Image Credit: The Hindu
Context
Despite significant strides in economic growth and technological advancements, India’s standing in the Global Gender Gap Report continues to raise concerns, underscoring persistent disparities in gender equality.
India’s Position in the Global Gender Gap Report
- India’s Ranking: In 2025, India ranked 131st out of 148 countries, according to the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap Report. This represents a fall of two places compared to its 2024 ranking of 129th out of 146 nations.
- Low Parity Score: With a parity score of 64.1%, India is among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia. Only Pakistan and the Maldives ranked lower in the region.
- Concerns in Key Areas: India’s scores are particularly low in economic participation and health and survival, highlighting the need for urgent policy reforms in these crucial pillars of gender parity.
Key dimensions of the Global Gender Gap Report
The Global Gender Gap Report evaluates countries across four key dimensions, including:
- Economic Participation and Opportunity: This dimension assesses gender-based disparities in wage equality, labor force participation, and representation in professional and technical roles. India’s rank in this area is particularly concerning, with women earning significantly less than men and female labor force participation remaining stubbornly low.
- Educational Attainment: This dimension measures the gender gap in literacy rates and enrollment ratios in primary, secondary, and tertiary education. While India has achieved near parity in educational attainment, this does not necessarily translate into equal opportunities for women in the workforce.
- Health and Survival: This dimension assesses gender equality in healthy life expectancy and sex ratio at birth. India’s skewed sex ratio at birth and lower healthy life expectancy for women are major concerns, reflecting deeply rooted cultural preferences and neglect of women’s health needs.
- Political Empowerment: This dimension measures the extent of gender disparity in political representation and leadership roles. India has shown a decline in this area, with reduced representation of women in Parliament and ministerial positions.
Structural issues and challenges
India is facing systemic issues that lead to poor rankings, in particular, the Global Gender Gap Report. The challenge of women in economic participation ranks India at 143 on the Economic Participation and Opportunity sub-index, compounded not just by socio-cultural norms but also a general lack of flexible jobs and care responsibilities. Earnings are unequal (at times women earn less than one-third of what men are paid, particularly in the Informal workforce). Women and girls tend to do the lion’s share of unpaid care work that limits time and economic contributions. Overall health indicators demonstrate inequalities, with alarmingly high rates of anemia, neglect for women’s reproductive health needs, and unmet preventive health care gaps. Women’s decision-making and involvement lacks enough women (in regard to board member designation or budget committees), so they experience gaps in voice and have no policy or procurements developed to address problems or answer policy evaluations. In addition, women have not had much presence in virtual spaces, particularly in rural and marginalised spaces.
Addressing the gender gap: The way forward
To address the gender gap, investment in care infrastructure, such as childcare and elder care services, is crucial to reduce the burden of unpaid work on women. Integrated policy reforms linking health, labor, and social protection with gender equity goals are also necessary. Promoting economic participation through flexible work arrangements, skill development programs for women, and enforcing equal pay legislation can boost female labor force participation and reduce the wage gap. Institutional reforms like time-use surveys, gender budgeting, and targeted welfare schemes can help address disparities and center women’s needs in policymaking. Finally, challenging patriarchal attitudes and workplace bias requires shifting social norms by engaging men and boys in gender equality campaigns and utilizing mass media and community leaders.
Conclusion
India’s decline in the Global Gender Gap Index underscores that gender parity remains a significant challenge despite progress in education. Closing this gap is vital not only for social equity but also for India’s sustainable economic growth. By focusing on improving women’s health, increasing their economic participation, and ensuring their political representation, India can effectively utilize the potential of its entire population and achieve inclusive national development.
Source: The Hindu
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