Estonia ranks 9th in Female Opportunity Index 2021

  • 2021-07-07
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN - Estonia has ranked ninth in the world in terms of equal opportunities for women, the daily Postimees writes, citing an analysis carried out by German neobank N26.

The study measured women's opportunities and achievements around the world based on comparable data from 100 countries. The aim was to look at inequalities between men and women, both in the workplace and in society.

The top three of the index are Norway, Finland and Iceland. Estonia ranks ninth, while Latvia is even higher, in eighth position. Lithuania ranks 22nd in the index.

The top 10 also includes the United Kingdom, Germany, New Zealand, Denmark and Slovakia.

In terms of political representation, the study included data from 1970-2020 and looked at how many years a woman has run the country. Estonia scored zero because Kaja Kallas' term as prime minister did not fall within the study period.

The representation of women in higher positions and entrepreneurship, the pay gap between men and women, and women's access to education were also examined.

Estonia stands out the most among the 100 countries with the longest period of maternity leave -- 1,162 days.