Dutch gender-gap ranking falls as CBS examines the divide

The University of Amsterdam says the Netherlands fell from 43rd to 46th place in the World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Gender Gap Index, which covers 145 economies. The university’s Amsterdam Centre for Business Innovation collected the Dutch data as a WEF partner institute. It reports a Dutch score of 75.0%: on the index’s scale, that represents the distance covered towards parity, not the proportion of people experiencing equality. [2] [3]

The index assesses differences between women and men in economic participation and opportunity, education, health and political empowerment. A new podcast episode from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) takes up the country’s performance, with sections listed on a gender-equality report, Sophie van Gool and men in senior positions. [1] [3]

The Amsterdam researchers also report a slight improvement in Dutch economic participation and opportunity. Henk Volberda, who leads the university’s centre, says the ranking is relative: the fall does not mean gender equality in the Netherlands is worse than in 2006 on every measure. [2]

Update

The University of Amsterdam, which collected the Dutch data as a partner of the World Economic Forum, says the Netherlands fell from 43rd to 46th place in the 2026 Global Gender Gap Index. It says the country has closed 75.0% of the gender gap measured by the index, which compares 145 countries across economic participation, education, political influence and health. [2]

CBS’s podcast episode takes up the question of why the Netherlands scores poorly. Its programme includes a discussion of a gender-equality report, a conversation with Sophie van Gool and a section on men in senior positions. [4]

A different measure gives a more mixed picture. The Netherlands ranks fifth in the EU in the European Institute for Gender Equality’s 2025 index, but 26th on its measure of money. EIGE reports full-time-equivalent employment rates of 47% for women and 63% for men, a comparison that accounts for hours worked.