Central Idea

• India climbed eight places to rank 127 among 146 countries in the Gender Gap Report 2023 by the World Economic Forum.

• Improvement in India’s ranking from 2022 and partial recovery towards 2020 parity levels.

What is Global Gender Gap Report?

• The Global Gender Gap (GGG) Report is an index designed to measure gender equality.
• It was first published in 2006 by the World Economic Forum.

Key Areas of Analysis:

1. Economic participation and opportunity: Examines salary levels, workforce participation, and access to high-skilled employment.
2. Educational attainment: Assesses access to basic and higher education for both genders.
3. Political empowerment: Measures representation of women in decision-making structures.
4. Health and survival: Considers life expectancy and sex ratio, accounting for differences in mortality rates.

• On each of the four sub-indices as well as on the overall index the GGG index provides scores between 0 and 1, where 1 shows full gender parity and 0 is complete imparity.
• It is the longest-standing index, which tracks progress towards closing these gaps over time since its inception in 2006

India’s Ranking and Progress

• In 2022, India was ranked 135, indicating an improvement of 1.4 percentage points towards its 2020 parity level.
• India has closed 64.3% of the overall gender gap, showcasing progress in various areas.
• However, economic participation and opportunity in India achieved only 36.7% parity.
• India has achieved parity in enrolment across all levels of education.

Comparison and Regional Context

• Pakistan ranked 142, Bangladesh at 59, China at 107, Nepal at 116, Sri Lanka at 115, and Bhutan at 103.
• Iceland remains the most gender-equal country, with over 90% of its gender gap closed.
• Southern Asia achieved 63.4% gender parity, the second-lowest among the eight regions.

Challenges and Areas of Concern in India:

• Despite some improvement in wage parity, the representation of women in senior positions and technical roles declined.
• Political empowerment in India showed 25.3% parity, with women comprising 15.1% of MPs.
• Notably, 18 countries, including India, have achieved women’s representation of over 40% in local governance.

Efforts and Impact

• Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani highlighted the importance of women’s participation in local government bodies, which was acknowledged by the WEF.
• India saw a 1.9 percentage point improvement in the sex ratio at birth, contributing to increased parity after more than a decade.

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