For Working Women, Denmark Near Top

13 Mar 2013

‘Glass ceiling’ index ranks Nordic countries in the top ten for gender equality in the workplace

Women are more likely to hold high ranking positions in the Nordic countries, and less likely in Asian countries like Japan and South Korea (Photo: Colourbox)

Denmark is the tenth best country in the world to be a working woman, a recent index from the Economist reports.

Primarily using statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), the index compiled information from 26 countries to show where women have the best chance of equal treatment in the workplace.

The index compared five factors, such as the male-female wage gap, the proportion of women in high-ranking jobs, the participation of women in the labour force, a comparison of men and women with tertiary education, and the net cost of childcare compared to average wages. As not all working women have children, the last of the five indicators was given less weight than the other factors.

New Zealand ranked the highest in the world, faring well across all five indicators, while Norway and Sweden took second and third places, respectively, and Finland took seventh. Sweden also marked the highest female labour force participation rate at 78 percent, while Finland’s women scored best for education levels.

The United States, by contrast, didn’t even crack the top ten, ranking 12th out of the 26. Japan and South Korea made up the bottom of the list, due to the low levels of women in senior positions.

Source: http://cphpost.dk/international/working-women-denmark-near-top