View India’s Gender Gap Report ranking as a warning.

Why in the News?

• On July 3, 2025, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released its annual Global Gender Gap Report.
• India was ranked 131 out of 148 countries, with particularly poor performance in:
  • Economic Participation and Opportunity (143rd)
  • Health and Survival (among the lowest in the world)
• This ranking comes at a time when India is claiming global leadership through its digital economy, innovation ecosystems, and demographic strength.
• However, the report acts as a warning signal that India’s growth story remains critically gender-blind.
  

Background: Understanding the Global Gender Gap Index

The Global Gender Gap Index, launched by the World Economic Forum in 2006, assesses countries based on the extent of gender-based disparities in four dimensions:

• Economic Participation and Opportunity
• Educational Attainment
• Health and Survival
• Political Empowerment

India’s performance in education and political empowerment has seen marginal improvements, but health and economic indicators have stagnated or declined. This imbalance reflects structural inequalities, particularly in access to employment, healthcare, and agency over reproductive health.

Key Features of India’s Gender Gap Crisis

Economic Disempowerment

• India ranks 143rd out of 148 in economic participation.
• Female labour force participation has stagnated below 25%, among the lowest in the world.
• Women earn less than one-third of men’s earnings for similar work.
• McKinsey Global Institute (2015) had estimated that closing gender gaps could add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025, a goal that remains unfulfilled.

Health and Survival

• India’s sex ratio at birth remains skewed, indicating persistent son preference.
• 57% of Indian women aged 15–49 are anaemic (NFHS-5), compromising learning, work capacity, and maternal health.
• Life expectancy for women has declined relative to men, an anomaly in global health trends.
• Lack of investment in reproductive health, nutrition, and preventive care is especially acute for rural and lower-income women.

Unpaid Care Burden

• According to the Time Use Survey, Indian women perform nearly 7 times more unpaid domestic work than men.
• This unpaid labour includes childcare, eldercare, cooking, cleaning, and emotional labour, none of which are accounted for in the national GDP.
• Lack of care infrastructure forces women to withdraw from or avoid formal employment.

Demographic Challenges

• India’s fertility rate has fallen below replacement level (2.0), and the population is rapidly ageing.
• By 2050, senior citizens will constitute nearly 20% of the population, mostly comprising elderly women, many of whom will be widows without economic independence.
• This shift means fewer working-age people will have to support more dependents, a crisis worsened by low female workforce participation.

Policy Blind Spots

• Most Indian policies treat women as beneficiaries, not as contributors or builders of the economy.
• Gender budgeting and care policy reforms remain symbolic and underfunded.
• There’s a lack of cross-sectoral integration linking health, education, labour, and welfare through a gender lens.

Challenges Behind the Numbers

Cultural and Patriarchal Norms

• Entrenched gender roles normalise male dominance in decision-making and wealth accumulation.
• Girls continue to face early marriage, gender-based violence, and educational dropout, especially in rural and tribal areas.

Invisibility in National Accounting

• The bulk of unpaid and informal work done by women is unaccounted for in GDP estimates.
• No valuation or recognition leads to policy invisibility.

Weak Health Infrastructure for Women

• Primary healthcare centres often lack gynaecologists, trained birth attendants, and reproductive health services.
• Anaemia, malnutrition, and unsafe abortions are preventable yet remain prevalent due to budgetary neglect.

Absence of Gender-Responsive Budgeting

• While India has a Gender Budget Statement, it is often seen as a formality with little policy follow-through.
• Major ministries still fail to integrate gender concerns into flagship schemes or monitor impacts.

Lack of Childcare and Eldercare Ecosystems

• Anganwadis are underfunded and underperforming.
• Urban areas lack community-level care infrastructure, making re-entry into jobs difficult for women after childbirth or family illness.

Way Forward: From Rhetoric to Real Investment

Treat Gender Equality as an Economic Strategy

• Recognise that inclusive growth is impossible without gender equity.
• Implement policies that promote female entrepreneurship, skill development, and formal job creation.

Strengthen Women’s Health Systems

• Make reproductive, maternal, and adolescent health central to public health spending.
• Address anaemia, malnutrition, and mental health through community outreach and mobile clinics.
• Ensure gender parity in health insurance access through schemes like Ayushman Bharat.

Invest in the Care Economy

• Build and scale state-funded childcare and eldercare centres in both rural and urban areas.
• Offer maternity benefits to informal sector workers through direct benefit transfers.
• Create care cooperatives employing women to support other women, multiplying economic inclusion.

Account for Unpaid Work

• Institutionalise Time Use Surveys across all States.
• Recognise unpaid care in national accounting systems and GDP computation.
• Provide stipends or social credits for unpaid caregivers.

Reform Gender Budgeting

• Make gender impact assessments mandatory for every major scheme at both the central and state levels.
• Establish independent monitoring mechanisms to track budget utilisation.

Empower Women Politically and Administratively

• Enforce the 33% reservation for women in Parliament and State legislatures.
• Promote women in public administration, the judiciary, and corporate boards.
• Train elected women representatives to influence budgets and local policies.

Prepare for Demographic Transition

• Design pension schemes, home-care support, and health subsidies targeting elderly women.
• Use AI and digital platforms to deliver services efficiently to ageing female populations.

International Best Practices India Can Learn From

• Uruguay: Developed a National Integrated Care System to redistribute care responsibilities.
• South Korea: Invested in elder care and child support services to boost female workforce participation.
• Nordic countries: Use gender budgeting, parental leave, and flexible work policies to build inclusive economies.

Conclusion

The Global Gender Gap Report 2025 is not just a ranking. It is a red flag that demands urgent introspection and action. For India to sustain its economic momentum, it must integrate gender equity into every facet of governance, from health and labour to budgeting and urban planning. The demographic dividend is fleeting. Unless India centres women’s health, agency, and economic participation, the opportunity for inclusive development will be lost.

MAINS PRACTICE QUESTION

Question.: “India’s low ranking in the Global Gender Gap Report 2025 is not just a statistical failure but a structural one.” In this context, critically examine the major impediments to gender equality in India. Suggest a multi-sectoral strategy to address these challenges.

PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION