India’s consistently low ranking in the Global Gender Gap Index remains a concern. It has retained its 131st rank among 145 countries in the 2026 edition of the index, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). This follows a fall in ranking for two consecutive years. The 14 countries that trail India include Saudi Arabia and Papua New Guinea. India’s score is 64.5% (indicating progress towards gender parity), a 0.4 percentage-point increase over last year, but this is below the global average of 69.2%. While India retains its score from 2014, the global figure moved up from 65% to 69.2% during the period. Most other South Asian countries, such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and Sri Lanka, rank higher than India. It is estimated that the world will take 120 years to close its gender gap; with India, that becomes a significantly taller ask.

The index measures performance in four areas: economic participation and opportunity, education, health and survival, and political empowerment. India’s scores are high in educational achievement and health and survival, at around 96%. But the economic participation score is low at 41.2% due to low female labour force participation and an increasing income gap. The country ranks 67th in political representation, mainly drawing on women’s reservation in civic bodies. But representation at ministerial and higher parliamentary levels is very low. Indicators on education have shown progress among girls and women, but that growth is not translating into employment. Despite considerable improvement in the number of women professional and technical workers, labour force participation is reported at a low 44.1%.

India’s low scores tend to be magnified because of its large population. Many schemes have been rolled out to improve women’s social, economic, and educational standing. Governments over the decades have framed women-centric policies, and political parties have steered electoral strategies around women. But the intent behind many of these outreach initiatives has remained suspect, with poor implementation of the schemes further deferring real benefits. These limitations are reflected in the global index, even as lesser economies continue to record credible incremental progress. For a country where the Constitution assures equal status and rights to women, and where democracy has functioned for over seven decades, these gaps are worrying. At a 4.3 percentage-point advance since 2006, India faces a long road to change, and its biggest challenge will be its deeply patriarchal social design. (Source: DH)