With an Index score of 92, Iceland is the most progressive of the 22 countries covered this year. It is well ahead of all G20 countries with a 10-point lead over the next highest-ranking countries – Spain and the UK (Index score of 82).
Saudi Arabia and Indonesia achieve the lowest scores, both below 50. The average Index score (68) for the G20 hides some significant differences between countries: twelve countries have a score above average, while ten countries – including two G7 countries, Japan and Germany – obtain a score equal to the average or lower.
The Reykjavik Index for Leadership Index 2021/ 2022 for the G20+ (22 countries)
Overall, women are more likely than men to perceive men and women as equally suitable for leadership: the average Index score across the G20 is 71 for women vs 64 for men. The two exceptions are Japan – where the score for women is one point lower than their male counterparts – and Brazil where there is no difference in the attitudes of men and women.
Countries with the widest dissonance between the views of women and men are Indonesia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia (bottom of the ranking) and Australia.
The Reykjavík Index for Leadership 2021/2022: women/men by G20+ country
The Reykjavík Index also provides insight into how much different age groups agree or disagree that men and women are equally suitable to lead.
At the G20 level, there is very little difference between the Index scores of the younger and older age groups. However, these average scores mask significant differences at the country level, particularly within the 18-34 and 55-65 age groups, as revealed on the following pages.
The Reykjavík Index for Leadership 2021/2022: G20 and G7 average by age group
Conversely, the Index scores across the G7 countries highlight a generational gap: younger are people hold the least progressive views towards gender and leadership.
Compared to older people, they are significantly less likely to think that men and women are equally suitable to lead across the 23 different economic sectors.
The Reykjavík Index for Leadership 2021/2022: age group scores in selected G20+ countries
At a country-level, the Index scores by age groups reveal two different patterns: one group of countries where younger people hold less progressive views towards female leadership than their parents or grandparents – and one group where younger people are more progressive in their views.
With a score of 95, Icelandic youth is the most progressive cohort across all countries covered, and more progressive than the older Icelandic generation (there is seven-point gap with the 55 -65 age group). A similar generational trend can be seen in Mexico, South Africa, and South Korea.
Across 11 countries, younger people are more prejudiced towards women in positions of leadership compared to their older counterparts. This generational gap is especially pronounced in Japan, Germany, and Australia where the Index score of the 18-34 age group is at least 10 points below the score of the 55-65 age group.
However, there is also a third group of countries where this generational gap is very narrow: for example, this is the case in Urban India and Brazil.
Across the G20, the dissonance between the views held by women and men is particularly pronounced among the 18-34, with a nine-point gap. Young men in the G20 are the most prejudiced segment towards female leadership, while the views of women are more consistent.
Conversely, for the G7, younger people are less progressive than their predecessors. The gap between the views of women and men barely narrows across the age groups. With a score of 66, young men again are the group most prejudiced against female leadership in the G7.
The Reykjavík Index for Leadership 2021/2022: G20 and G7 average scores by age group for women and men
On average, across the G20 countries, there is a nine-point gap between the scores of young women (71) and young men (62). In the G7, the gap is slightly narrower (six points). Countries with the widest dissonance between the views of young women and young men are Australia (17-point gap), followed by South Korea (16-point gap), Poland and France (15-point gap for both).
Japan is the only country where young women are more prejudiced about gender and leadership than their male counterparts.
By contrast, in Brazil there is no difference in the attitudes of young women and men. In Urban India there is just a one-point difference.
On average, across the G20 countries, there is a four-point gap between the scores of women (70) and men (66) aged 55-65. In the G7, there is a five-point gap (80 vs 75).
In the three Latin American countries as well as in Spain, women of this older generation are more prejudiced than their male counterparts. With a 21-point gap, Mexico is the country with the widest gap between the views of older men and older women. Conversely, older men in South Korea, Italy and Germany are more prejudiced against female leadership than women. In Japan and the US, there is very little difference in the attitudes of older women and men.
At the G20 level, there are significant differences between sectors: Media and Entertainment is the sector perceived to be most suitable for gender equality in leadership with an Index score of 78; while strong gender prejudices prevail for the Childcare sector (Index score of 47).
Seven of the 23 sectors covered by our research have relatively high Index scores, reaching between 75 and 78. By contrast, ten sectors have an Index of 70 or below, meaning that significant gender biases (towards either men or women leaders) exist for these sectors.
For every sector, the Index scores of women are higher than those of men. The widest dissonance between the perceptions of women and men can be in four sectors: Defence & Police, Intelligence Services, Engineering, Fashion & Beauty.
However, while women are less likely than men to express gender preferences, they are not entirely free of prejudice against gender and leadership: for the Childcare sector for instance, half of the women interviewed say that men and women are not equally suitable to lead.
Across the G20 countries, when looking at people’s perceptions of whether a man or a woman is a better suited to hold a position of leadership within a given sector, on average women and men are nearly as likely to be considered better suited to lead (13% and 14% respectively).. People are most likely to hold unequal views in sectors for which women are considered as better suited to hold positions of leadership. These include Childcare and Fashion & Beauty, where more than four in ten respondents (43% and 41% respectively) say that women are better suited to lead.
Defense & Police, Automotive manufacturers, and Gaming are also subject to gender prejudices. However, for these sectors, the bias is in favour of male leadership.
On average, only 47% of people across the G20 (and 52% across the G7) say they are ‘very comfortable’ with having a woman as Head of Government.
While women are more positively predisposed than men towards female leadership, this proportion does not reach more than six in ten women, whether in the G20 (52%) or G7 (57%).
Less than half of men across the G20 (43%) and the G7 (47%) support the idea of having a woman as Head of Government.
At a country level, a significant proportion of women and men state that they are not comfortable with having a woman as a Head of Government. This is the case for a quarter of women in South Korea (25%) and Indonesia (24%) and for 15% of women in Germany.
Percentage of people who agree with the statement “I would feel very comfortable with a woman as the Head of Government in my country”
On average, only 48% of people across the G20 (and 54% across the G7) say they are ‘very comfortable’ with having a woman as CEO of a major company in their country.
These results are similar to people’s attitudes towards having a woman as Head of Government across the G20 and G7 countries. There is a ten -point difference between the responses of women and men in both the G20 and G7, which again highlights the fact than women are more positively predisposed towards female leadership than men.
One in ten respondents across the G20 (both women and men) say that they are not comfortable with a woman as the CEO of a large company.
In some countries the numbers are substantially higher: South Korea (29%), Indonesia (20%), Saudi Arabia (18%), India (15%), Turkey (14%) and Germany (13%).
Percentage of people who agree with the statement “I would feel very comfortable with a woman as CEO of a major company in my country”
