Gender parity widens in Ja, as women lose ground

Women in Jamaica lost ground in all major categories on the path to parity with men, according to the Global Gender Gap 2024 report.

Men gained ground in certain categories, while in other categories, other countries improved faster than Jamaica. It resulted in Jamaica slipping 13 spots, from 24th place to 37th, according to the World Economic Forum, also referred to as Weforum. The report released late June ranked 146 nations, with Iceland topping the world and Sudan bottoming.

“Full parity remains beyond the reach of another five generations,” said Saadia Zahidi, managing director of Weforum. “The journey to parity is longest for the economic and political dimensions of the index, with differing speeds of individual progress threatening to lower overall collective advancement.”

Women in Jamaica were three-quarters on par with men, when averaging the four main subcategories in the report. A year earlier, women were 78 per cent on par.

The four subcategories each have world rankings. The rank for economic participation dropped to eighth from second, educational attainment ranked 81st from 68th, health and survival move to 93rd from 94th, and political empowerment to 60th from 57th.

The report further divides the four subcategories into further micro rankings, with Jamaica topping the world in terms of female senior managers and educated professionals.

“Women have a high level of representation in professional and technical roles, with 68 per cent of the region showing full parity for this indicator,” the parity report stated.

The share of women in legislative, senior officer, and manager roles varies widely within the region, with women in Honduras occupying one-third of top roles, compared to 62 per cent in Jamaica, Weforum said.

Importantly, in terms of equal pay for equal work, women in Jamaica earned 80 per cent of men’s pay. In the region, Barbados was the most progressive in this category.

“The two economies with higher levels of gender parity on this indicator are Barbados, 86.6 per cent, and Jamaica at 80.8 per cent,” the report stated.

Jamaica bettered the world’s largest economy, the United States, which ranked 43. The United Kingdom ranked 14.

In the region, Nicaragua topped Latin America and the Caribbean.

Women also have lower estimated incomes than men across all economies, the reported noted.

Across the globe, women are just above halfway in closing the gap in terms of labour force participation, at some 0.65, with 1.0 being parity. The gap lessened the most in 2009 when the index hit 0.68 points, but dipped thereafter, hitting a low in 2022 just above 0.62 points.

“Parity in every Latin American and Caribbean economy is over 50 per cent in the labour force participation rate, with Peru, Jamaica, Bolivia and Barbados all reporting scores over 80 per cent,” stated the report.

It said inflationary living since the pandemic might have affected women disproportionately, but that price pressures should soon ease for both males and females.

“Inflation is expected to soften, although neither systematically across economies nor permanently. This economic configuration can impact gender parity in an array of ways. Lower inflation and increased government expenditure can expand economic possibilities for women, especially when constrained by lower-paying jobs and sectors,” the Weforum report noted.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com