Another 131 Years To Bridge Gender Gap In The World Says WEF; Where Does India Stand?

The World Economic Forum (WFE) on Tuesday (June 20, 2023) published a report the crux of which pointed out that it will take another 131 years of the world to achieve gender equality. It examined gender parity in at least 146 countries. It studied parameters like politics, health, education, and the economy.

The report concluded that the progress is quite slow, and at the pace with which we are chasing gender equality, it will not be possible before 2154. The report pointed out that we will bridge the gap in economic participation in another 169 years, and will take 162 years to strike a balance in the political empowerment of the gender gap.

The WFE report could not figure out a timeline for when there will be gender parity in the health aspect. The only positive takeaway from this report is that we will reach gender equality in the education sector in another 16 years.

Where Do Various Countries Stand?

While there is nary a country with 100% gender equality, Iceland has been topping the list for 14 years. It is the only country with gender parity standing at 91.2%. Following it are Norway (87.9%), Finland (86.3%), New Zealand (85.6%), Sweden (81.5%), Germany (81.5%), and others.

While the United States Of America (USA) is considered a developed country and counted among the supreme powers in the world, it is on 43rd position with gender parity of 74.8%. The United Kingdom (UK) is a little ahead at 15th position with a gender equality mark of 79.2%.

Saadia Zahidi, managing director at WEF, has been quoted saying in the report, "Recent years have been marked by major setbacks for gender parity globally, with previous progress disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on women and girls in education and the workforce, followed by economic and geopolitical crises."

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Where Does India Stand?

India stands at the 127th position with a gender equality mark of 64.3%. “It has improved by 1.4 percentage points and eight positions since the last edition (2022),” said the report.

However, when we talk about Economic Participation and Opportunity, the country stands among other neighbouring countries under the 40% mark. India (36.7%) and Pakistan (36.2%) are standing quite close in this aspect.

If we talk about political leadership, India stands at 44.4%. We are far behind many countries when it comes to the representation of women among leaders of the country. On the Political Empowerment front, our parity score stands at 25.3%. Women make up only 15.1%, less than one-third, of total parliamentarians. The report says that this number is the highest we have seen since the 2006 edition of the WEF report.

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Speaking about the Health and Survival subindex, we stand with China, Azerbaijan, and others at 95% below the mark. The report pointed out that our poor ranking can be due to ‘skewed sex ratios at birth’. But the silver lining is that we are improving in this sector.

The report mentioned that the Indian government has been making policies to help the country grow on the gender parity index. The WEF report also said that we are among a few countries that have been “implementing more gender-equal approaches to increasing labour force participation, pay equity and health and safety standards, preventing harassment and sexual violence at work.”

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