Originally posted in The Daily Star on 19 September 2026
Gender Gap Report: Women educated, but economically left behind
Disparities in income, jobs, political representation push Bangladesh down global rankings
While Bangladesh has come close to achieving gender parity in education, substantial gaps persist in economic participation, shows the latest report from the World Economic Forum (WEF).
According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2026, Bangladesh’s overall gender parity score fell to 71.2 percent this year from 77.5 percent a year earlier.
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The 6.2-percentage-point decline, described in the report as one of the largest setbacks recorded worldwide, pushed the country’s overall ranking down 55 places, from 24th to 79th.
Despite the sharp drop, Bangladesh remains the highest-ranked economy in South Asia. Neighbouring economies, including the Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, rank lower on the overall index.
Released on September 16, the WEF’s 20th Global Gender Gap Report measures progress towards gender parity across four dimensions: Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment. A score of 100 percent represents full parity.
Centre for Policy Dialogue Executive Director Dr Nazneen Ahmed said the decline in Bangladesh’s score needs to be viewed alongside changes in other countries because the ranking is relative.
“Around two-thirds of the economies covered in both the 2025 and 2026 reports improved their scores; Guatemala, for example, moved from 81st to 50th. Bangladesh’s 55-place decline therefore reflects both domestic setbacks and faster progress elsewhere,” she said.
WEAKEST LINK
Bangladesh recorded its weakest performance in Economic Participation and Opportunity, where the score fell to 41.9 percent from 45.7 percent a year earlier, placing the country 142nd among 145 nations, down from 141st last year.
Women here earn an estimated $4,670 a year, compared with $12,440 for men. The gap has widened over time, with income parity plunging 15 percentage points to 37.5 percent this year from 54.4 percent in 2006.
Women’s labour force participation stands at 38.41 percent, compared with 79.96 percent for men. Moreover, women account for only 6.16 percent of senior officials and managers, while their share among professional and technical workers stands at 20.75 percent.
“Bangladesh has invested successfully in educating women, but the economy and its institutions are still failing to use that human capital fully,” said Dr Nazneen.
“Closing this gap is central not only to gender justice, but also to productivity, structural transformation and economic resilience in Bangladesh’s post-LDC development trajectory.”
STRONGEST AREA
Education remains one of Bangladesh’s strongest areas in narrowing the gender gap. The country achieved a record 96.1 percent score in Educational Attainment this year.
While Bangladesh has reached parity in primary and secondary enrolment, disparities continue in tertiary education and literacy. Women’s tertiary enrolment rate is 20.79 percent, compared with 26.95 percent for men, while female literacy stands at 76.54 percent, trailing the 81.39 percent recorded for men.
STEEP FALL
The steep fall in Bangladesh’s overall ranking was driven primarily by a deterioration in Political Empowerment, where the gender parity score dropped from 72.1 percent last year to 50.9 percent this year. As a result, the country’s ranking in the dimension slipped from third to 12th.
According to the report, women hold just 2.4 percent of seats in the new parliament formed after the dissolution of the legislature in 2024. This marks Bangladesh’s lowest-ever score for parliamentary representation parity, placing the country 139th globally on the indicator.
Women’s representation in the cabinet stands at 19.05 percent. Despite the recent setback, gender parity in cabinet positions has improved over the past two decades, with the score rising to 23.5 percent from 9.1 percent in 2006.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh continues to maintain a full parity score on the female head-of-government indicator. Together with Iceland, it is one of only two economies to achieve full parity on this measure, reflecting five decades of female leadership at the highest level of government.
LARGELY UNCHANGED
Bangladesh’s Health and Survival score remained largely unchanged at 96.0 percent in 2026, placing it 120th globally, compared with 123rd in 2025.
The score is supported by near parity in healthy life expectancy, at 99.7 percent, with women at 63 years compared with 63.14 years for men. The sex ratio at birth also remains close to parity.
The report’s contextual indicators, however, point to continuing health and social challenges. Maternal mortality stands at 115 deaths per 100,000 live births, while skilled health personnel attend 59.0 percent of deliveries. The total fertility rate is 2.14 births per woman.
The report also records a lifetime prevalence of gender-based violence of 48.8 percent among women.
ICELAND TOP, CHAD LAST
Iceland retained its position as the world’s most gender-equal country, having closed 93 percent of its gender gap. It was followed by Finland, Norway, Namibia and the United Kingdom.
At the other end of the ranking, Chad remained the lowest-performing country, having closed 57.8 percent of its gender gap. Iran and Pakistan ranked just above it.
The report noted that the global gender gap is now narrower than at any point since the index was launched, with 69.2 percent of the gap closed worldwide. However, progress remains slow. At the current pace, achieving full gender parity will take an estimated 120 years.
The report uses the latest available data for each indicator rather than figures from a single year.
Data for the economic participation and education dimensions are drawn primarily from 2023-2025, while health-related indicators are based on data from 2021-2024. Figures on women’s representation in parliament are current as of June 1, 2026, and cabinet representation as of January 1, 2026. The measure of female heads of government covers the period from June 15, 1976, to June 15, 2026, spanning multiple administrations, including the current BNP-led government that has been in office for about seven months.
