Female Empowerment Hotspots – The Most Female-Friendly Countries | William Russell (2024)

Many of us have a desire to travel and see the world, but fitting this into holidays and short breaks never really gives us the full experience of living in another country. Yet for women who want to live and work abroad, attitudes towards women in the local culture can be a major attraction, or barrier, to enjoying your time away.

To help address these concerns, we’ve investigated which developed countries are the best places to live and work as a woman. Read below to find out more about the most female-friendly countries in the world: female empowerment hotspots!

What are the most female-friendly countries in the world?

Getting a job abroad and living in a foreign country for an extended period of time is growing in popularity, and can be a fantastic (and affordable) way of scratching that itch to travel. However, this can be quite a daunting prospect if you are a foreign woman.

In addition to language barriers and culture shock, there are many things that can seem like huge obstacles to achieving this dream. Finding a place to live can be a hurdle in itself, and there are other considerations such as whether you’ll meet visa requirements or if you’ll need international health insurance in case you fall ill while abroad. Luckily, most of these worries can be allayed with a little bit of research into current expat communities and government information boards. So, read on to discover the most female-friendly hotspots to live and work abroad!

What makes these places the most female-friendly countries in the world?

To gain an insight into how well each country performs for female empowerment, we’ve looked at various factors including, among others, gender wage gaps, the proportion of women who achieve tertiary education, the length of paid maternity leave, and female representation in government. This has allowed us to build a profile for each country, and rank them according to their overall female empowerment scores.

Top three most female-friendly countries

Having looked at eight different factors across thirty-eight countries, we’ve combined our results into a single score, allowing us to rate each country for their attitude towards women in society. We call this the Female Empowerment Score.

1/ Iceland

Female Empowerment Score: 7.64/10

Iceland tops our list as the most female-friendly place to live and work, with a female empowerment score of 7.64. This Nordic island nation is well known for its progressive views and welcoming culture. More than half of adult women have achieved tertiary education such as a university degree, and the country scored full marks in the World Bank’s Women, Business and Law Index. In addition to the positive attitude towards women, Iceland is great to visit for its amazing geography and unique version of Scandinavian culture.

2/ Finland

Female Empowerment Score: 7.62/10

Another Nordic country makes the top three, as Finland snags second place with a score of 7.62. Finland has achieved excellent representation for women in its government, with 50% of all ministerial positions being occupied by women. It has also had one of the highest numbers of elected female leaders, with four different women leading the country at one time or another.

3/ Ireland

Female Empowerment Score: 7.22/10

Ireland takes third place in our ranking, with a female empowerment score of 7.22. Ireland also received a perfect score in the World Bank’s Women, Business and Law Index, combined with a relatively low gender wage gap of 7.99% and a very competitive 182 days of paid maternity leave for new mothers.

The least female-friendly countries

While some countries performed exceedingly well, others still had room for improvement. These are the ten countries that scored the lowest in our overall female empowerment rankings. While these countries might have performed well in some of the factors we measured, this was counterbalanced by a weak performance in other areas.

1/ Japan

Female Empowerment Score: 3.77/10

While Japan is an extremely modern country in many respects, especially in built-up urban centres, it is also a country steeped in tradition, where old values die hard and progress can be slow on social issues. Despite having a well-educated female population with over 50% of women gaining tertiary education, the country suffers from a high gender wage gap of 23.48%, while female representation in government is very low, with only 10% of ministerial positions occupied by women. This resulted in a low female empowerment score of just 3.77.

2/ Turkey

Female Empowerment Score: 3.81/10

Turkey has the second-worst female empowerment score of 3.81. This is due to a combination of factors, including its coming last in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, where it scored just 0.635 out of 1. Women in Turkey have also received some of the lowest levels of higher education, with only 19.7% of women having attained tertiary level education.

3/ Mexico

Female Empowerment Score: 3.89/10

The third-lowest scoring country is Mexico, with a female empowerment score of 3.89. Mexico has the very lowest level of female participation in tertiary level education, standing at just 17.2%. The country has also never had a female leader of government, despite having 42.11% of ministerial positions filled by women.

Gender wage gap by country

The gender wage gap refers to when there is a difference between what women and men earn for doing the exact same work. This discriminatory practice is usually a result of historical social imbalances, and many countries are actively addressing this as part of their push for a more equal society. However, big differences still exist from country to country, and women can find themselves underpaid in certain parts of the world.

Looking at the countries that have made the most progress in closing this gap, we are able to reveal where women can get the best deal and remuneration for the work they do.

Rank	Country	Gender wage gap %
1	Columbia	4.00%
2	Luxembourg	4.14%
3	Belgium	4.19%
4	Costa Rica	4.73%
5	Denmark	4.86%
6	Norway	4.99%
7	Slovenia	5.00%
8	Hungary	5.06%
9	Italy	5.60%
10	Greece	5.91%

2/ Luxembourg

Gender Wage Gap: 4.14%

Luxembourg has the second-lowest gender wage gap of 4.14%. This small European nation is a great place for women to work abroad, as, in addition to the fair wages, the country has very low unemployment and active expat communities from all over Europe, which make it a very multicultural place to live.

3/ Belgium

Gender Wage Gap: 4.19%

Belgium takes third place, with a competitive wage gap of 4.19%. Having come fourth in our overall female empowerment ranking, the country also achieved the highest possible score in the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law Index.

