These are the 10 best countries to be a women | The same country ranks first for the 12th year in a row |

Northern European countries often rank among the happiest countries on Earth, being praised for their array of free public services and social inclusion. 

Studies have shown that same countries score particularly high in taking care of their elderly, as well, with Danish women over 65 reporting to be the happiest in the European bloc. It's little surprise, then, that Scandinavian countries dominated the 2020 list of the Best Countries for Women.

It is no secret that some countries are better than others for women, often due to the status of their social and political climates. But have you ever wondered which country in the world is the best place for women to live?

No country has it all when it comes to gender equality, but some places are better than others to be a woman. The Women Peace and Security Index seeks to understand these global differences by measuring women’s inclusion in society, sense of security, and exposure to discrimination, key indicators of how women are faring. The latest data show that some of the best countries for women.

1) Iceland

For the 11th year in a row, Iceland is the country ranking first in the World Equality Forum Geneva Equality List. The list looks into 14 variables to measure equality, such as political participation, health, education, and employment to see how close women are to being equal to men in the 153 countries.

Iceland is often celebrated for its geothermal pools, breathtaking glaciers and amazing views of the northern lights. But it has another claim to fame. It is apparently the best place in the world to be a woman.

The Nordic nation’s progressive attitudes toward women have given it much to boast about. It was the first country to democratically elect a female president, Vigdis Finnbogadottir, who came to power in 1980. The current prime minister, Katrin Jakobsdottir, who was elected in 2017, is the second woman in that position in Iceland’s history. Iceland has also passed a raft of legislation aimed at reducing pay inequality, ensuring women are better represented at the highest levels in business and guaranteeing shared paid parental leave. 

2) Finland

Finland is often regarded as one of the world’s leaders for women’s rights and gender equality, placing second in the World Economic Forum Gender Gap Report in 2014, rising from third place in 2010. On International Women’s Day in March 2017, Prime Minister Juha Sipilä announced that Finland would hold the world’s first ever prize for gender equality, with an sum of 150,000 euros.

Since 1987, The Act on Equality Between Women and Men has sought to prevent sex discrimination, promote gender equality, and improve the status of women in society and the workplace. A notable amendment in 1995 was that official committees and councils needed at least 40% of their members to be female.

3) Norway

Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls continues to be an important priority for Norway’s foreign policy. The new action plan on gender equality and women’s rights in Norway’s foreign and development policy (2016–2020) will support the 2030 Agenda’s gender dimension and the full implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. The Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2015–2018) continues to guide Norway’s work for women’s effective participation in peace processes and peacebuilding.

4) New Zealand

New Zealand’s policy on women is articulated in the Action Plan for New Zealand Women (the Action Plan), published in March 2004. The Action Plan is a whole-of-government approach to improving the circumstances of New Zealand women. It seeks to improve a range of outcomes for women and reduce inequalities between men and women and between different groups of women.

Significant gains have been made for New Zealand women and girls in the education system like more women than men are enrolled at public Tertiary Education Institutions. In 2002, 57% tertiary students were women. 16% of all women aged 15 and over were enrolled in tertiary education at some time during 2002, compared with 12% of men aged 15 and over.

                                                                              

5) Sweden

The progress made towards gender equality has contributed to Sweden’s high levels of employment and growth. But it has not happened by itself; it is largely the result of political struggle and decisions, together with hard work from a strong civil society. However, important challenges remain and there is work to do for the feminist government. Women and men, girls and boys still do not have access to resources and power on equal terms.

 Women and men have the same rights and opportunities to be active citizens and to shape the conditions for decision-making. Women and men have the same opportunities and conditions with regard to paid work which gives economic independence through out life. Women and men, girls and boys have the same opportunities and conditions with regard to education, study options and personal development. Women and men  have the same responsibility for housework and have the opportunity to give and receive care on equal terms. They have the same conditions for a good health and be offered care on equal terms.

6) Namibia

Namibia has participated in the 1995 Beijing United Nations Fourth World Conference on women. The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, which was an outcome of this gathering, is a powerful platform and agenda for the empowerment of women. It calls for the integration of gender perspectives in all policies and programs, mainly on concrete measures to address the critical areas of concern. 

The Platform calls, among others, for action to protect and promote the human rights of women and the girl child as an integral part of the universal human rights; to eradicate the persistent and increasing burden of poverty on women; to remove all obstacles to women’s full participation in public life and decision making at all levels including the family; to eliminate all forms of violence against women; to ensure equal access for girl children and women to education and health services; to promote economic autonomy for women and ensure their access to productive resources. 

7) Rwanda

President Kagame led this movement, realizing women were necessary for the country’s recovery because there simply were not enough men to rebuild. The government rewrote the constitution in 2003, encouraging female education and requiring at least 30 percent of positions in parliament to be held by women.

In the first election following this change, the requirement was exceeded with 48 percent of seats going to women. The following election saw an even greater increase with 64% of parliamentary seats being held by females. This makes Rwanda number one in a global ranking of countries with the most women in legislature. For comparison, The United States ranks 96 with only 19 percent of seats going to women.

8) Lithuania

Currently, women in Lithuania do not have adequate influence over policy making, but the situation is beginning to change for the better. In 1996, the highest level of women’s representation in parliament among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe was achieved in Lithuania (18.1%). 

It is important to note that Lithuania always surpassed its Baltic neighbours on this issue, and it was first among the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe in advancing gender equality. More recently, Latvia and Estonia have been gaining momentum. After the last parliamentary elections in Latvia, three of the 12 cabinet ministers and three of the six state ministers were women. There is only one woman out of the 15 members of the Cabinet of Ministers in Lithuania.

 Education is one of the areas in which the women of Lithuania and the whole of Central and Eastern Europe have made the most progress. Women in Lithuania are literate and have equal opportunities with men to education. They put much more effort into striving to attain a higher level of education than men

                            9) Ireland

In recent years, Ireland has seen significant progress in terms of women’s equality. The period of economic growth between 1995 and 2007 did much to advance the position of Irish women in society. Since 2008, the economic recession and austerity has also had a dramatic impact on women. Ireland is a traditionally Catholic and conservative country, as reflected in its 1937 Constitution, which has had a significant bearing on the status of Irish women throughout its history.  

Some of the recent gains for women’s equality include increased employment, which exceeded the Lisbon target of 60% in 2007 and 2008. The Central Statistics Office (CSO, 2011) showed that 53% of women aged 25-34 have third-level qualifications, and girls are more likely than boys to achieve ‘A’ grades in the Leaving Certificate in the subjects of English, Irish, French, Biology, Chemistry, Art, and Music. Access to healthcare has improved, and this year equality in political decision making has seen a significant progression with the introduction to the Electoral Amendment (Political Funding) Bill (2011), which introduces 30% candidate selection quotas at national level. 

10) Switzerland

Switzerland will promote women’s freedom of action and of expression, and seek to connect implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to move forward complementary goals. The translation of related actions into internal policies remains a priority. It intends in particular to combat wage discrimination, achieve a better work-family balance and act against domestic violence. Switzerland pledges to continue supporting UN Women and will increase its contribution to almost USD 50 million for the 2015 to 2017 period.

At the end of 2018, 33% of the seats in the National Council were held by women (66 women and 134 men) compared to 15.2% of the seats in the Council of States (7 women and 39 men). In the 2015 elections, the proportion of women elected to the National Council exceeded the 30% mark for the first time, at 32%. In the Council of States, meanwhile, it fell to its lowest rate since 1991. The risk is high that the number of women in the Council of States will decline further in the 2019 elections.