Context: India has been ranked 131 out of 148 countries on the Global Gender Gap Index 2025 with an overall gender parity score of 64.1%, a relative drop of two positions from 2024.
Relevance of the Topic:Prelims: Key facts about Global Gender Gap Index; Global Gender Gap Index 2025.
Global Gender Gap Index
- The Global Gender Gap Index is released annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
- It was first introduced in 2006 to benchmark the current state and evolution of gender parity across four key dimensions:
- Economic Participation and Opportunity
- Educational Attainment
- Health and Survival
- Political Empowerment
- The index lies between 0 and 1, with 1 denoting complete parity. The gender gap is the distance from full parity.
Global Gender Gap Index 2025
The 19th edition of the Global Gender Gap Index was published by WEF in 2025.
Global Highlights:
- The global gender gap is at 68.8% for 148 countries. Across all dimensions in 2024, the gender parity has risen. However, no country has yet achieved full gender parity.
- The highest gap remains in Political Empowerment. Women represent 41.2% of the global workforce, but women only hold 28.8% of top leadership positions.
- Iceland retains the world’s most gender-equal economy for the 16th consecutive year, closing 92.6% of the gender gap- the only economy to reach 90% parity, followed by Finland and Norway.
- Among South Asia: Bangladesh (ranked 24), Bhutan (119), Nepal (125), Sri Lanka (130), India (131), and Pakistan (148).
India’s Performance
- India has ranked 131 out of 148 countries, with a parity score of 64.1%.
- The biggest gap in India too is in the political empowerment category.
- Representation of women in parliament declined from 14.7% to 13.8%.
- The share of women in ministerial positions fell from 6.5% to 5.6%.
Key Facts: Important Indices on Gender
Gender Inequality Index (GII):
- Published by: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in their Human Development Report.
- It measures gender inequalities in three key dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market.
- GII scores range from 0 (equality) to 1 (extreme inequality). India with a GII value of 0.403, ranked 102 out of 172 countries in 2023.
Gender Development Index (GDI):
- Published by: United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
- GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.
- As per Human Development Report 2025, the 2023 female HDI value for India is 0.631 in contrast with 0.722 for males, resulting in a GDI value of 0.874.
There is a need for improvement in women’s participation in all areas, especially in economic activities. Without addressing its gender gaps in critical areas, India’s goal of being a truly developed nation will remain distant.