The countries with the most days of paid maternity leave

The way in which a country responds to the needs of its workforce is a great indicator of whether it is a good place to work. When applied to maternity leave, this is also a good indicator of how understanding the national attitude is towards women’s health issues, as well as longer periods of maternity leave being a positive thing in general.

Rank	Country	Length of paid maternity leave (days)
1	Slovakia	238
2	Czech Republic	196
3	Ireland	182
4	Hungary	168
5	Italy	150
6	Finland	147
7	Poland	140
7	Estonia	140
9	Columbia	126
9	Denmark	126
9	Lithuania	126
9	Chile	126

3/ Ireland

Days of Paid Maternity Leave: 182

The third best country for paid maternity leave is Ireland, where new mothers receive 182 days of paid time off to bond and care for their newborns.

Countries with the largest proportion of highly educated women

Supporting women into education is an integral part of levelling the playing field in terms of job prospects between the sexes, and encourages women to break out of the traditional roles that society might have once assigned them simply due to their gender.

Higher education encourages women to aim for more influential positions, to question oppressive societal norms, and to take a more active role in decision making, all of which aid the empowerment and equality of women in general.

Rank	Country	Women achieved tertiary education (%)
1	Israel	88%
2	Canada	64.4%
3	Finland	53.1%
4	Japan	52.8%
5	Iceland	52.8%
6	Estonia	51.2%
7	Australia	50.8%
8	Ireland	50.6%
9	United States	50.4%
10	Sweden	50.1%

2/ Canada

Women Achieved Tertiary Education: 64.4%

Canada has the second-highest level of tertiary education among women at 64.4%. This indicates a highly engaged female population that can challenge the status quo and steer the country towards a more progressive and equal society. This reflects Canada’s high score on the female empowerment scale, where the country places sixth with a score of 6.83.

3/ Finland

Women Achieved Tertiary Education: 53.1%

Finland takes third place for women in tertiary education, with 51.3% having reached this level of studies. This is to be expected from one of the highest performing countries for female empowerment, and once again shows off Finland as a great place for women to live and work.

Countries with the greatest female representation in government

Female representation in government is a crucial part of any nation’s effort to create a more balanced and equal society. Without female representation, there would be no one to act on womens’ issues with first-hand experience of their needs and wants.

Seeing women in positions of power, authority and responsibility is also a great source of inspiration for younger women who are able to feel that they too can reach for competitive and important roles in any aspect of life.

Proportion of women in ministerial positions

We’ve gathered World Bank data which reveals which countries have the highest percentage of ministerial positions filled by women. Check out the top ten countries for female representation in government below.

Rank	Country	Proportion of women in minesterial positions (%)
1	Belgium	57.14%
1	Sweden	57.14%
1	Austria	57.14%
4	Costa Rica	52%
5	Canada	51.43%
6	France	50%
6	Finland	50%
6	Spain	50%
9	Netherlands	47.06%
10	United States	46.15%

Having such a large number of women in positions of national responsibility is a fantastic show of each country’s progress in creating role models for young women, and empowering them to aim for whatever profession they choose.

This positive attitude towards women in senior roles makes all three of these countries attractive propositions for women looking to spend time living and working abroad.

Countries with the most elected female heads of state or government

We’ve gather CFR data showing which countries have had the most elected female heads of state and leaders of government. Those with the highest number are shown below.

Rank	Country	Countries with the most elected female heads of state
1	Switzerland	5
2	Finland	4
3	Iceland	3
3	New Zealand	3
3	Lithuania	3
3	Poland	3

2/ Finland

Elected Female Leaders: 4

Finland comes second for having the most female leaders, having had four women being elected to the most senior job in government. This is just another way in which Finland marks itself out as a leader in gender quality and female empowerment.

Countries with the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy

We also looked into levels of teenage pregnancy in each country. This can often be a result of women not receiving adequate sexual health information or access to contraception while being pregnant as a teenager can greatly impact your future prospects and ability to take control of your own adult life.

Therefore, we’ve identified which countries have the lowest rates of teenage pregnancy, regarding this as an indicator of a society that looks after the health and wellbeing of its young women.

Rank	Country	Teenage pregnancy births per 1000 women aged 15-19
1	South Korea	1.26
2	Switzerland	2.52
3	Slovenia	3.53
4	Japan	3.55
5	Netherlands	3.62
6	Denmark	4.22
7	Luxembourg	4.48
8	Belgium	4.49
9	France	4.75
10	Italy	4.98

However, on this issue, the country performs very well, with its young women avoiding the life-changing pressures and responsibilities that come with parenthood at such a young age.

2/ Switzerland

Births per 100,000 Women (15-19): 2.52

The country with the second-lowest rate of teenage births is Switzerland, where 2.52 babies are born to teenage mothers for every 100,000 teenagers in the country. Another positive performance by Switzerland helps to cement its place as a nation that empowers its women and takes an active interest in supporting their wellbeing.

3/ Slovenia

Births per 100,000 Women (15-19): 3.53

Slovenia has the third-lowest teenage pregnancy rate, with 3.52 birth per 100,000 teenage women. Slovenia performs fairly well across most issues of factors of female empowerment and has a relatively small gender wage gap of only 5.00%, showing that it is making strides to become a country where women are empowered to live their lives on equal terms to the men of their country.

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Methodology

We wanted to find out which countries are the best locations for women who want to live and work abroad. To do this, we decided to measure how each country treats its women across a range of factors. The results from each factor could then be combined into a single score to represent how much women are empowered in each country, which in turn makes it a more attractive place for women to work and live.