UPSC Editorial Analysis: India’s Decline in the Global Gender Gap Index

General Studies-1; Topic: Role of women and women’s organization

Introduction

• The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2024, reveals a concerning trend for India. Ranked 131 out of 148 countries, India has dropped two more places from last year’s already low position.
• The findings call for a serious introspection of India’s policy effectiveness in promoting gender equality.

What is the Global Gender Gap Index?

The Global Gender Gap Index, introduced by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2006, is a benchmarking tool that measures gender parity across four dimensions:

• Economic Participation and Opportunity
• Educational Attainment
• Health and Survival
• Political Empowerment

Each of these categories is scored between 0 (inequality) and 1 (parity), and the aggregate is the country’s overall gender parity score.

India’s Overall Performance: Key Figures

• Global Rank: 131 out of 148 countries
• Parity Score: 64.1%
• South Asia Rank: Among the lowest
• Key Neighbours’ Ranks:
  • Bangladesh: 24
  • Nepal: Better than India
  • Sri Lanka and Bhutan: Ahead of India

India’s poor showing comes at a time when the global average gender parity improved to 68.5%, with the estimated time to close the gap globally reduced from 143 years in 2023 to 123 years in 2024.

Dimension-wise Analysis of India’s Gender Gap

1. Economic Participation and Opportunity

• Slight improvement of 0.9 percentage points in the score.
• Female Labour Force Participation Rate stagnates at 45.9%.
• Persistent gender-based occupational segregation: women are overrepresented in low-paying, care-related sectors like healthcare and education.
• Large share of unpaid and informal work by women, which remains statistically underreported.
• Wage disparity: Women earn ~20–30% less than men for the same work.

Implications: Without adequate recognition and support for unpaid labour and corrective wage policies, economic parity remains elusive.

2. Educational Attainment

• India shows steady progress, especially in enrolment at primary and secondary levels.
• Female literacy rate is still below global average (~70% in India vs 87% globally).
• STEM education participation remains low among women, affecting access to better-paying jobs.

Challenge: Cultural norms and early marriage continue to hinder higher education access for girls, especially in rural and tribal belts.

3. Health and Survival

• Marginal improvement, but India still lags due to high gender-based health disparities.
• Sex Ratio at Birth remains skewed (around 929 girls per 1000 boys).
• Issues like maternal malnutrition, anaemia, and poor reproductive health services continue to affect women disproportionately.

Structural Problems: Deep-rooted patriarchal attitudes lead to neglect of women’s health in many families, especially post-adolescence.

4. Political Empowerment

• Sharp decline from 14.7% to 13.8% in women’s representation in Parliament.
• Women ministers down from 6.5% to 5.6%.
• India’s rank in this parameter has worsened significantly and pulls down the overall index.

Opportunity Lost: Despite passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill (2023), its implementation remains uncertain as the 2021 Census is yet to be completed, delaying constituency redrawing.

Regional Comparison: South Asia and the World

• Bangladesh (Rank 24): Continues to outperform India due to sustained political representation and targeted social policies (like microfinance and education incentives).
• Nepal: Strong constitutional mandate for women’s representation in local governance.
• High-Income vs Low-Income Countries: Interestingly, many low-income countries have shown faster progress than richer nations, proving that political will matters more than economic status.

Lesson for India: Economic growth does not automatically lead to gender parity. India must embed gender equity in policy, culture, and institutions.

Why Gender Parity Matters: Economic and Social Impact

• Boost to GDP: McKinsey Global Institute estimates that India could add $700 billion to its GDP by 2025 if gender equality in the workforce is improved.
• Social Equity: Gender parity enhances outcomes in health, education, and governance.
• Demographic Dividend: With a large working-age population, better gender integration can transform India’s economy.

Key Challenges and Structural Barriers

• Patriarchal Social Norms: Influence everything from education to workforce decisions.
• Lack of Safety and Infrastructure: Especially in rural and peri-urban areas, discouraging women from working.
• Skewed Digital Access: Women are less likely to own mobile phones or access the internet, creating a new “digital gender divide”.
• Political Will and Implementation Gaps: Delay in enforcing laws like the Women’s Reservation Act, and inadequate funding for women-led entrepreneurship or skill development.

Way Forward

• Implement the Women’s Reservation Bill

• • Expedite census and delimitation process.
  • Ensure 33% reservation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies by 2029 at the latest.

• Recognize and Reward Unpaid Labour

• • Integrate unpaid work into national accounts.
  • Expand social protection schemes for women caregivers.

• Improve Female Workforce Participation

• • Introduce flexible work policies.
  • Increase investment in women’s skilling programmes.
  • Ensure safe transportation and workplace infrastructure.

• Boost Women in Leadership Roles

• • Encourage quotas in corporate boards.
  • Promote mentorship programs for women in science, politics, and entrepreneurship.

• Bridge the Digital Gender Divide

• • Provide subsidized mobile/data services for women.
  • Promote digital literacy through PMGDISHA and other platforms.

• Strengthen Monitoring and Data

• • Gender disaggregated data should be made mandatory in all national surveys.
  • Promote real-time dashboards for evaluating gender parity at state/district levels.

Conclusion

• India’s slide in the Global Gender Gap Index is not just a ranking problem – it is a reflection of deep structural inequalities that obstruct inclusive and sustainable growth.
• Achieving gender parity is not merely a social or moral imperative—it is an economic necessity. The roadmap is clear—what remains is political will, social acceptance, and institutional execution.