I strong, feminist, radical and angry, said on her mask this woman in a demonstration in Paris on March 6.

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BERTRAND GUAY / AFP

The health crisis has delayed the time needed to achieve gender equality by more than a generation, according to the annual study released on Wednesday by the World Economic Forum (WEF, an organization known as the Davos Economic Forum).

While this report highlights strong disparities from one country to another, it will still take 135.6 years to achieve parity on a global scale.

It will now take thirty-six more years to fill the gaps both economically and politically, health or education, underlines this annual study on gender inequalities in the world, this is the fifteenth edition.

"The pandemic has had a fundamental impact on gender equality, both in the workplace and at home, reversing years of progress," said Saadia Zahidi, member of the executive committee of the Economic Forum global, cited in the press release accompanying the study.

Women's double mental burden has worsened

The repercussions of the health crisis were more severe for women who were more numerous to lose their jobs, in part because of their over-representation in sectors related to consumption which were most directly affected by the measures of confinement.

According to figures from the International Labor Organization (ILO), women's job loss reached 5% in 2020, compared to 3.9% for men, the study cited in support.

The health crisis has also increased the double burden of women between work and household responsibilities, with household chores, childcare and eldercare “falling disproportionately” on them.

The gap has widened especially at the political level, according to this index carried out every year since 2006. While it shows an improvement in more than half of the 156 countries reviewed, women occupy only 26.1 % of parliamentary seats and 22.6% of ministerial positions globally.

Continuing its current trajectory, the gender gap in politics should take 145.5 years to close, compared to 95 years in the previous edition of the report, dating from the end of 2019.

For the twelfth year in a row, Iceland remained at the top of the rankings, remaining the most equal country in the world.

France fell a notch in 2021, to sixteenth place out of 156 countries.

She ranks twentieth in political emancipation, although she comes first for the share of women in ministerial positions.

France still has a long way to go in the labor market, however.

The study notes that more French women work part-time, but also highlights the differences in income and wages.

The estimated income of women is still only 71% of that of men in France, according to these data.

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