The Reykjavík Index

FOR LEADERSHIP
Measuring society’s perceptions
of equality for women and men
in leadership since 2018
2022 - 2023 PART ONE

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Foreword
It was at The Reykjavík Global Forum, on 8 November
2022 in Iceland, that we shared the early headlines
from our 2022-23, Reykjavík Index for Leadership.

The collective response from the many global leaders from across politics,
business, NGOs, and academia, was one of frustration and dismay –
that after five years of measuring perceptions of women’s suitability
Dr Michelle Harrison for leadership, we appear to have made little discernible progress as a
Global CEO,
Kantar Public global society on viewing women and men as equally suitable to lead.

When The Reykjavík Index was launched We are now five years on, and our 2022-23
in 2018, we acknowledged that progress in data shows us that in some areas, we have
equality for women was far from guaranteed. even seen regression on the perception of
Silvana Koch-Mehrin women and men being equally suitable for
Across the G7 group of countries, many
Founder and President,
Women Political of the 2018 Index scores fell short of the leadership – with some countries in the Index,
Leaders
target score of 100, which indicates a dropping to levels lower than were first
consensus across society that women measured in 2018.

and men are equally suited for leadership. What this tells us is that governments and
Nevertheless, we fully hoped at that time policymakers, corporations, academic
to witness improvements in perceptions institutions and communities need to double
Hanna Birna
Kristjánsdóttir in the years to come, with countries and down on collective action – not just for
Chair of the Board of sectors approaching the target score of 100, women and men living and working around
The Reykjavík Global
Forum, Iceland meaning an absence of prejudice. the world today, but for future generations.

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As we pursue gender equality across Discrimination against women rarely exists
in isolation. Societies either view their citizens
all aspects of society, we do so with as equal, or they don’t. Where we see gender
prejudice, we recognise too the many other
the acknowledgement that we are aspects of discrimination, including those
concerned with equality for all. held on the basis of ethnicity, sexual identity,
disability and age. As we pursue gender
equality across all aspects of society, we do
so with the acknowledgement that we are
At the launch of the latest Index results during concerned with equality for all.
The Reykjavík Global Forum in November, we
made a clear commitment to maintain our This is the first in a series of reports which
drive for progress. Sima Sami Bahous, the will be released through 2023, where we
Executive Director for UN Women, reminded will explore the data from The Reykjavík
us all that if we stick with the current rate of Index for Leadership in more depth with the
progress, it will take another 300 years before intention of helping to identify the solutions
we achieve full gender equality. and interventions which will deliver sustained
and accelerated progress towards equality
We can’t wait that long. of opportunity for women and men to lead.

Michelle, Silvana and Hanna

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Background
and Context
The Reykjavík Index for Leadership measures The Reykjavík Index for Leadership was
the extent to which men and women are launched in 2018 for the G7 countries and
viewed equally in terms of their suitability for repeated every year since. As well as covering
positions of leadership. The Index runs from the G7 as a consistent cohort, each year since
0 to 100; a score of 100 means that across launch, we have also been able to extend its
society, there is common understanding reach. In 2021- 2022, The Reykjavík Index was
that men and women are equally suited to able to cover all G20 countries, plus Iceland,
leadership, in all sectors. Poland and Spain.

The Reykjavík Index for Leadership 2022-23

Our explicit goal is a world in which presents findings drawn from the attitudes of
over 14,000 respondents between the ages
The Reykjavík Index score of 100 of 18-65 across 14 countries – the G7 nations
is the norm; this would be a world (comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy,
Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United
where men and women are viewed States of America) along with Australia,

as equally suitable to lead. Iceland, Indonesia, Poland, Singapore, Spain

and Thailand. Across the 14 countries covered
in the 2022-23 Reykjavík Index for Leadership,
The Index has been constructed based on we have a view of the extent to which society
research exploring the question: “For each holds perceptions of prejudice on whether
of the following sectors or industries, do women are seen as equally suitable as men
you think men or women are better suited to lead. We also ask a number of additional
to leadership positions?” This question questions which explore how ‘comfortable’
allows responses of ‘men’, ‘women’ or ‘both respondents feel with having a woman
equally’ for 23 different sectors. Aligned as CEO of a large company or as Head of
with our goal, a response of ‘both equally’ Government.
scores a point while a response of ‘men’ or
Importantly, this year, for the G7 countries,
of ‘women’ scores zero points.
we now have five-year’s worth of data for
the Index. This provides us with an indepth
global data set for multiple countries on the
societal perceptions from women and men, on
women’s suitability for leadership across 20+
different industry sectors and over 30 different
countries across all continents.

