In order to push gender equality forward, we need to measure and track gender gaps over time.
That's precisely the goal of the World Economic Forum (WEF)'s annual Global Gender Gap Index, which published its latest report last week. It analyzes the gaps in rights and opportunities between men and women in key areas, including health, education, economic participation and political empowerment, in 142 economies worldwide.
While no country has succeeded yet in closing the gender gap completely, Nordic countries -- Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark -- topped the index, bridging the gender gap in their respective countries by more than 80%.
However, while Iceland has topped the list for the sixth consecutive year, it's important to note that amid many successes, disparities remain -- something to keep in mind for all of the countries. The index measures gaps in access to resources and opportunities, not actual levels of the available resources and opportunities in those countries. In fact, the WEF found that, at the current trajectory, it would take 81 years to completely close the gender gap.
Also of note this year is that Rwanda entered the rankings for the first time, at No. 7. The country is often lauded for its high proportion of women in parliament. The United States rose from No. 23 in 2013 to No. 20 this year, while the UK dipped from No. 18 to No. 26.
Yemen, long criticized for gender-based violence and lack of laws surrounding child marriage, is again the lowest-ranked country for gender gaps at No. 142.
The following chart, created by statistics portal Statista, shows the 10 countries that scored highest on the 2014 Global Gender Gap Index:
