Pakistan’s women still behind in workforce
NEW DELHI: Pakistan has ranked 143rd among 145 economies in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report 2026, placing it third from the bottom with 59.5% of its gender gap closed. Its score improved by 2.8 percentage points from 2025, marking the country’s strongest year-on-year improvement in a decade, according to the report. Pakistan’s overall score has risen by 5.2 percentage points since 2006, when it stood at 54.3%. The WEF said parity in education has improved by 21 percentage points since 2006. Gains were recorded across primary, secondary and tertiary enrolment, making education the main driver of Pakistan’s overall improvement in the 2026 index. The report said women accounted for 21.69% of parliamentarians, while men made up 78.31%. Women held just 3.45% of ministerial positions, compared with 96.55% for men.
The WEF said the latest improvement was driven largely by gains in educational attainment. The report’s contextual indicators also highlighted disparities in women’s legal and economic rights. It found unequal rights relating to inheritance for widows and daughters and restricted rights in access to justice. Women were assessed as having near-equal rights regarding access to financial services and assets, while their rights relating to divorce and reproductive autonomy remained restricted.