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A five-year view across
the G7 countries

G7 Reykjavík Index
No progress 2018-2022 72 73 73 73 72

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

First, let’s start with the five-year view of Consequently, 2022-23 is a period which
the total aggregated Index score for the requires us to take stock, understand the
G7 countries (Canada, France, Germany, combination of factors that are behind
Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the the data, as well as driving us to look
United States). forward and focus on what action can,
and should be taken.
A look at the average Index score for the G7
countries, which we can now track across Complacency and a reliance on ‘the
five-years, shows that there has been no passing of time’ as an effective strategy
overall measurable progress since 2018 – to address deep seated prejudices that
with an overall index score of 72. exist within our societies, systems and
institutions, is not effective. And whilst
The gap between an overall index score
the Reykjavík Index for Leadership
of 72 and total equality measuring 100,
is a very specific study of women in
can be regarded as the gap between the
leadership, we believe it will correlate with
assumption of equality for men and the
wider issues of discrimination in society.
everyday reality of women’s experiences
with inequality across the world. A common misunderstanding is that
prejudice against women leaders is held
Reykjavík Index 2022 only by men, but the reality is this is an
By gender issue across society. If we split the Index
Maximum Score score to look at the results for women and

100
men separately, we can see that Index
score for responses from women is only
Men slightly higher at 75, than the Index scores

70
Women

75
from men at 70. Women are therefore, only
marginally less prejudiced than men in
terms of their views or perceptions on the
suitability of women for leadership.

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Across the G7 we see some progress –
but also some concerning declines
in Index scores

G7 Reykjavík Index
2018 vs 2022 2018 2022

UK 77 UK 79

USA 76 France 75

France 76 Japan 74

Canada 76 Canada 73

G7 Average 72 G7 Average 72

Japan 67 Italy 69

Germany 66 Germany 69

Italy 63 USA 67

The Index scores in 2018 and 2022 for the G7 France

countries overall is the same at 72. However, France moves up one place to second in the
this does not mean that each country within ranking of the G7 countries. However, this is
the G7 has remained static. The graph not an indication of progress, as the overall
above illustrates which countries have seen Index score for France has dropped from 76
improvements in their overall Index scores, in 2018, to 75 in 2022. When we consider
how this has affected their ranking within the responses for France, particularly by
the G7, and also which countries have gender and age, we can see some interesting
seen a decline in their scores. dynamics at play, which may account for the
lack of progress in the perception of women’s
The United Kingdom
equal suitability for leadership as men.
Amongst the G7 nations, the UK scores
highest on the Index, both in 2018 and 2022. Japan
But progress over this five-year period has Japan is the stand-out within the G7 countries
been marginal, with only a small increase having made strong progress from an initial
of two index points. Index score of 67 back in 2018, rising to 74
in 2022. This also moves them up to third
place in the overall ranking of G7 countries,
from fifth place in 2018 – when they also fell
below the G7 average. We hope to see that
this progress is sustained when we repeat the
research in a year’s time.

