Denmark crowned world's best country for working women
Gender equality - Nordic countries dominate global workplace equality rankings while African women face a 30 per cent pay gap despite driving a third of all businesses.
What you need to know:
- Denmark leads the world in gender workplace equality with an 83 per cent score.
- Belgium achieves the smallest wage gap at just 0.7 per cent.
- African women score only 50.3 per cent in equality measures and face a 30 per cent gender pay gap—the world's largest—despite working 50 per cent longer hours than men.
Denmark has emerged as the world's most favourable country for women to work and live in 2025, according to a comprehensive new study -that analysed gender equality metrics across 17 of the world's most advanced nations.
The Scandinavian nation achieved the highest overall score of 83 per cent in the study's Women Life Score, distinguished by offering the longest maternity leave period at 18 months and maintaining the smallest gender gap in managerial positions at just 27.9 per cent.
The research, which examined ten critical indicators of gender equality in the workplace, reveals a striking divide in how different countries support working women. While Denmark leads the pack, the findings highlight persistent challenges across even the most progressive nations.
Nordic dominance
Finland secured second place with a score of 80 per cent, boasting the highest gender equality index in the study at 0.875 and the smallest employment gap between men and women at just 1.5 per cent. Sweden rounded out the Nordic sweep, claiming third position with a 79 per cent score, despite having the widest gender gap in managerial roles among the top ten countries at 42.3 per cent.
The study's data, sourced from prestigious international organisations including Eurostat, the OECD, and the International Labour Organisation, demonstrates the tangible impact of progressive policies. Countries that have invested heavily in childcare infrastructure witnessed a remarkable 12 per cent increase in female workforce participation over the past year alone.
Belgium's pay inequality
Perhaps the most striking finding concerns wage disparities. Belgium emerged as the clear leader in pay equity, maintaining the smallest gender wage gap at just 0.7 per cent – a figure that stands in stark contrast to other nations and is 17 times smaller than Denmark's 12.4 per cent gap.
The wage gap variations across the top-performing countries tell a complex story. While France ranks fifth overall with a life score of 75 per cent, it struggles with a significant 22.2 per cent gender wage gap – the largest among the top ten countries. Conversely, Sweden manages to maintain a relatively modest 7.3 per cent wage gap despite other challenges.
The study reveals interesting patterns in female entrepreneurship across nations. Spain, which rounds out the top ten with a 69 per cent score, leads in female entrepreneurship with 3.07 per cent of women being entrepreneurs, followed closely by Portugal at three per cent. However, Nordic countries like Denmark and Sweden show lower rates of female entrepreneurship at 1.62 per cent and 1.44 per cent respectively, possibly reflecting different economic structures and opportunities.
Women's representation in managerial positions varies significantly, with gender gaps ranging from Denmark's impressive 27.9 per cent to Sweden's concerning 42.3 per cent. This disparity suggests that even among the world's most progressive nations, breaking through leadership barriers remains a persistent challenge.
Parental support
Maternity leave policies emerge as a crucial differentiator in the rankings. Denmark's 18-month maternity leave sets the global standard, followed by Portugal's 17 months. The correlation between generous parental leave policies and overall gender equality scores underscores the importance of structural support systems for working mothers.
Even within the top ten, maternity leave varies dramatically – from Sweden's 12 months to the more generous 16-18-month periods offered by countries like Denmark, France, and Austria. This variation reflects different national approaches to supporting working families.
"The Nordic countries continue to dominate global rankings for gender equality in the workplace, demonstrating that comprehensive social policies can create environments where women thrive professionally," commented a spokesperson from CasinooftheKings, the online gaming company that conducted the research.
The expert emphasised that the findings provide "a blueprint for other nations seeking to improve gender equality," noting how "structural supports like parental leave and wage transparency translate to measurable differences in women's lives."
Global challenge
The study's methodology examined crucial indicators including the share of women entrepreneurs, employment gaps, median gender wage gaps, bank account ownership, attitudes toward working mothers, and feelings of security. This comprehensive approach reveals that gender equality in the workplace is multifaceted, requiring coordinated policy responses across multiple sectors.
The research demonstrates that even among the world's most advanced economies, significant work remains to achieve true gender parity in the workplace.
While the top-performing countries offer valuable lessons in policy design and implementation, the persistent gaps across all measured indicators suggest that gender equality remains an ongoing global challenge requiring sustained commitment and innovative solutions.
Africa's reality
While European nations dominate the global rankings for workplace gender equality, a starkly different picture emerges across Africa, where women face significantly greater barriers despite showing remarkable resilience and economic contribution.
The Africa Gender Index 2023 Analytical Report, released in November 2024, by the African Development Bank Group and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, reveals that women in Africa score just 50.3per cent in equality across economic, social, and public representation areas. This represents only a modest improvement from the 48 per cent score recorded in 2019.
Perhaps most concerning is the economic sphere, where women's parity actually declined from 61 per cent in 2019 to 58.2 per cent in 2023. The report found that while both men and women experienced economic setbacks during this period, women were disproportionately affected by the challenges.
The contrast with the European findings is striking. While Belgium achieves a remarkable 0.7 per cent gender wage gap, Sub-Saharan Africa grapples with a 30 per cent gender pay gap – significantly higher than the global average of 24 per cent. This disparity underscores the vast differences in workplace equality between developed and developing economies.
Namibia's first female President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah during her inauguration on March 21, 2025. The 2024 Global Gender Gap Report shows Sub-Saharan Africa with a gender parity score of 68.4 per cent. Namibia ranks among the global top 10 performers.
Despite these challenges, experts emphasise Africa's enormous untapped potential. McKinsey Global Institute research suggests that accelerating progress toward gender parity could boost African economies by the equivalent of 10 per cent of their collective GDP by 2025. However, at the current rate of progress, it would take Africa more than 140 years to reach gender parity.
The World Economic Forum's 2024 Global Gender Gap Report shows Sub-Saharan Africa with a gender parity score of 68.4 per cent, representing a 5.6 percentage-point improvement since 2006. Namibia stands out as a regional success story, ranking among the global top 10 performers.
African women demonstrate remarkable economic participation, often exceeding global averages in certain sectors. They are more economically active as farmers and entrepreneurs than women in any other region, growing most of Africa's food and owning one-third of all businesses. However, most work in low-paid, often subsistence jobs in the informal economy.
Policy innovations
The research reveals encouraging signs of policy innovation across the continent. Sub-Saharan Africa spearheaded more than half of all worldwide legal changes promoting gender equality in 2022, according to the World Bank's "Women, Business and the Law" index.
Côte d'Ivoire and Gabon have emerged as regional leaders, becoming the first Sub-Saharan African economies to score over 90 on the Women, Business and the Law index. These countries have undertaken significant legal overhauls, while nations like Benin and Côte d'Ivoire have prohibited gender-based discrimination in financial services.
The report recommends targeted interventions including stronger enforcement of gender quotas to increase women's leadership representation, investments in overcoming educational barriers such as unpaid domestic work and early marriage, and addressing occupational segregation that limits women's economic participation.
"None of the targets for United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 on gender equality are on track," warns Keiso Matashane-Marite, Chief of the UN Economic Commission for Africa's Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Section.
"For instance, equal representation in parliaments won't be reached until 2063. This is unacceptable. Africa cannot achieve sustainable prosperity if half its potential remains underutilised."
The findings present both a challenge and an opportunity for African policymakers. While the continent lags significantly behind the Nordic model of gender equality demonstrated in the European study, the potential economic gains from closing these gaps remain substantial.