Burundi passes the Netherlands in the Global Gender Gap Index ranking

The Netherlands dropped to sixteenth place in the Global Gender Gap Index 2016, released on Wednesday. That’s three places lower than last year. Burundi, Namibia and South Africa have all placed higher than the Netherlands in this year’s ranking.

Iceland leads the way when it comes to gender equality, just like last year. This annual indicator of gender disparity is based on research conducted in 144 countries by Erasmus University’s research institute INSCOPE, led by Professor Henk Volberda.

No progress

Contrary to other countries, the Netherlands has not made any headway in the area of labour force participation and wage equality. Women in the Netherlands predominantly have part-time jobs and are vastly underrepresented in management positions.

Women in the Netherlands continue to be underrepresented in management positions (26 percent female), in board positions (occupying only 24 percent of board of director seats), and in Research & Development positions (28 percent). Women in the Netherlands perform twice as much unpaid work as men and still carry out more family and household duties.

170 years

The researchers found the amount of progress booked worldwide disappointing: at the current rate it will take 170 years before economic equality between genders is achieved.

The Global Gender Gap Index provides insight into gender discrepancies in 144 countries, examining economic participation, access to education, political representation, access to health care, and life expectancy.

Inequality at Erasmus University

• Déjà vu: There is still a dearth of female professors