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 Canada Germany
Canada retains its position of fourth place Germany’s Index score has increased from
amongst the ranking of the G7 countries, 66 in 2018 to 69 in 2022. Their overall ranking
but this is with a three-point drop on their within the G7 remains static in sixth place
Index score from 76 in 2018, to 73 in 2022, and they are still below the G7 average at
which is concerning. 72 points on the Index. However, the data
shows that only minimal progress has been
Italy
made in the last five years and this warrants
Italy has followed a similar trajectory to that
further exploration and discussion to better
of Japan, moving from an Index score of 63
understand the factors at play – and then what
in 2018 to 69 in 2022 – an improvement of
needs to be done to again accelerate progress.
six points. This has also moved them from
bottom of the ranking of the G7 countries in The United States of America
2018, to fifth place in 2022 – and whilst their The USA is possibly the biggest story from
overall score is still below the G7 average – our 2022-2023 data. The overall Index score
this progress should be recognised, (despite for the USA has dropped nine-points from 76
starting from a low base). It should also in 2018 to a low of 67 in 2022. This dramatic
be noted that Italy has one of the smallest shift has also moved them from second place
levels of dissonance between the views in the overall ranking of G7 countries in 2018,
of women and men with only two points to bottom of the ranking in 2022 – and five
between them with women scoring 70 on points below the G7 average of 72.
the Index and men scoring 68.
The data for the USA, was one of the biggest
topics of discussion at The Reykjavík Global
Forum in November, as speakers and attendees
alike, debated the factors which may have led
to this drop.

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 What can we learn
from Iceland?
When we look across all 14 countries included in the 2022-2023 Reykjavík Index for
Leadership, we can see there is a significant gap between those countries with the
lowest Index scores (Indonesia, Poland, Singapore, USA) and those with the highest
scores (Iceland, Spain, UK and Australia). It is also interesting to observe that at
both the lowest and highest scoring ends of the spectrum, there is a mix of countries
from different regions around the world, as well as a span of economic power.
In fact, many countries from around the world are outperforming the G7 nations.
The most notable, is Iceland.

Reykjavík Index 2022

By country, all countries

100
91
90
78 79 80
80
73 74 75
72
67 69 69 69
70 66
59
60

50 44

40

30

20

10

0 Indonesia Poland Singapore USA Thailand Germany Italy G7 Canada Japan France Australia UK Spain Iceland

Iceland tops the Index by some margin. Iceland is a clear 11 points higher on the
Index than the next highest-ranking country, which is Spain. At The Reykjavík Global
Forum, much discussion was had with our Icelandic hosts and conference delegates
on this subject. However, despite achieving high scores on the Index, Icelandic
women were very clear that they still have further to go as they pursue the genuine
equality between women and men in positions of leadership which would see Iceland
achieving a score of 100 on the Index.

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 For example, when asking the question: ‘At work – do you think gender equality has
been achieved in [country]?’, only 33% of Icelandic women answered either ‘Yes,
definitely’ or ‘Yes, to some extent’, compared to 66% of Icelandic men answering
positively to the same question. It therefore, appears to indicate that the level of
progress a country has made to date is perhaps proportionate to the level of current
dissatisfaction women and men in that country have with the status quo.

At work – Do you think gender equality has been achieved in [country]?

% Yes definitely + Yes, to some extent

Male Female

82
77
70 69
66 66
64 64
60 60
58
56
54 54
50
46 47 46
45
41 40
38
33 33
30 31
27
24

Italy Japan France Germany Iceland Poland Canada Spain Australia USA UK Singapore Indonesia Thailand

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Women are prejudiced against
women leaders; but men are more so
The Reykjavík Index 2022-2023
By gender, all countries

Male Female

94
89
82 82
80 79
78
75 76 76 76
73 72 73
70 70 71 71 70 71 70
68 67
65 65
62
60
57

49

39

Indonesia Poland USA Italy Singapore Thailand Germany G7 Japan Canada France Spain Australia UK Iceland

It can sometimes be assumed that prejudice against women’s suitability for

positions of leadership is only something that affects men. But this is not the
case as women also show significant prejudice against women being equally
suitable as men for positions of leadership.

The fact that both women and men hold perceptions which are prejudiced
against women’s suitability for leadership or positions of power, means that this
is not about ‘fixing’ women or men. It is about how we tackle these prejudices
across society as a whole.

