Key Highlights
- India falls to 131st worldwide and 131 out of 148 nations, a setback by two ranks.
- The overall Gender Parity Index drops to 64.1 %, with gains confined to economics and schooling.
- Political representation slumps: female MPs fall from 14.7 % to 13.8 % and ministerial seats from 6.5 % to 5.6 %.
- The global gender gap narrows to 68.8 %, yet full parity remains 123 years ahead.
Detailed Insights
According to the World Economic Forum’s 19th Global Gender Gap Report, India’s ranking slipped to 131st worldwide, down from 129th the previous year, despite overall improvements in the participation of women in the labour market and in higher education.
Economic Participation & Opportunity rose modestly, with the earnings‑income parity moving from 28.6 % to 29.9 % and labour‑force participation hitting 45.9 %—a record high for the country.
Education sees a strong upward trend: female literacy rates have risen, pushing the educational attainment component to 97.1 %. Health and survival metrics improved as well, owing to better sex ratios at birth and increasing healthy life expectancy.
Political Power remains the weakest link; female representation in Parliament fell to 13.8 % from 14.7 %, while ministers rose only to 5.6 % from 6.5 %. The overall political empowerment index declined, leaving India far behind the 30 % peak reached in 2019.
For South Asia, India’s gender gap lags behind Bangladesh (rank 24) and Sri Lanka (130) while outranking Nepal (125) and Pakistan (148).
Key Concepts
- Global Gender Gap Index – A composite metric measuring disparities across economic participation, educational attainment, health, and political empowerment.
- Gender Parity Score – The overall percentage indicating how near a nation is to achieving uniform gender equality.
- Political Empowerment – The degree to which women hold elected office and cabinet positions relative to the total.
- Economic Participation – Labour‑force involvement and earnings equality between men and women.
- Educational Attainment – The proportion of women completing secondary and tertiary education.