Best Place in the World to be a Woman?

Today is Canada Day, and we are reminded again of how lucky we are to be women in this beautiful country. Canadian women enjoy rights and freedoms that most women wouldn’t even dream of. 

But which country is the BEST country to be a woman?

According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report, the top country for women is Iceland, and it has been since 2009. Scandinavia rounds out the top four with Finland, Norway and Sweden coming closely behind. Canada is currently ranked 21.

Egypt has the world’s smallest gender wage gap, only 18 cents. By comparison, Canadian women only earn 73 cents for every dollar a man earns, ranking us 35th. You may be surprised to learn that the country with the most female politicians is Rwanda, where women hold 45 of the 80 Parliamentary seats. Canada ranks 45th, as men outnumber women in politics by a ratio of 3 to 1. Only 27% of Canadian politicians are female.

Japan has the longest life expectancy for women, at 87 years compared with 79.2 years for Japanese men. Canadian women can expect to live about five years longer than men. In Afghanistan and Lesotho, women don’t expect to celebrate their 50th birthdays.

According to Forbes, China has the highest number of female billionaires, and Denmark has the most vacuuming men, where women only do about 50 more minutes of unpaid labour than men. In India, women will do up to five hours more unpaid labour each day than men. Women in India have significantly less access to paid work, but the study also noted than Indian men spent much more time sleeping, eating, and relaxing with friends.

Burundi has the highest number of women in the workforce, at 92%, and in Estonia, female professional and technical workers outnumber men 2 to 1! In Canada, 57% of professional and technical workers are women.

The safest place to have a baby in the world is Estonia, with the world’s lowest maternal mortality rate (2 for every 100,000). Chad is the most dangerous place to give birth, with 1,000 in 100,000 deaths.

Germany offers the best benefits to stay-at-home moms, allowing 14 weeks off at 100% of their wages. Both parents have the option of 3 years of parental leave in total. In Canada, parents are allowed 52 weeks of maternity leave in total.

According to a 2011 United Nations study, women in Georgia experience the least amount of sexual and physical abuse, at only 5%. Canada proudly came in second place in this list at 7%. In Ethiopia, these numbers are particularly high, with 71% of women experiencing physical and/or sexual abuse in her lifetime. 41% of women in Sierra Leone were beaten by their husbands for refusing to have sex.

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, rape and sexual assault has become a weapon of war, and some reports state the as many as 80% of women (and men) in the Kivu provinces have been sexually attacked.

Women in French Polynesia can expect to stay single the longest, with the average age of marriage being 33 years. In both Mali and Niger, women will likely be married while still a teenager. Norway is the top country to live as a single mother, according to UNICEF. Romania placed last.

While Canada may not be the best in every category, women here enjoy incredible benefits, and are much luckier than most women and girls around the globe. Happy Canada Day!