Mind the gap, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• India ranks 131 out of 148 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2025, a drop of two places from 2024.
• The country’s overall parity score is 64.1%, among the lowest in South Asia.
• While there have been marginal improvements in education, health, and economic opportunity, political empowerment of women has worsened.
• Women’s representation in Parliament and ministerial roles has declined for the second consecutive year.

Global Gender Gap Index – 2025 Findings

1. Economic Participation and Opportunity:

• Improved by +0.9% (from 28.6% to 29.9% in earned income parity).
• Labour force participation remains stable at 45.9%, the highest to date for India.

2. Educational Attainment & Health and Survival: Positive shifts contributed to slight gains in these subindices.

3. Political Empowerment (Key Concern):

• Female MPs dropped from 14.7% (2024) to 13.8% (2025).
• Women in ministerial positions fell from 6.5% to 5.6%.
• Political empowerment continues to be the biggest drag on India’s gender parity score.

4. Women’s Reservation Bill – Legislative Milestone, Delayed Realisation:

• Passed in 2023, 27 years after its first introduction in 1996.
• Reserves one-third seats in Parliament and State Legislatures for women.
• Implementation delayed, pending Census and delimitation.
• Reflects historical political resistance and lack of urgency in institutionalizing representation.

Way Forward 

• Legal compulsion (post-2029) is not the only path — political parties can voluntarily increase female candidates.
• Genuine political will and policy reform are crucial to correct underrepresentation.
• Gender parity should not be reduced to merely a global ranking issue, but pursued as a normative national goal.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Global Gender Gap Index (by WEF): Measures gender disparity across four dimensions: Economic Participation & Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health & Survival, Political Empowerment. 
• Delimitation: Redrawing of electoral boundaries based on Census data — essential for implementing seat reservation.

Mains Mock Question:

Q. The decline in India’s rank in the Global Gender Gap Index 2025 is largely due to underrepresentation of women in politics. Discuss the challenges and suggest measures to enhance women’s participation in the political process in India.