White Paper Accelerating Gender Parity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The document argues that while women's education levels have risen, gender gaps in leadership and sectoral segregation persist. It identifies a strategic opportunity to leverage female talent in high-growth sectors to drive innovation and prevent widening gaps caused by technological disruption. The report provides specific acceleration strategies for the education, financial services, consumer/retail, and care sectors, as well as STEM fields (engineering, biotechnology, IT, and life sciences academia). Systemic recommendations include combating media stereotypes, implementing inclusive business practices, and establishing government-mandated equality standards. It highlights successful examples such as AirBnB's recruitment shifts, Saudi Aramco's STEM scholarships, and the Chile Gender Parity Task Force.

• Women are disproportionately affected by job losses in declining sectors, facing five jobs lost for every job gained, compared to three lost for every one gained for men.
• The financial services sector exhibits a severe gender gap at the executive level, with women holding only 14% of board seats and 2% of CEO positions, despite comprising 60% of the global workforce.
• In the UK financial services industry, men earn on average 40% more per hour than women, representing the highest gender pay gap of any industry in the country.
• The care sector is heavily feminized, with women making up approximately 70% of the workforce, yet they remain clustered in lower-level roles with limited advancement to senior positions.
• In the apparel retail segment, women influence 85% of purchases and make up 60% of employees, but they hold only 20% of executive teams and 10% of executive boards.
• STEM fields suffer from 'leaky talent pipelines'; for example, women represent 20% of engineering graduates but only 11% of the engineering workforce.
• In life sciences academia, despite women making up over 50% of PhD graduates, they are underrepresented in senior roles, with only one-fifth of full professors being women.
• Women with small children in science-related academia are 28% less likely to obtain tenured positions than those without children.
• Japan is strategically investing in healthcare robots to address labour shortages and improve quality, aiming for a 50 billion yen market for healthcare robots by 2020.
• The Chile Gender Parity Task Force, backed by President Bachelet, focuses on four areas: increasing female labour market participation, increasing female leadership, narrowing the wage gap, and shifting gender stereotypes.

APA

World Economic Forum (2017). White Paper Accelerating Gender Parity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_White_Paper_Gender_Parity_4IR.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. White Paper Accelerating Gender Parity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. 2017. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_White_Paper_Gender_Parity_4IR.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=White Paper Accelerating Gender Parity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution |date=July 2017 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_White_Paper_Gender_Parity_4IR.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2017white, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{White Paper Accelerating Gender Parity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = jul, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_EGW_White_Paper_Gender_Parity_4IR.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }