Not all 100: Russia has risen by 50 places in the ranking of gender equality
The World Bank has upgraded Russia's gender equality rating by 50 positions to 85th place. This happened after the organization added the categories of "safety" and "child care" to the country comparison. As a result, the Russian Federation was higher in the list than Belarus, China and Singapore. The average salary of women in Russia is about a third less than that of men. At the same time, taking care of children is excellent — it is expressed, for example, in the payment of maternity capital and the possibility of long maternity leave. See the Izvestia article about the areas in which gender inequality manifests itself and how it can be reduced.
Gender inequality in 2026
The World Bank analyzed data from 190 countries to find out how much they limit women's economic opportunities. Russia was ranked 85th by the international organization, according to the report "Women, Business and the Law - 2026" (Izvestia studied it). At the same time, the Russian Federation has risen by 50 positions in the rating over the year — the change is due to the updated calculation methodology. The editorial board sent a request to the World Bank.
10 indicators were identified for the assessment: security (do laws protect women from violence), freedom of movement (can ladies choose their place of residence, travel, and obtain a passport in the same way as men), employment (is gender discrimination and harassment prohibited by law), salary (do women receive equal pay for work), marriage (whether there is legislation on domestic violence in the country, whether the rights to divorce and remarriage are equal).
The possibilities at birth were also assessed (whether paid leave is available to mothers and fathers, whether dismissal of pregnant women is prohibited), parenthood (laws on maternity leave and protection of pregnant women), running a business (whether ladies can start a company on equal terms with men), ownership of assets (whether the rights to manage and inherit property are equal), as well as pension standards (whether the age of compulsory retirement is the same, whether the period of child care is taken into account in payments). Since this year, safety and child care have been added to the list, and it was after that that the country rose significantly in the ranking.
Today, less than 5% of women in the world live in countries where legislation ensures almost complete economic equality, the report says. At the same time, no state has yet guaranteed the full range of rights necessary for full-fledged participation in the economy. Even where the laws have already been modernized, ladies continue to face restrictions. The document notes that increasing women's economic participation is not only a matter of social justice, but also an important condition for sustainable growth.
The leaders of the rating are 11 developed countries, according to the IMF methodology: Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Italy, Ireland, Australia, Greece, Lithuania, Belgium and Portugal. Each of them scored over 90 out of 100 points. The two largest economies in the world did not become leaders like that: the United States received 87.58 points, placing in 26th place, and China was lower than Russia in 96th position (with 70 points).
11 states and territories of the Middle East and Africa were recognized as outsiders. Among them are Afghanistan, Yemen, the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip, Sudan, Iran, Qatar, Kuwait, Mauritania, Syria, the Comoros and Bangladesh. They scored less than 35 points.
Is there gender inequality in Russia
The World Bank assigned 72.3 points to Russia, which corresponds to the 85th place. The Philippines and Azerbaijan became neighbors in the ranking. Gabon, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Mongolia, Zambia, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, and Uzbekistan have overtaken us in the list. At the same time, Russia was higher than Belarus, China, Singapore and India.
The organization assessed the business sector in Russia as problematic. Equality in pay, parenting, and pension provision is also recognized as incomplete. However, legal parity has already been achieved in some areas.: These include movement, employment, marriage, child care, and asset ownership.
Izvestia sent a request to the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Labor to clarify which measures to reduce gender inequality have already been implemented and what is planned in the near future.
The World Bank's rating is quite subjective. In 2022, the organization stopped its projects in Russia, so experts did not have access to all the necessary data and did not take into account all the invoices, said Natalia Milchakova, a leading analyst at Freedom Finance Global. According to her, it is impossible to calculate exact figures for individual indicators, such as the level of domestic violence. Nevertheless, the income gap remains in the country and there are career constraints.
According to the latest available data from Rosstat for 2023, the average accrued salary for women was 61.1 thousand rubles, and for men — 87.7 thousand. Now the situation has not changed dramatically — the salary of ladies is about 70-72% of the salary of the representatives of the stronger sex, — Natalia Milchakova emphasized.
— At the same time, if we look at the gap within one industry, rather than across the economy as a whole, the picture changes. In education, it is only 5%, in healthcare — about 12%. The maximum difference is in the IT sector (over 34%) and the oil and gas sector. But this is industry segregation, and not direct discrimination against the employer," said Anastasia Gorelkina, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors of HC Siberian Business Union, member of the Board of Directors of JSC Azot.
According to her, men concentrate where they pay more, and ladies concentrate where stability and social guarantees are more important. In addition, tradition is still strong in the Russian Federation: a woman does most of the housework, takes care of children and elderly parents, and her career opportunities are often limited, said Alexey Nezhivoy, head of the operational headquarters of the independent trade union Novy Trud. In addition, many people go on maternity leave and "drop out" of the labor market for at least a year.
At the same time, support for motherhood in Russia remains quite noticeable compared to many European countries. After the birth of a child, maternity capital is provided, as well as a number of additional payments and benefits — maternity benefits, monthly payments for children and tax deductions. These measures provide a family with one-time financial support, which can be used, for example, for housing or a child's education.
The state has also created a broad infrastructure to support ladies who run their own businesses. For example, the Mom-Entrepreneur program operates in many regions, and in 2024, for the first time, women became the majority among recipients of state support measures for SMEs, Anastasia Gorelkina recalled. However, the main barrier is not in legislation or grants, but in access to large—scale financing.
The expert explained: Women's business in Russia is still concentrated in microenterprise and the social sphere. They often go to services, beauty, and education, where scaling is more difficult than in construction or manufacturing, where there are usually more men, added Alexey Nezhivoy from the independent trade union Novy Trud. In addition, women in general are less likely to own large real estate or large savings that can be used as collateral in a bank, he added.
How to combat gender inequality
There is now a noticeable positive trend in addressing the gender issue. For example, a breakthrough has been made in corporate programs to support women — companies are starting to offer flexible schedules, child-care training, and a prepared return after maternity leave, said Marina Maksutova, head of women's programs at the Department of Open Programs at the Moscow School of Management Skolkovo.
According to her, this reduces staff turnover and returns expertise to the business. Companies are investing in HR talent strategies, mentoring, and the community, realizing that ladies are half of the workforce, and retaining them is a competitive advantage, she added.
Russia is also currently working on a National Strategy of Action for Women for 2023-2030. It provides for reducing sectoral segregation, increasing competitiveness in the labor market and expanding women's participation in export activities, Anastasia Gorelkina noted. In addition, the expert continued, since 2021, the list of professions closed to the beautiful half of humanity has been reduced from 456 to 100. And the Ministry of Labor is working on services for a simplified return to employment after the decree, she added.
Gender equality is not just a matter of social justice, but a factor of macroeconomic efficiency, said Yulia Maksutova, President of the Association for Russian—Arab Cooperation in the field of tourism and investment, an expert on international relations. Ignoring this leads to direct losses: the stagnation of women's wages creates long-term risks, increasing poverty, especially in single-parent families, and also reduces aggregate consumer demand.
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