The 10 Best Countries For Women's Equality

When it comes to gender equality, the US has a long way to go.

Although the country's gender pay gap - the difference between what men and women earn for doing similar jobs - is the lowest it has ever been, a new report from The World Economic Forum finds that the US doesn't even break into the top 10 best countries for women's equality. This year it ranks at No. 20, lagging far behind Nordic nations but slightly improved from its No. 23 rank in 2013.

The annual Global Gender Gap Report gives an equality score to 142 countries based on how equal men and women are in four categories: economic participation and opportunities, education, political empowerment, and health and survival.

Scandinavia dominates this year's list. Iceland maintains the smallest gender gap for the second year in a row, followed by neighbors Finland, Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

Here are the top 10 countries:

The US ranks fourth in economic participation and opportunity, in large part due to the fact that women make up 55% of the nation's professional and technical workforce.

However, the country ranks 54th - below average - in political empowerment, thanks to the small number of women in the legislature (18%) and the fact that the US has never had a female head of state.