| Forum Stories | | Your weekly curated analysis of the top global issues |
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Welcome to Forum Stories!- In the spotlight this week: On the eve of International Women’s Day, here are insights into the state of gender parity today.
- We’re also exploring the potential of quantum technologies and the pace of the global energy transition.
This week’s newsletter is 778 words, a 3-minute read. |
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| Feel free to forward the Forum Stories newsletter to a friend or colleague. Our editorial team hand-picks the most relevant stories for you every week. You can also read today’s edition in your browser. |
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| 1. Spotlight: International Women’s Day – why parity is a priority |  | It will take another 134 years to reach gender parity. Efforts to close the gap are slowing, which is costing the world trillions. The UN’s theme for IWD this year is ‘For ALL women and girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment’. Read our explainer to understand why we still need IWD and what’s the current state of the global gender gap.- Closing the workforce gender gap could raise global GDP by more than 20%. Female labour force participation is currently 67.1%, compared with 81% for men. Here’s how greater women’s representation in political decision-making bodies can turn the tide.
- Tackling the women’s health gap could unlock a $400 billion boost to the global economy each year by creating a larger, healthier global workforce. These five actions could help to achieve it.
Urgent focus is needed on political empowerment: Our Global Gender Gap Report 2024 found that this is the most significant area of gender inequality, with the gap in politics being only 22.5% closed.
Zoom in: - Bodily autonomy: Around 50% of women are denied the right to choose what they do with their bodies, without fear of coercion or violence.
- Domestic abuse: Violence against women has hit ‘epidemic’ levels. Here’s what singer and survivor Melanie Brown had to say at Davos.
- Gender parity sprint: Our Gender Parity Accelerators are supporting over 1 million women by driving reforms in childcare, parental leave pay equity, and other policies.
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| 2. Quantum could revolutionize industries but cyber risks remain | | The quantum economy is not just a distant dream – it’s unfolding right now. New capabilities in computing, sensing and communications promise to revolutionize industries including energy, aerospace and healthcare. But it also poses new cybersecurity risks as current encryption methods would become obsolete.Protecting against cyber risks: The rise of quantum computers has the potential to compromise existing cryptographic systems, putting secure communications and data protection at risk. A Forum toolkit outlines how to adjust security practices and governance to address the quantum threat.
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| 3. Greater collaboration is needed in the energy transition | | Meeting growing demand in a sustainable way requires partnerships between governments and private companies. The transition pathways of different nations vary significantly as political, technological and financial factors shape their direction. There is no single formula for success but there are critical commonalities that nations can learn from.- No single technology will solve the energy transition alone. Take a look at the investment forces driving advanced energy solutions forward, and how strong industry partnerships, incentives and mandates can help countries to compete in the global market for investment.
The bigger picture: Although energy investment is still rising, growth rates are down, and geopolitical uncertainty is adding to energy price volatility. Here are five trends shaping the energy world in 2025.
Zoom in:- US plans to increase oil and gas production: “We will drill, baby, drill,” Trump said in his inauguration speech. We asked an expert what this means for the sector.
- Turning to nuclear: Energy security is as much a concern for nations as it is for big tech firms, which are now looking to nuclear power to supply their growing energy needs.
- AI chatbots fuelling demand: Some of this increase in demand is because of the rise of energy-intensive chatbots. Each ChatGPT query uses around ten times more electricity than a Google search.
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