London (the United Kingdom, UK)-based The Economist Group, a media company released its annual edition of ‘Glass-Ceiling Index (GCI)’ on the occasion of International Women’s Day (IWD) which is celebrated annually on March 8 worldwide. As per the index, Sweden secured 1st position globally, and has replaced Iceland which topped the index for the last two consecutive years.
- Now, Iceland witnessed dropped in its ranking by one place i.e. from 1st spot (in 2024) to 2nd spot (in 2025).
- Among top 10 best countries for working women in 2025, 5 are Nordic countries: Sweden, Iceland, Finland (3rd), Norway (4th) and Denmark (9th).
About Glass-Ceiling Index:
i.The index evaluated the working conditions for women across the 29 countries that are members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
ii.The countries are ranked based on 10-point criteria like: labour force participation (LFP) rate, Higher education, Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) exams taken by women, gender wage gap, women in managerial positions, women on company boards, women in government, net child-care costs, paid leave for mothers and paid leave for fathers.
iii.The index revealed that the average paid maternity leave across the 29 countries was 31.6 weeks, with Hungary offering 78.9 weeks of paid leave for new mothers.
Top 5 best countries for working women in 2025:
| Rank | Name of the Country | Region |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden | Europe |
| 2 | Iceland | Europe |
| 3 | Finland | Europe |
| 4 | Norway | Europe |
| 5 | Portugal | Europe |
Key Findings:
i.As per the index, the year 2024 was significant for elections from the political front. It revealed that member countries of OECD saw an average increase in women’s parliamentary representation to 34%.
- Also, countries like: Japan and UK saw significant increase, with representation increasing to 16% (up from 10%) and 41% (up from 35%), respectively.
- While, the United States of America (USA) saw a marginal decrease, with representation decreasing to 28.7%.
ii.The report showed that average wage across 29 countries were still 11.4% lower for women compared to men.
iii.The index further revealed that women representation on corporate boards increased to 33%. Additionally, women’s LFP increased from 65.8% to 66.6%.
- However, women’s LFP is still lower compared to men at 81%.
Other Key Highlights:
i.New Zealand emerged as the improved country on the index, moving up by 8 places to 6th spot.
- Also, South Korea has improved its ranking, from 29th (in 2024) to 28th spot, marking its first improvement in 11 years.
ii.The index showed that woman in Nordic countries like: Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland hold minimum 45% of parliamentary seats.
iii.Other top 10 countries: France (7th), Spain (8th), Denmark (9th) and Australia (10th).
iv.Bottom 3 countries on the index are: Japan (27th), South Korea (28th) and Turkey (29th). The report cited these 3 countries are influenced by deep-rooted societal norms and wage gap, which are the main factors for under-representation of women in leadership roles.
- At present, these bottom 3 countries show low numbers of women in management (under 17%), in parliamentary roles (less than 20%), and corporate boards (less than 21%).
About Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD):
Secretary-General- Mathias Cormann
Headquarters- Paris, France
Established- 1961
