Inclusion
Inclusion is measured by women’s achievements in education, employment, and parliamentary representation, as well as access to cell phones and financial services.
Education
Education is critical to women’s opportunities, freedom from violence, and health. Years of schooling is a more precise measure than, for example, secondary school completion. Our Index captures the average number of years of education of women ages 25 and older.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Employment
Employment reflects women’s economic opportunities, which are central to realizing women’s capabilities and freedoms. It is preferred to labor force participation because it excludes unemployment. Our Index captures the percentage of women ages 25 to 64 who are employed in the formal or informal sector.
Source: ILOSTAT database
| 2023 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Country Score | Madagascar (90.1%) | Burundi (90%) |
| Worst Country Score | Yemen (5.5%) | Yemen (5.5%) |
| Global Average | 53.1% | 56.3% |
While high rates of employment are an important indicator of women’s status, the global datasets we use do not capture working conditions and unpaid care burdens that women manage.
Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion allows individuals to smooth consumption, manage risk, attain financial autonomy, invest in education and health, and independently start and expand a business. Our Index measures the percentage of women ages 15 and older who report having an individual or joint account at a bank or other financial institution or who report using a mobile money service in the past year.
Source: World Bank Global Findex Database
| 2023 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Country Score | Multiple (100%) | Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Australia, Austria, France (100%) |
| Worst Country Score | South Sudan (4.2%) | South Sudan (4%) |
| Global Average | 70.5% | 70.3% |
In six countries worldwide, less than 10 percent of women have access to their own bank account: South Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Burundi, Djibouti, and Central African Republic.
Cellphone Use
Cellphone use is increasingly recognized as core to people’s opportunities to be informed about and participate in the economy, society, and politics. Our Index captures the percentage of women ages 15 years and older who report having a mobile phone that they use to make and receive personal calls.
Source: Gallup World Poll 2018
| 2023 | 2025 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best Country Score | Multiple (100%) | Iceland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Singapore, Cyprus, Lithuania, Russian Federation, China, United Arab Emirates, Ukraine, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Algeria (100%) |
| Worst Country Score | Pakistan (32%) | Pakistan (28%) |
| Global Average | 80.4% | 83.5 |
In seven countries, less than half of women report having their own cellphone (Chad, Ethiopia, Niger, Afghanistan, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Pakistan). Pakistan is the only country in which less than a third of women have their own cellphone.
Parliamentary Representation
This is the most widely available measure of women’s political participation. Our Index captures the percentage of seats held by women in lower and upper houses of national parliament.
Source: Inter-Parliamentary Union