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 However, it is in the UK, USA and Canada, where we have seen the sharpest declines in
Index scores from both men and women. Notably in the USA, where Index scores from
both men and women have dropped by a significant eight points in the last 12 months.

5-year comparison
Male respondents

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

78 77 78 79
76
73 73 72 73 73
71 70 71
69 70 70 70
68 68 69 70
66 66 66 66 65 67 67
65 65 65 64 65
62 62 63
60
56
52 51

G7 Canada France Germany Italy Japan UK USA

5-year comparison
Female respondents

2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

84 85
82 83 82 81 82
79 80
77 77 76 78 77 78 78 78
75 76 75 76
72 72 71 71 73 71
73 73 72 71
70 70 70 70
68
66
61 60
56

G7 Canada France Germany Italy Japan UK USA

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 When we start to explore other factors at work here, it is interesting to look at
responses to one of our other questions: ‘In your view, how important is gender
equality for our society?’ Here we see both men and women in the US again
returning relatively low scores against other countries, with only 77% of women
in the US believing that gender equality is important for our society.

In your view, how important is gender equality for our society?

Gender gap, all countries*

Male Female

9 9.1 8.9 8.9 9

8.5 8.6
8.2 8.3 8.3 8.1 8.1 8.3
7.9 8 7.8
7.5 7.6 7.6 7.7 7.6 7.4 7.4 7.5 7.4
7.1 7.1
6.8

Japan Singapore Germany USA France UK Australia Poland Canada Indonesia Spain Iceland Italy Thailand

* G7 + Iceland, Australia, Indonesia, Poland, Spain, Singapore, Thailand

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 In the G7, young people are more
prejudiced than their parents
This is typically one of the most surprising and worrying data points from our research.
It is a reflection that the research is representative of the whole of society and therefore,
also the diversity of viewpoints among young people.

This isn’t a new trend. However, what is new is the increasing gap between the age cohorts we
have been researching over the past five years and that the younger age cohort has dropped
a point on the Index from a starting score of 70 in 2018 to now only 69 points in 2022-2023.

By age
18-34 35-54 55-65

90
80 78 77
74 76 74 76
72 73 73 72 73
70 70 68 69 69
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

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 When we look at all 14 countries covered in the 2022-2023 Reykjavík Index for Leadership,
we can see broadly that there is a trend of younger people holding more prejudice against
women’s suitability for leadership, but this is not everywhere, as the chart below shows.

In most countries, younger people hold more stereotyped views of leadership than the generations above them
Reykjavík index by age, all countries covered in 2022

18-34 35-54 55-65

92 93
86 86
82 83
80 81 81
78 78 78 79
75 76 75
74
70 69 70 71 71 72 70
72
69 68 68 69 69 68
66 65 65 66
64
61
57 57

49 49

38

Indonesia Singapore Poland Italy Thailand Germany USA Canada Japan UK France Spain Australia Iceland

Given that this particular cut of the data can feel challenging to more liberal norms,
it is worth considering some of the factors that might be at play here. Discussions at
The Reykjavík Global Forum centred around three main themes:

1. This data arrives at the same time as we are seeing an increasing global public debate
and awareness about the targeting of young people with misogynistic material online.

2. Disinformation is a challenge. We note the fragmentation of traditional media through

to non-traditional sources.

3. This is the first generation of young people to have unmonitored, and relatively easy,
access to pornography from a young age.

If younger generations carry more prejudice against women leaders than older
generations, we potentially find ourselves in a situation where movement towards gender
equality may start to go backwards.

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 Views on women’s suitability
for leadership in government and
business are increasingly prejudiced
After seeing progress in earlier years, all G7 countries now see a downward trend in
acceptance of female business leaders, which is also mirrored in declining acceptance
of women as heads of government.

