- According to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index, which was published last week, India has fallen two spots
- India's ranking has dropped for the second year in a row
- India is currently ranked 131st out of 148 nations
India has continued its downward trend from the previous year, dropping two spots in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index. With a gender parity score of only 64.1percent, India is currently ranked 131st out of 148 countries.
After Bangladesh (24th), Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, India is among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia. Given the improved outlook for global gender parity, the decline is particularly significant. In contrast to last year's estimate of 143 years, this year's report projects that it will take 123 years to attain full gender equality worldwide. It's interesting to note that a number of lower-income countries have done better than wealthier ones at closing the gender gap, supporting the notion that economic advancement depends on gender parity.
The index evaluates gender equality in four areas: political empowerment, health and survival, educational attainment, and economic participation and opportunity. In three of these categories, India's performance either stayed the same or slightly improved. However, its overall lower score was a result of a notable decline in political empowerment. Positively, there was a 0.9 percentage point increase in economic participation.
However, at 45.9percent, labor force participation stayed unchanged. Women are disproportionately employed in lower-paying fields like healthcare and education, demonstrating the persistence of gender-based occupational segregation. Women's economic advancement is further restricted by a persistent wage gap and widespread unpaid labor. Even though there has been improvement in health and education metrics, the rate is still slow.
Political empowerment saw the biggest drop. For the second consecutive year, the percentage of women in ministerial positions dropped from 6.5percent to 5.6percent, and the percentage of women in parliament fell from 14.7percent to 13.8percent. India's overall ranking has suffered as a result of these factors. Although the 2023 Women's Reservation Bill has the potential to increase representation, the impending national census may cause its implementation to be postponed until after the 2029 election.
India must increase women's participation in all areas of life, especially the economy, if it hopes to make significant progress. The social and economic impact of even minor advancements can be significant. India will never be able to fulfill its ambition of becoming a developed country until these gender disparities are closed.
