Women Won't Earn as Much as Men for 170 Years: Report

The World Economic Forum's annual Global Gender Gap Report says no country has fully closed the overall gender gap

The global gap in earnings between men and women will not be closed for another 170 years if current trends continue, according to a new report from the World Economic Forum.

The Switzerland-based forum's annual Global Gender Gap Report also finds that the pay gap has reverted to where it was in 2008 after peaking in 2013.

The report has more positive findings when it comes to the gender gap on educational attainment, which it says "could be reduced to parity within the next 10 years."

The report says no country has fully closed the overall gender pay gap, but the five countries that top its Global Gender Gap index, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Rwanda, have closed more than 80 percent of theirs. The index measures differences in economics, education, health and political empowerment.

Iceland has topped the Global Gender Gap Report's list of 144 countries for the last 6 years. It is one of the fastest-improving countries in the world, closing more than 12 percent of the pay gay over the past decade. They have committed to closing the pay gap entirely by 2022.

Despite the progress the country has made, Iceland is still not satisfied with the 13 percent gap that remains. On Monday, women across Iceland left work at 2:38 p.m. to take part in the annual protest of the pay gap, The New York Times reported. Kvennafri, or "Women's Day Off," has aimed to raise awareness of the wage disparity for the last 41 years.

The United States ranks 45th on the list, down from 28th in 2015, and has closed more than 72 percent of its gender gap. The US ranks 26th in terms of economic participation and opportunity for women, and 73rd for political empowerment.

Yemen comes in last in the index, with the report finding that it has closed just over 51 percent of its overall gender gap. 

The report also noted that women around the world work an average of 39 days more per year than men. That averages to about 50 minutes more per day. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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