The World Economic Forum (WEF) has ranked Jamaica among 35 countries offering equal education opportunities for boys and girls. A total of 148 countries were surveyed.

In welcoming the ranking published Thursday in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Report, Education Minister Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon said it is a proud reflection of Jamaica’s long-standing commitment to learning as the foundation of national development.

“Our efforts to remove barriers to access, promote gender equity, and strengthen our institutions are delivering real impact. Now our focus must be on translating this educational success into greater equality in the workforce and in leadership,” Morris Dixon said in a press release.

The Global Gender Gap Report, now in its 19th edition, is produced annually by the WEF, a globally respected institution that benchmarks national progress in four key areas — educational attainment, economic participation and opportunity, health and survival, and political empowerment.

Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WEF focuses on shaping policy, innovation, and inclusive development.

The report is a key international tool that tracks how countries are closing gender gaps in access and opportunity.

Overall, the 2025 report ranked Jamaica 38th of the 148 countries measured in the Gender Gap Index, with notable improvements in areas such as political leadership, skilled workforce participation, and ministerial representation for women.

The 38th rank represents a one place drop for Jamaica when compared to 2024, despite a gain in the country’s points — 0.757 to 0.762 — with 1.000 being the perfect score.

For 2025 Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago return to the index, while Gabon is included for the first time, which explains Jamaica’s negligible downward movement. Qatar, which featured in the 2024 index, is not covered in this edition.

Jamaica was also ranked 19th of the 148 countries for economic participation and opportunities for females, above heavy hitters including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Jamaica finished 38th on the list for female representation at the ministerial level, with 33.3 per cent of the country’s Cabinet positions being held by women and among the countries with a perfect score for women in professional and technical roles as well as women in legislative senior official and managerial roles.

Responding to the report, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport Olivia Grange said it is a powerful reminder that Jamaica is moving in the right direction.

“From Parliament to the Cabinet, from our communities to our businesses, we are seeing more women step into spaces of leadership and influence. But true gender equality demands more. We must continue to break down barriers, ensuring our women are safe, economically empowered, and equally represented across all sectors of society. The Government remains committed to closing every gap so that no Jamaican is left behind,” said Grange.

According to Grange, Jamaica’s performance not only highlights areas of achievement but also presents a clear road map for future action.

She added that the Government, in collaboration with civil society and development partners, remains committed to creating a fair and inclusive society in which every Jamaican has the opportunity to thrive, regardless of gender.

In the meantime, the report, in its overview, noted that the global gender gap score in 2025 for all 148 economies included in the index was at 68.8 per cent.

“The 2025 Global Gender Gap Index shows that no economy has yet achieved full gender parity. Iceland (92.6 per cent) continues to lead the Global Gender Gap Index, holding the top position for 16 consecutive years, and remains the only economy to have closed more than 90 per cent of its gender gap since 2022,” the overview said.

Northern America leads the 2025 regional gender gap rankings, having closed 75.8 per cent of its overall gender gap. With an economic parity score of 76.1 per cent, the region also ranks first in economic participation and opportunity.

Europe follows in the ranking in second place, with three-quarters of the regional gender gap closed (75.1 per cent), despite the performance being somewhat uneven across the 40 economies in the block.

The report ranked Latin America and the Caribbean, with a score of 74.5 per cent, third. It pointed out that the region continues to have the fastest rate of progress, having advanced 8.6 percentage points since 2006.

“Despite achieving the third-lowest score globally in economic participation and opportunity (65.6 per cent), every economy in the region has closed at least 50 per cent of its economic gap. The region advances in close step with less than 8.4 percentage points separating the top and bottom performers in this sub-index.

MORRIS DIXON… now our focus must be on translating this educational success into greater equality in the workforce and in leadership