreaming (especially in culture, education and science, national defense, and international obligations), and increased management effectiveness.
Lithuania is one of the Most Feminist Countries in Europe.
16. France
Insider Monkey Score: 1.76
In December 2021, France adopted a new law to promote gender equality in the workplace and in the economy at large. This law, sometimes referred to as the Loi Rixain, imposes quotas for the representation of women in the leadership positions of large corporations — defined as corporations of 1,000 or more employees.
By March 1, 2027, at least 30% of managerial positions in these companies, as well as 30% of the seats on these corporations’ governing bodies, will have to be filled by women. By March 1, 2030, these quotas will be raised to 40% for both managerial positions and governing bodies.
France is one of the Best Countries in the World to Live in if You’re a Woman.
15. Austria
Insider Monkey Score: 1.83
Austria is among the very few countries worldwide which have implemented Gender Budgeting in their constitutions. Gender Budgeting is the application of gender mainstreaming in the budgetary process. It means that federal, state, and community budgets are analyzed with regard to their impact on the lives of women and men, and are adapted according to gender equality objectives.
Austria sits among the Most Feminist Countries in the World.
14. Switzerland
Insider Monkey Score: 1.93
In 2021, the Swiss Federal Council adopted a National Strategy for Gender Equality in an effort to combat discrimination, sexism and, violence. The aim is to achieve true gender equality by 2030.
The stated objective of the strategy is to ensure that women and men participate equally in economic, family, and social life, enjoy the same social protection throughout their entire lives, and realize their full potential in a respectful environment free of discrimination and violence.
13. Belgium
Insider Monkey Score: 2
A law from 2011 requiring Belgian companies to have at least a third of women or men on company boards seems to be bearing fruit as the proportion of women in such roles quadrupled (from 8.2% to 34.1%) between 2008 and 2020, according to a recent study by the Belgian Institut pour l’égalité des femmes et des hommes.
Belgium is counted among the Countries with the Highest Gender Equality.
12. Iceland
Insider Monkey Score: 2.07
Iceland has one of the highest rates of women’s labor force participation in Europe. Despite this, gender segregation of the labor market remains persistent – gender-based differences in educational and career choices vary greatly between women and men. The wage gap between the sexes has narrowed in recent years, and this applies equally to income from work, the unadjusted wage gap, and the adjusted wage gap.
11. Germany
Insider Monkey Score: 2.1
In 2015, Germany’s Law on Equal Participation of Women and Men in Leadership Positions entered into force in the private and public sectors. Among other things, it stipulates that women must occupy 30% of seats on the supervisory councils of companies listed on the stock exchange.
In 2022, around 80.6% of men and 73.1% of women were employed in Germany.
10. Spain
Insider Monkey Score: 2.33
In March this year, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a gender equality law that will require more equal representation of women and men in politics, business, and other spheres of public life.
The Equal Representation Law will apply gender parity measures to electoral lists, the boards of directors of big companies, and governing boards of professional associations.
Spain is one of the Most Feminist Nations Around the Globe.
9. Australia
Insider Monkey Score: 2.37
In Australia, advances continue to be made on gender equality in workplaces. However, there is more to be done, as in 2022, the national gender pay gap for full time employees was still 14.1%.
The Land Down Under has committed $65 million for global and regional gender equality initiatives in 2022-23. This complements Australia’s country-specific gender equality initiatives and the estimated $1.5 billion in Official Development Assistance that the country contributes towards gender equality.
8. United Kingdom
Insider Monkey Score: 2.47
The United Kingdom has long been considered a stalwart supporter of gender equality, being one of the first countries to give women the right to vote over a hundred years ago. In 2019, the U.K. was the largest government contributor of regular resources to UN Women with $16.2 million.
7. Finland
Insider Monkey Score: 2.63
Finland was among the first countries in the world to extend universal suffrage and the right to stand for elections to all women and men – it did so in 1906. This led to transformations in the social structures and today the egalitarian nature of Finnish society is widely heralded as the bedrock of Finland’s well-being and economic success.
Today, 46% of members of the Finnish Parliament, and 12 out of the 19 ministers in the latest government, are women.
Finland ranks among the Top 10 Countries with the Highest Rate of Feminism.
6. Canada
Insider Monkey Score: 2.66
With half the workforce in Canada now composed of women, it is essential that all employees are treated equally no matter their gender, race, or sexual orientation. Canada was the second country in the world to take an explicitly feminist approach to foreign policy and development.
Canada is among the Countries that Respect Women’s Rights the Most.
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Disclosure: None. 20 Most Feminist Countries in the World is originally published on Insider Monkey.