This is where equal pay is considered most important

In Sweden, 43% of women consider equal pay the most important issue facing women and girls, while 28% of men agree. Overall, this equates to 36% of the nation - more than anywhere else in the world - that think equal pay is the most important challenge facing the female population.

The figures are taken from a survey conducted by market researcher Ipsos in partnership with International Women’s Day, designed to explore attitudes and perceptions around progressive themes and socio-economic issues.

In Germany, 34% of the population consider equal pay a primary issue - 37% of women and 32% of men. Next in the ranking is Belgium, where 32% of the population are most concerned about equal pay - 38% of women and 27% of men.

Overall, equal pay seems of greatest concern to European countries, with France and the United Kingdom close behind Belgium.

At the other end of the scale, just 2% of Turkish nationals think equal pay is the most important challenge. This is despite the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap report showing Turkey has one of the widest gender pay gaps of any country.

Globally, the gender pay gap was 32% last year, up from 31.7% in 2016.

In India, meanwhile, 7% of the population is most concerned about equal pay. Interestingly, 10% of men say it’s the most important issue, while only 5% of women say they agree.

Sexual harassment is a major concern

Overall, equal pay was mentioned as the most important issue by 19% of respondents - 20% were female, while 17% were male, with responses gathered from 27 countries. However, equal pay was not the most pressing issue identified by the report.

Around one-third of respondents said sexual harassment was the most important issue facing women and girls. Perhaps surprisingly, more men (33%) than women (31%) cited it as the main problem.

Among individual countries, 58% of Peruvians labelled sexual harassment as an important issue, the highest percentage of any country surveyed.