Women make less money than men do in the same job in virtually every nation in the world. In the United States, the figure has been about 70% for years, with no sign that it will change soon. Additionally, the disparity holds true in almost all industries, although women do better in some than others. The United States is not the worst nation by this measure, according to recent research, but it is nearer the bottom than the top.
SmartSurvey reviewed employee engagement data for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) counties. Among the primary factors considered were the gender wage gap by nation, women in the workforce and maternal and parental leave. It also considered how hard it is for women to start new businesses, which takes into account the average cost to register a business and the number of days to start a new business.
Twenty-seven countries were ranked on a scale on which 10.0 is the highest grade possible. Scandinavian nations did the best. Norway ranked first with a score of 8.54. Denmark was next with a score of 8.26, followed by Finland at 8.16. These were the only countries with a rank over 8.0.
Two nations have scores under 4.0. Mexico did the worst at 3.41. The second from the bottom, South Korea, had a score of 3.89.
The United States did not do particularly well. It ranked 18th out of 27 with a score of 6.50.
These are the best and worst countries for women to work:
- Norway, 8.54
- Denmark, 8.26
- Finland, 8.16
- New Zealand, 7.99
- Sweden, 7.97
- Portugal, 7.67
- France, 7.65
- Canada, 7.56
- Greece, 7.46
- Slovakia, 7.39
- Australia, 7.36
- United Kingdom, 7.31
- Belgium, 7.24
- Iceland, 6.98
- Czech Republic, 6.74
- Germany, 6.55
- Switzerland, 6.55
- United States, 6.50
- Chile, 6.42
- Austria, 6.18
- Israel, 6.07
- Italy, 5.43
- Japan, 5.40
- Colombia, 5.24
- Poland, 4.41
- South Korea, 3.89
- Mexico, 3.41
Click here to see the 28 most popular jobs held by women.
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