Pakistan Ranks 145th in Global Gender Equality Report

Pakistan Ranks 145th in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Report

Ushering in an era marked by sustained gender inequality in Pakistan has found emphasis in the Global Gender Gap Report 2024 by the World Economic Forum (WEF), wherein Pakistan is ranked 145th among 146 countries, just preceding Sudan. The report thereby brings to the fore a very grievous fact, worsening from its 142nd position in 2023.

 From the Report

• Economic Participation and Opportunity: Pakistan ranks 143rd globally. Only 36% of women engage in economic activities, and a mere 23% are part of the workforce.
• Educational Attainment: The country holds the 139th position with a literacy rate of 67.1%.
• Health and Survival: Pakistan is ranked 132nd, with a skewed sex ratio at birth and low healthy life expectancy.
• Political Empowerment: The country stands at 112th, with women holding only 19.3% of parliamentary seats and 6.3% of ministerial positions.

Underlying Challenges

With a 33% reserved quota for women in parliament, their representation remains limited, being dominated by women in influential political families or cities. In the economic sector, there has been some measure of advancement with women working under very precarious conditions, mostly informal ones, limiting their

Pakistan continues to lag behind its neighbors:

• Bangladesh: 99th Rank
• India: 129th Rank

Activists and experts call upon the government to implement and enforce gender-equal policies. Bushra Khaliq, Executive Director of Women in Struggle for Empowerment (WISE), explains that Pakistan has lagged in this index for over a decade. Farah Zia, Director of the Human Rights Commission in Pakistan (HRC), describes how politics has sieged women activists and leaders time and again and kept them away from their rightful stature and impact.