Countries with the Biggest Gender Disparities in Their Workforces 👨‍💼👩‍💼

What We’re Showing:

We rank the countries with the biggest differences in male versus female representation in the labor force.

What is the Labor Force?

Per the World Bank, a country’s labor force includes people aged 15+ who are working or actively looking for work in exchange for pay, profit, or shared production. Unpaid workers, family caretakers, students, and military personnel (depending on the country) may be excluded from this count.

Key Takeaways

The top 10 countries with the highest discrepancies between male and female labor participation rates—including Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen—are Islamic nations, where religious texts are appropriated to discriminate against women.

Interestingly, many of these countries are also below the global male workforce participation rate. This could indicate a general lack of economic opportunities with the nation.