India's Position in the Global Gender Gap Index
As of the 2025 report, India has fallen two places to rank 131 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index. The country's parity score stands at a modest 64.1%, positioning it among the lowest-ranked countries in South Asia.
Dimensions of Gender Parity
- Economic Participation and Opportunity
- Improvement by +0.9 percentage points in economic participation.
- Estimated earned income parity increased from 28.6% to 29.9%.
- Labour force participation rate stable at 45.9%, the highest ever for India.
- Educational Attainment
- Scores have increased due to positive shifts, though specific figures are not provided.
- Health and Survival
- Similar to educational attainment, improvements noted without explicit data.
- Political Empowerment
- There is a decline in female representation in Parliament from 14.7% to 13.8% in 2025.
- Women's ministerial roles dropped from 6.5% to 5.6% since 2023.
Political Context and Women's Reservation Bill
The Women’s Reservation Bill, first introduced in 1996, was passed in 2023. It reserves one-third of the seats for women in Parliament and State legislatures but will only be effective from 2029, post-Census and delimitation. Despite legal frameworks, political parties have the opportunity to enhance women’s participation even before the law's enforcement.
Conclusion
For India to improve its global ranking, it needs to address the identified gaps through strategic policies and political commitment. The focus should be on developing a comprehensive gender parity structure rather than solely climbing the global index.
