GLOBAL GENDER GAP INDEX 2025​

Why in News:
The World Economic Forum (WEF) has released the 19th edition of the Global Gender Gap Index, covering 148 participating countries.

Highlights of the 2025 Index:

• India has slipped to the 131st position out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2025, a fall of two places compared to its 129th rank in 2024.
  ( Nepal (125), Bhutan (119), and Sri Lanka (130) also ranked above India. Only Maldives (138) and Pakistan (148) scored lower)
• India’s overall gender parity score of 64.4% is among the lowest in South Asia.
• Bangladesh emerged as the best performer in South Asian countries jumping 75 ranks to reach the 24^th position
• No economy has yet achieved full gender parity globally.
• Globally, Iceland retained its top position for the 16th consecutive year, followed by Finland, Norway, the UK, and New Zealand.

About Global Gender Gap Report:

• The Global Gender Gap Index is an annual report that evaluates the state of gender parity across countries, providing insights into progress and areas needing attention.
• Published by: World Economic Forum (WEF)
• The index assesses gender gaps in four key areas:
  economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment.
• The 2025 edition marks the 19th release and includes data from 148 countries.
• As of this edition, the global gender gap has been closed by 68.8%, yet projections indicate that full parity may take another 123 years
• The report uses a parity score ranging from 0 to 100%, with higher scores indicating greater gender equality.
• Women comprise 41.2% of the global workforce but hold only 28.8% of leadership positions, underscoring a critical gap in decision-making roles.
• It highlights both achievements and persistent challenges, aiming to drive targeted action for inclusive growth and equal representation.

India’s Performance across key dimensions in 2025:

• Economic Participation and Opportunity:
  India witnessed its strongest improvement in this category, with its score rising by 0.9 percentage points to reach 40.7%.
  Although the female labour force participation rate held steady at 45.9%, there was a slight rise in income parity from 28.6% to 29.9%.
  These figures point to slow but steady progress in bridging economic gaps, though disparities in actual income levels between men and women remain wide.
• Educational Attainment:
  India is approaching full gender parity in education, registering a score of 97.1%.
  This progress is driven by improvements in female literacy and increased participation in higher education.
  However, the challenge lies in translating educational gains into equal employment and leadership opportunities for women.
• Health and Survival:
  India made modest gains in this dimension, particularly in achieving better parity in sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy.
  However, with overall life expectancy for both men and women witnessing a decline, the improvement in gender parity appears more statistical than substantive.
• Political Empowerment:
  This area remains the most concerning. Women’s representation in Parliament declined from 14.7% in 2024 to 13.8% in 2025.
  Similarly, the proportion of women holding ministerial positions dropped from 6.5% to 5.6%.
  This marks the second straight year of decline and further distances India from its 2019 peak of 30% female political representation.