In this article, we will be covering the 25 best countries for women in terms of economic opportunity. This article will outline the recent trends in female entrepreneurship and employment. If you want to skip our analysis, you can go directly to the 5 Best Countries for Women in Terms of Economic Opportunity.

According to the World Economic Forum's report, the economic opportunity gap between men and women has closed by 60.1% between 2022 and 2023, but complete parity might not be achieved until 2192, 169 years from 2023. North America is the best region for women in terms of economic opportunity and has been awarded a score of 77.6% by the World Economic Forum for its attempts to close the economic participation gap. It is followed closely by Europe with a score of 68.8%.

Statistically, countries and regions that offer more economic opportunities for women have some of the best economies in the world. For example, Iceland, Sweden, and Germany have some of the lowest levels of gender disparity in the world, and they also rank among the richest countries in the world. According to a report by the International Labour Organization, a mere 25% reduction in the gender gap can cause the global GDP to increase by $5.3 trillion.

The region with the largest economic participation and opportunity gender gap is South Asia, but its efforts to close this gap have improved its score by 1.4% since 2022. These efforts are further supported by companies working to bring more women into male-dominated fields. For example, Adobe Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBE) is offering 'Women-In-Tech' scholarships to help create more avenues for women in STEM in India, which currently ranks among the worst countries for women in terms of economic opportunity.

On December 4, which was commemorated by COP28 as Gender Equality Day, Emirates News Agency reported that climate change can push 158 million women below the poverty line by 2050. It is, therefore, especially pertinent for South Asian countries such as India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, to create more economic opportunities for women as they are some of the most affected countries by global warming.

Women in Entrepreneurship 

The United States is one of the most opportune countries for female entrepreneurs and is home to 6 out of 10 richest women in the world. On May 21, Tech Crunch reported that American women have a great degree of economic influence and control assets worth more than $10 trillion.

According to a report by Ecommerce Tips, the percentage of female business owners in America has gradually increased to 42% in 2023 since the pandemic, with women constituting nearly half of all new business owners. This is partially due to the government's support for female-led ventures through initiatives such as 'Women in Sustainable Economy'.

In Europe, however, there are much fewer female entrepreneurs in comparison to men. According to the Vice president of the European Business Angel Network, women constitute only 30% of startup owners and 10% of angel investors, and their companies receive only 2% of venture capital. On June 23, UN Women announced its collaboration with Ecem Alt?ok, an Investment Director at Y?ld?z Holding, to support 53 female entrepreneurs across the world with investments worth more than $4 million. According to Alt?ok, insufficient access to finance, lack of mentorship opportunities, and balancing entrepreneurial requirements with family responsibilities are some of the major challenges faced by female entrepreneurs. Alt?ok believes that encouraging female entrepreneurs will be exponentially beneficial for the economy and society. She further added:

Women in the Labor Force

While the economic opportunities for women are gradually increasing around the world, the World Economic Forum has reported that they represent less than half of the labor force at present and are found in only 32.2% of senior leadership positions. In 2023, the proportion of women in leadership positions across the world decreased after consistently increasing at an annual rate of 1% since 2014. This gender disparity in economic opportunity is partially rooted in women's diminished access to quality education in comparison to men across the world. For example, while the total number of AI experts in the world has grown six times from 2016 to 2022, the percentage of female AI experts has only increased by 4%. The data regarding student enrollment in courses related to AI and big data provided by Coursera Inc. (NYSE:COUR) also reflects an alarming gender disparity of 66.3%.

World Economic Forum's cross-industrial analysis of women's participation in the labor force suggests that the women who enter the education, retail, and consumer services industries have a much better chance of being promoted to C-suite level positions in comparison with the construction, real estate, and financial services industries where only half of the women make it to leadership positions.

Companies Creating Economic Opportunities for Women

Some of the major companies creating economic opportunities for women are Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC), Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA), and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS). 

On October 7, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) announced its collaboration with Kiva, a microlending organization, to support female entrepreneurs, especially women of color, with investments worth $2 million. The company has previously collaborated with organizations such as the Tory Burch Foundation to provide financial assistance and mentorship to more than 30,000 female business owners in 85 countries across the world.

On October 17, Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC) reported its earnings for the fiscal third quarter of 2023. The company's EPS was $0.9 and it outperformed EPS estimates by $0.08. Bank of America Corporation's (NYSE:BAC) revenue for the quarter grew by 2.71% year over year and amounted to $25.17 billion, beating market estimates by $93.31 million.