Share of respondents who are ‘very comfortable’ with a woman as CEO of a major company
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

90

80

70 68 68 69
66 67 65
62 63 61
60 59 59 59 59 58
53 54 52
50
46 48 46 48 45
50
47
44 45 46 45
42 43 42
40 39 38 39
33 35 33 35
30 29
24
20

10

0
G7 Canada France Germany Italy Japan UK USA

Share of respondents who are ‘very comfortable’ with a woman as head of government
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

90

80

70 69 69
64 64 62
60
57 59 57 58 58 57
52 52 54 52 54
50
47 49
46 45 44 45 46 46 44 45
43 43 41 42 42
40 40 38 38
37
34
30 31 30
26
23
20

10

0
G7 Canada France Germany Italy Japan UK USA

Across the G7 overall, we saw a drop of 7% from 54% to 47% for people being very
comfortable with a woman being CEO of a major company, and the same drop of
7% from 52% to 45% when asked the question in relation to a woman as head of
government.

Two countries, the UK and the USA, saw the sharpest declines for both questions which
saw a 10% differential for both questions between 2021 and 2022.

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Conclusion
The data from The Reykjavík Index should make us concerned.

When you are looking at perceptions of women and equality, it’s also a proxy for a
number of other things. And where discrimination and prejudice against one section
of society exists, we know that discrimination along other lines will also be present.

During 2023, The Reykjavík Global Forum will commit to tackling the underlying
causes of gender based prejudice, to support women to attain and retain power,
and to work towards a more equal world across all aspects of society.

This is a moment for renewed focus on how we drive change.

Over the coming months, we will continue to follow up with more in-depth
analysis at a specific country level.

We welcome thoughts from all those working in the space of gender equality
as part of our collective ongoing pursuit of a better society for all.

Please feel free to contact us directly at:

[email protected] if you would like to
discuss the data and partner on solutions designed to make a
sustainable and positive impact for societies around the world.

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METHODOLOGY AND SCOPE OF RESEARCH IN 2022

Methodological information A country’s score on The Reykjavík Index The data source for the 2022-2023 Index
The Reykjavík Index for Leadership was for Leadership, measures the proportion calculations is a Kantar survey of working-
launched in 2018, covering the G7 countries of people selecting both equally. age adults (aged 18-65) conducted in each
and 20 sectors of the economy. It was then of the G7 countries plus Australia, Iceland,
repeated in 2019 and extended to cover the For consistency between countries, the Indonesia, Poland, Singapore, Spain and
BRIC countries and two additional sectors. views of men and the views of women have Thailand in October 2022:
In 2020, the Reykjavík Index for Leadership each been given a 50% weight rather than
was repeated, covering the G7 countries a weight based on their exact population • c .1,000 per country in Canada, France,
plus India, Kenya and Nigeria, and extended share (which varies slightly between Germany, Italy, Japan,
to cover 23 sectors. In 2021, The Reykjavík countries). Similarly, the G7 and G20-wide the United Kingdom and the United
Index undertook its biggest ever country versions of The Reykjavík Index weights each States
scope, covering all G20 countries (including constituent country equally.
the G7), as well as Iceland, Poland and • c .1,000 per country in Australia, Iceland,
Spain. Overall sample Indonesia, Poland, Singapore, Spain and
The total sample for the 2022-2023 edition Thailand
Our 2022-2023 research for The Reykjavík of the Index is >14,000.
Index for Leadership covers all G7 countries – • c.1,000 in each Poland and Spain: these
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the countries were included because the 20th
The data source for the 2022-2023 Index
United Kingdom and the United States of member of the G20 is the EU. With Spain,
calculations is a Kantar Public survey of
America), plus Australia, Iceland, Indonesia, Poland, France, Germany and Italy, the Index
c.1,000 working-age adults (aged 18-65)
Poland, Singapore, Spain and Thailand. covers the largest EU countries and over 65%
conducted in each of the G7 countries
of EU population.
(Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the
United Kingdom and the United States) in The samples have been weighted so that
The Reykjavík Index for Leadership has
October 2022, representing a total of c.7,000 each country’s gender, age and education
been constructed based on research
people. profile match the relevant population
exploring the question:
profile. The samples for Australia Iceland,
“For each of the following sectors or The samples have been weighted so that Indonesia, Poland, Singapore, Spain and
industries, do you think men or women are each country’s gender, age and education Thailand were weighted so that each
better suited to leadership positions?”. profile match the relevant population country’s gender and age match the
profile. Kantar’s online panel was used for relevant population profiles.
data collection in each of the G7 countries.
This question allows responses of ‘men’, Kantar’s online panel was used for data
‘women’ and ‘both equally’ for 23 different collection in each of these countries,
economic and professional sectors. Aligned except for Iceland.
with our goal, a response of ‘both equally’ For any questions
results in a point for that country within on the methodology, The data source for the 2022 Index calculations
the Index, while a response of ‘men better please contact in Iceland is a survey of just over 1,000
suited’, ‘women better suited’ or ‘don’t [email protected] working-age adults (aged 18-65), carried out
know’ does not. between 9th and 24th of October 2022 by
the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI),
at the University of Iceland. The sample has
been weighted so that the gender, age and
residence to reflect the composition of the
Icelandic population as accurately as possible.
SSRI’s probability based online panel was used
for data collection.

