The group looks at several measures of equality between men and women in this year's Global Gender Gap Report, released Tuesday. Overall gender disparity across politics, work, health and education improved by less than 0.1%, meaning it'll take 108 years to reach parity. The economic opportunity gap – based on participation, pay and advancement in the workforce – remains the area that'll take the longest time to close.
The figures are a tiny improvement from last year's results, where the gap between the achievements and well-being of men and women widened for the first time in more than a decade.
"What we're seeing globally is that we don't have any country that's achieved gender equality, regardless of level of development, region or type of economy. Gender inequality is the reality around the world, and we're seeing that in all aspects of women's lives," said Anna-Karin Jatfors, regional director for UN Women. She added that "202 years is too long a wait" for economic equity.
Jatfors said governments can help spur improvements with equal-pay policies and investment in parental and elder care infrastructure, and by allowing women legal protections including job security during pregnancy.
There's been "minimal progress" since last year's report in measuring economic participation and opportunity, the WEF said, with the worst-performing countries mainly in the Middle East and North Africa. Only 34% of global managers are women, and income gaps have been "particularly persistent,' with 63% of the global wage gap having closed so far.
Iceland tops
Iceland was the best performer on the list for the 10th year running. It also remained No. 1 for women's political empowerment, although it slid in female representation among legislators, senior officials and managers. In October, Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir was among scores of Icelandic women who walked out of their workplaces to protest wage inequality and sexual harassment. Other nations with female leaders – New Zealand and the UK – finished seventh and 15th.