On November 15, Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) launched the Mastercard Strive Women initiative in collaboration with CARE, an international humanitarian agency. This program aims to provide $9 million in grants to at least 300,000 female entrepreneurs across the world.

Wall Street analysts are positive on Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA). On December 7, Tigress Financial's analyst, Ivan Feinseth maintained a strong buy rating on Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) and raised his price target from $476 to $495. Over the past 3 months, 23 Wall Street analysts have given buy recommendations on Mastercard Inc.'s (NYSE:MA) stock. The stock has an average price forecast of $450 and a high price target of $495. As of December 21, Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) has returned nearly 22% to its investors on a year-to-date basis.

In the fiscal third quarter of 2023, 140 hedge funds held positions in Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) which amounted to $15.3 billion. This is compared to 139 hedge funds in the second quarter, with positions worth $14.7 billion. At the close of the third quarter, Charles Akre’s Akre Capital Management was the most dominant shareholder in Mastercard Inc. (NYSE:MA) with a position worth $2.3 million.  The hedge fund sentiment for the stock is positive.

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS), a major producer of computational software and hardware, supports the inclusion of women in IT by collaborating with organizations such as Girls Who Code and organizing networking events such as the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing.  It is currently offering scholarships in Ireland worth $5,000 for women in technology.

On September 12, Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) introduced OrCAD X, an AI-driven system design solution, which can help designers collaborate through OnCloud and increase their production speed by 5 times. OrCAD X assists designers by offering advanced customization of display and environment and also has an integrated analysis feature which offers valuable insight and allows designers to visualize the impact of their design before completion.

With this context, let's take a look at the 25 best countries for women in terms of economic opportunity.

Aila Images/Shutterstock.com

Our Methodology

For our list of the 25 best countries for women in terms of economic opportunity, we calculated a score for each country between 0 and 100 based on two metrics, the per capita GDP and women's economic participation and opportunity score. The per capita GDP, as of 2023, was sourced from the IMF and the economic participation and opportunity score was sourced from the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2023. We calculated the scores by multiplying each country's GDP per capita with its economic participation and opportunity score. The countries are ranked in ascending order of our calculated scores.

By the way, Insider Monkey is an investing website that tracks the movements of corporate insiders and hedge funds. By using a consensus approach, we identify the best stock picks of more than 900 hedge funds investing in US stocks. The top 10 consensus stock picks of hedge funds outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). Whether you are a beginner investor or professional one looking for the best stocks to buy, you can benefit from the wisdom of hedge funds and corporate insiders.

25 Best Countries for Women in Terms of Economic Opportunity

25. Italy

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.62

GDP per capita (in thousands): $37.15

Insider Monkey score:  22.96

According to a report by the European Union, Italy has a gender employment gap of 19.3%, and as per Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, nearly 22% of its businesses are owned by women. In order to create more economic opportunities for women, the Italian government is investing $215 billion to help businesses achieve their gender equity goals.

24. Malta

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.64

GDP per capita (in thousands): $38.72

Insider Monkey score:  24.82

According to a report by Business Now, Malta has a remarkably low gender wage gap of 8.7% and also ranks 14th on the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE)'s gender equality index.

23. Brunei Darussalam

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.76

GDP per capita (in thousands): $34.38

Insider Monkey score:  26.13

In Brunei Darussalam, women are found in more than half of senior positions in the government sector. According to Women's UN Report Network, women in the private sector make up 37% of senior and middle managers, which is the highest percentage in Southeast Asia.

22. United Arab Emirates

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.54

GDP per capita (in thousands): $50.60

Insider Monkey score:  27.12

Women in the United Arab Emirates form half of the country's parliament and, as per Gulf Today's report, contribute more than 20% to its GDP. In order to maintain gender equity in the corporate sector, the UAE government has sanctioned public companies to have at least 1 woman on their board of directors.

21. France

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.72

GDP per capita (in thousands): $46.32

Insider Monkey score:  33.21

France has the 21st highest rate of gender parity across the world. It also has a higher percentage of female managers and a smaller gender gap in labor force participation than the OECD averages.