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About Kantar Public: About Women Political Leaders:
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Founders of the Reykjavík Index for Leadership

Silvana Koch-Mehrin Hanna Birna Kristjánsdóttir

Dr Michelle Harrison Founder and President, Chair of the Board of the
Global CEO, Kantar Public Women Political Leaders Reykjavík Global Forum, Iceland

Michelle is the CEO of Kantar Public, the Silvana is the President and Founder of Women Hanna is the Senior Advisor on Women’s
global evidence and advisory business Political Leaders (WPL), the worldwide network Leadership at UN Women. She is also the
supporting governments, multilateral of women politicians. Silvana served as Vice- Chair of the Board of the Reykjavík Global
organisations, corporations and NGOs in President of the European Parliament (2009- Forum, Women Leaders. She has been active
the fields of public policy, the environment, 2011) and Member of the European Parliament in Icelandic politics for many years, both in the
and global health, across five continents. (2004-2014). Before her time in politics, she national Parliament and local government.
founded and ran a public affairs consultancy in She is the former Chair of the Foreign Affairs
Alongside a career in public policy and social
Brussels, which later merged with a larger US Committee in the Parliament and former
impact advisory and innovation, Michelle is a
firm. In addition to her work for WPL, Silvana Minister of the Interior in Iceland. Before getting
gender and diversity advocate and advisor. In
serves on the board of the Council of Women elected to Parliament, she was the Mayor of the
partnership with the Reykjavík Global Forum,
World Leaders, the network of women President Reykjavík, the President of the City Council and
she created The Reykjavík Index for Leadership,
and Prime Ministers. She is also a member of chaired several committees and organisation
which is the first international measure of how
the European Leadership Network (EUN), a for the City of Reykjavík. She is also the former
societies perceive the suitability of women for
member of the Global Advisory Network of Vice Chair of the Independence Party in Iceland;
leadership. Listed as ‘Best of Davos’ in 2018
Apolitical Academy Global and an advisory the former deputy Secretary General of the
and presented by Michelle at UNGA, the G7
board member to PINK! She also works as a pary and the former Secretary General of its
and the G20, The Reykjavík Index is now a go-
Senior Advisor to Binance, and is a Venture Parliamentary Group.
to reference in public debate, the media and
Partner at Conny&Co. Previously, she was a
policy development. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Political
senior Special Advisor for EY.
Science form the University of Iceland in 1991.
Previously, Michelle was the founding global
2016-2020 Silvana represented the EU in After that, she received a Master of Science in
CEO of WPP’s Government and Public Sector
the Executive Committee of W20, an official International and European Politics from the
practice, and the creator of WPP’s Executive
engagement group of the G20. In 2018 and University of Edinburgh (1993).
Education Programmes for Integrated
2019, she was ranked as one of the 100 most
Government Communications, now in
influential persons in gender equality by
their 11th year, at the Blavatnik School of
Apolitical. Silvana is a Young Global Leader
Government at Oxford University and the Lee
Alumni of the World Economic Forum.
Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore.

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