Top 10 Countries Ranked by the Percentage of the Workforce Who Are Women, 2024
Which are the best nations for working women? Which countries have the most women in the workforce?
Women hold the majority in the world, with 7.8 billion in numbers. Despite being in the majority, women enjoy only a fragment of the rights of men. While women are achieving significant milestones in promoting women’s rights and closing the gender gap, they still face inequalities in the workplace.
In 2022, the percentage of women working worldwide was 39.49%. In the United States, what about it? At 46.38%, the U.S. has a slightly greater percentage of women in the workforce than the global average, placing it 71st out of 180 countries.
To help you find the best nations for working women in 2024, we have compiled a list of the best countries with the highest percentage of women in the workforce. We have created this list after taking references from different reports and data. Continue reading to find out how other nations rank in terms of women’s workforce participation.
List of 10 Countries Ranked by the Percentage of the Workforce Who Are Women
01. Armenia: 52.76%
Armenia has the highest percentage of women in the workforce (52.76%), out of all the nations. Although women make up the majority of workers, Armenia still needs to do a lot to reduce the gender pay gap, as the country is in the 89th position out of 146 nations on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index.
Armenia suffered a lot in the 20th century. The Armenian Genocide, which occurred during and after World War I, is mostly to blame for the country’s low male population. During the Turkish-Ottoman era, 1.5 million Armenians were executed in large-scale executions or marched across the Syrian desert to meet their demise. These are the situations; Armenia needs to get over them.
02. Turkmenistan: 52.61%
Turkmenistan is the safest and most welcoming nation for women in Central Asia. According to the news outlet “Fergana,” this is mentioned in the “Women’s Peace and Security Index 2023,” which was released on October 24.
In the research, Turkmenistan came in at number 58 out of 177.
In Turkmenistan, women make up 50.8% of the population. Generally speaking, women have fewer rights and prescribed positions in society than men. The absence of trustworthy official data and government censorship make it challenging to study women’s rights in the nation. The nation is still growing and requires a lot of revolutionary steps to empower women on a personal, professional, and social level.
03. Burundi: 51.96%
Burundi comes in third on the list of the best nations with the highest female workforce. Burundi is one of the rare nations in which women truly make more money than men. This is an East African nation with around 10 million people, where women’s estimated yearly earned income is $875 and men’s is $664. Women find most of their jobs in the agriculture sector in Burundi.
04. Mozambique: 51.63%
Another nation on the list, Mozambique, is one of just four where a larger proportion of women are employed or seeking employment. However, women continue to be paid much less for doing comparable work and hold a disproportionately low number of senior and cabinet positions as well as IT jobs.
05. South Sudan: 51.30%
There has been great progress made for women’s rights and growth in South Sudan, and this is why the nation is among the top 10 on the list for the female workforce. In South Sudan, women held 28.5% of the parliamentary seats.
To achieve gender equality in South Sudan, however, more has to be done. As of December 2020, there were gaps in several important areas, including unpaid care and domestic work, important labour market indicators like the gender pay gap, and information and communications technology skills.
Of these, only 23% of the metrics required to monitor the SDGs from a gender perspective were accessible. Furthermore, there are no equivalent methods for routine monitoring in several areas, including gender and the environment, women’s access to assets (including land), gender and poverty, and physical and sexual harassment. Achieving the gender-related SDG commitments requires closing these gender data gaps.
06. Zimbabwe: 50.68%
In Zimbabwe, the majority of women are employed in the wholesale and retail trades, health care, and agriculture. The expected yearly income of women is $1,795 compared to $2,393, which is less than that of men due to the low wage level of this type of labour.
Even with an equal pay rule in place, women are paid 64.5 cents for every dollar earned by men for the labour of a similar job. The administration needs to focus on equal pay and empower women with an equal pay policy in every sector.
07. Macao: 50.24%
Women in Macau are defined as indispensable and competent contributors to modern Macau civilization (2010).
The general increase in the caliber of Macau’s educational system and the general advancement of women’s status are often related to the improvement in the quality of education received by women in Macau.
It is believed that Macau could eradicate this illiteracy by rejecting conventional beliefs and encouraging more women to pursue education.
The majority of Macanese women feel that they have the same standing as males in the family; however, this is not always the case in larger society. Younger women thought that their social standing was more equal.
08. Belarus: 50.15%
With 9.5 million people, Belarus does well in terms of women’s economic engagement and opportunities. Among the 149 countries ranked, the landlocked nation has one of the highest percentages of women holding professional and IT jobs—more than 70%.
In Belarus, women hold about 48% of senior-level positions—a higher rate than in all but eight of the other nations that the WEF examined. In Belarus, parents have the benefit of a robust three-year government-mandated paid leave policy for child care.
09. Barbados: 50.10%
The country of the Caribbean has almost reached gender parity in terms of elementary, secondary, and university enrollment as well as literacy rates. Women make up roughly 56% of professional and technical workers and roughly 50% of senior postholders.
When it comes to expected earned income, women still earn less than $7,000. As is the case in other nations, women make up a small minority in government and political leadership roles in Barbados; however, last year, the nation elected Mia Mottley as its first female prime minister.
10. Lithuania: 50.06%
Lithuania is considered the best European country for women to work; Lithuanian women are third in the workplace, as a report shows that the nation is among the top 10 nations to offer the best maternity leave. Further, the country is also on top for women in leadership.
Overall, there is some progress needed in terms of gender equality in the workplace. There have been great advances, but women still face several issues when it comes to gender equality, including the pay gap and a lack of leadership representation.
Summing Up…
These are the top nations in terms of female workforce performance. Seeing these nations brings encouragement and motivation to women. This problem is not yet solved. The gap between men and women in the workplace has numerous negative economic impacts on growth and productivity.
The study also found that the main obstacles that keep women out of the workforce—such as discrimination, tax breaks, and social and cultural norms—are higher than earlier. However, the advantages of bridging this gender gap are beyond our expectations. Hence, we need to take immediate steps to remove these obstacles and ensure that everyone has equal access to opportunities.
That’s it for now. Hopefully, this blog will help you get a broader perspective on the female workforce worldwide.