20. Germany

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.67

GDP per capita (in thousands): $52.82

Insider Monkey score:  35.13

Germany ranks 5th in Europe and 6th in the world for its efforts to create gender parity and more economic opportunities for women. The German government has also promised to assist UN Women's efforts towards gender equality with a funding of $27.6 million.

19. New Zealand

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.73

GDP per capita (in thousands): $48.07

Insider Monkey score:  35.19

New Zealand has the highest gender parity score in the East Asia and Pacific region and has also achieved complete parity between men and women in educational attainment.

18. United Kingdom

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.73

GDP per capita (in thousands): $48.91

Insider Monkey score:  35.75

Women in the United Kingdom have better employment and entrepreneurial opportunities compared to most OECD countries. They have a 7% gap with men in labor force participation and constitute 37% of managers and 28% of entrepreneurs in the country.

17. Israel

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.69

GDP per capita (in thousands): $53.20

Insider Monkey score:  36.60

Israel ranks second in the Middle East and North African region for its low rate of gender disparity. Between 2022 and 2023, it has closed its gender gap in economic participation and opportunity by 68.9% and has achieved complete gender equality in education attainment.

16. Belgium

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.73

GDP per capita (in thousands): $53.66

Insider Monkey score:  39.06

According to a report by PwC, the gender pay gap in Belgium amounts to 4.8%, which is the third lowest value among OECD countries. Belgian women have a labor force participation rate of 65.7% and as per OECD's report, form 58.9% of the workforce in the public sector.

15. Canada

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.74

GDP per capita (in thousands): $53.25

Insider Monkey score:  39.41

In September 2023, the Canadian government allocated $3 million towards increasing the economic participation and empowerment of women. This allocation was preceded by budgetary funding worth $160 million made earlier towards the organizations supporting the economic prosperity of women.

14. Austria

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.69

GDP per capita (in thousands): $58.01

Insider Monkey score:  40.14

Austria is the 10th best country in the European Union in terms of gender equality and ranks 44th in the world for gender parity in labor force participation with a high score of 84.4%.

13. Qatar

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.51

GDP per capita (in thousands): $81.97

Insider Monkey score:  41.64

Qatar is the 13th best country for women in terms of economic opportunity and also ranks 13th in the world for wage equality between men and women. According to Qatar News Agency's report, the country also has the highest percentage of women in the labor force and in universities within the Gulf region.

12. Netherlands

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.68

GDP per capita (in thousands): $61.77

Insider Monkey score:  42.25

In 2023, the Netherlands has improved its global ranking by 2 positions for closing its gender gap in economic participation and opportunity by 68.4%. It also ranks 22nd in the world for female participation in the labor force.

11. Finland

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.78

GDP per capita (in thousands): $54.41

Insider Monkey score:  42.60

Finland has the third-highest rate of gender equality in the world and according to a report by International Gender Equality Prize, 49% of its workforce comprises women. It is also regarded as the third best country for women to work in based on gender equality in the workplace.

10. Sweden

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.80

GDP per capita (in thousands): $55.22

Insider Monkey score:  43.90

Sweden has achieved complete parity between male and female professional and technical workers and has the 11th-highest female labor force participation rate in the world.

9. Australia

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.74

GDP per capita (in thousands): $63.49

Insider Monkey score:  46.98

According to a report by ABC News, Australia closed its gender pay gap by 1.1% in 2023. For further improvement, the Australian government has mandated all companies employing more than 100 people to disclose their data regarding gender disparity in wages by February 2024.

8. Denmark

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.73

GDP per capita (in thousands): $71.40

Insider Monkey score:  51.91

Denmark has improved its global ranking for women's economic participation and opportunity from 54th to 46th position in 2023. It also ranks 3rd on the Gender Equality Index among the members of the European Union.

7. United States of America

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.78

GDP per capita (in thousands): $80.41

Insider Monkey score:  62.72

The United States government has allocated $163 million to encourage female participation in male-dominated industries such as energy and forest management. USAID has also supported this initiative with a contribution of $42 million.

6. Iceland

Economic Opportunity for Women score: 0.80

GDP per capita (in thousands): $78.84

Insider Monkey score:  62.76

Iceland is the 6th best country for women in terms of economic opportunity and has remained the most gender-equal country for the last 14 consecutive years. In 2023, Iceland closed its gender gap by 90%.

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Disclosure: None. 25 Best Countries for Women in Terms of Economic Opportunity is originally published on Insider Monkey