Inequalities between women and men in the labour market have widened during the pandemic, erasing at least two years of progress, according to PwC.
The estimates show that it will be necessary 33 years for female labour force participation rate to match men’s current 80%.
Female unemployment rate will need 9 years to match men’s current rate and 63 years to close the gender pay gap.
PwC estimates a ”COVID-19 gap”, finding there were 5.1 million more women unemployed and 5.2 million fewer women participating in the labour market than before pandemic.
New Zealand tops the list of countries with the highest labour market progress for women for the first time, followed by Luxembourg and Slovenia.
The United Kingdom climbed seven places (from 16th to 9th), the biggest rise in the rankings of all 33 OECD countries.
At the other end, Canada saw the biggest drop in the rankings, falling eight places from 12th to 20th. The United States dropped four places, from 22nd to 26th.
The PwC Women in Work Index, now in its tenth edition, assesses women’s employment outcomes across 33 OECD countries.
