Netherlands plummets on global gender equality ranking

The Netherlands dropped 16 places on the World Economic Forum's annual gender equality ranking. Last year the Netherlands came in 16th place, this year our country only made it to 32nd, NU.nl reports.

When the list was first published in 2006, the Netherlands came in 12th place when it came to equality between men and women on income and political power. Last year the Netherlands dropped from 13th to 16th place. 

The reason the Netherlands managed to get 32nd place this year, is because the country is 1st on the list when it comes to gender equality in education. On the list of income equality, the Netherlands came in 82nd. 

A study released by Expert Market last month, showed that there is a 16.1 percent wage gap between men and women in the Netherlands. Effectively this means that women in the Netherlands work unpaid for almost two months per year. 

Iceland came in first place in the gender equality ranking. According to the World Economic Forum, this is a matter of national pride for Iceland. The key to the country's success is that it has concrete plans to achieve equality and the political will to go through with them. Norway and Finland came in second and third place. Rwanda came in an unexpected 4th.