The Reykjavik Index for Leadership 2018

The Reykjavik Index for Leadership measures how people feel about women in power. It measures the perceived legitimacy of male and female leadership in politics and across twenty professions, as well as a measure of how men and women differ in their views, and the extent to which men and women are viewed equally in terms of suitability of individuals for positions of power.

The Index evaluates the G7 group of nations, surveying the attitudes of more than 10,000 people in those areas.

The average Reykjavik Index for Leadership score for the G7 in launch year is 66, with the findings showing two groupings of countries: the UK, France, Canada and USA with ‘higher’ indices and a group of three that are a step change below: Japan, Germany and Italy.

Silvana Koch-Mehrin, President and Founder of Women Political Leaders said: “It is our goal to reach Index scores of 100 – an indication that there is complete agreement that men and women are equally suited to leadership across the economy, and a tangible sign of progress towards equality at work, at home and in society. We believe the Reykjavik Index for Leadership will support the endeavours to get there.”

As well as measuring the perceived legitimacy of women or men in positions of leadership in politics and professions, it also provides a measure of how women and men differ in their views. Across the G7, the Reykjavik Index for Leadership is higher for women (67) than it is for men (61). This means that across the G7, women are more likely than men to view women and men as equally suitable for leadership. This is true also in every G7 nation.

The Index evaluates the G7 group of nations and 20 different industries and public professions, surveying the attitudes of more than 10,000 people.

The Index and the findings were first presented during the Women Leaders Global Forum, held in Reykjavik 26- 28 November, 2018.

Women Political Leaders and Kantar will invite further discussion with political and business leaders on the Reykjavik Index for Leadership at World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, Switzerland on Friday, January 25 2019.

The Women Leaders Global Forum is co-hosted by WPL and the Government and Parliament of Iceland. WPL is the global network of female politicians, with a mission to increase both the number, and the influence, of women in political leadership positions. Their members are in political office – Presidents, Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, Members of Parliaments and Mayors.