Dhaka: In a major setback on gender parity, Bangladesh has dropped 55 places to 79th in the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Index 2026, recording the sharpest decline among the 145 economies assessed, local media reported.
The index’s 20th edition, released on Wednesday, showed Bangladesh closing just 71.2 per cent of its gender gap, down from 77.5 per cent a year earlier. The fall in gender parity was largely driven by a steep 21.2-percentage-point deterioration in political empowerment.
Speaking to Bangladesh’s newspaper The Business Standard, Fahmida Khatun, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in Dhaka, said women had long held a stronger presence in Bangladesh’s political arena, serving as Prime Minister, speaker of parliament, and directly elected MPs.
“However, the data used in the 2026 index show that women’s political participation has declined from previous years. The share of women among directly elected MPs has fallen, as has their representation among ministers. This has weakened Bangladesh’s performance in political empowerment”, she said.
Bangladesh performed weakest in Economic Participation and Opportunity, closing 41.9 per cent of the gap in 2026 compared with 45.7 per cent last year.
The decline was largely attributed to lower parity in estimated earned income, labour-force participation and senior workforce leadership, which dropped by 15, 5.7 and 1.3 percentage points, respectively.
Additionally, Bangladesh has slipped to 12th globally in political empowerment, with gender parity standing at 50.9 per cent, a sharp drop from third place last year. Parliamentary parity also fell to a record low of 2.4 per cent during the measured period.
Earlier this year, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) highlighted that Bangladesh’s electoral landscape showed a persistent gender gap, with women active as voters, but their transition to leadership roles remains alarmingly slow.
A dialogue held in Dhaka opened with a symbolic performance titled ‘Women to Discover, Develop, and Lead’, jointly presented by UNDP and the Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC) to promote women’s voices in the democratic process.
Highlighting the striking disparity, the UNDP noted that Bangladesh’s Representation of the People Order (RPO) mandates 33 per cent female representation in political party committees by 2030, while the current level stands at a mere 2.33 per cent, prompting calls for immediate and concerted action.
Bangladesh’s Election Commissioner, Anwarul Islam Sarker, placed the responsibility squarely on political parties, stating, “Political parties must take more initiatives regarding nominations for women candidates. The Election Commission acts as a referee; without initiatives from both sides, progress is not possible.”
–IANS
