Netherlands plummets on WEF gender equality ranking

The Netherlands is falling behind when it comes to promoting gender equality, according to the Gender Gap Index by the World Economic Forum, published on Tuesday. The Netherlands dropped 11 spots on the ranking this year, ending in 38th position.

WEF researchers annually test the inequality between women and men on 14 indicators in various sectors including health, education, economy, and politics. This year 153 countries were ranked. Of them 101 improved women's position in the past year. The rest's score either deteriorated or stagnated. The Netherlands stagnated. This is the 14th edition of the Gender Gap Index. In the first edition in 2006, the Netherlands was ranked 12th in the world.

The WEF noted that in the Netherlands women still hold only around one in three ministerial posts and 31.3 percent of the parliamentary seats. The fact that the Netherlands has never had a female Prime Minister also contributed to the lower position in the ranking.

When it comes to economic participation, the researchers noted that women in the Netherlands predominantly hold part time jobs - three out of four women work part time, compared to four out of 10 men. Women are also more likely to do unpaid work.

Iceland leads the ranking for the 11th consecutive year, followed by Norway and Finland. Spain made the most progress this past year, climbing 21 spots to 8th place. Yemen is still at the bottom of the list.

"None of us will see gender parity in our lifetimes, and nor likely will many of our children", the WEF said. According to the organization, it will take 99.5 years to achieve gender equality worldwide. In western Europe, the WEF expects it to take around 54 years.