The World Economic Forum (WEF) published its Global Gender Gap Report 2025 on June 11. Of the 148 countries ranked in the Gender Gap Index, India stands at 131st — 18th from the bottom. It is ahead of its neighbour Pakistan which ranked last, but far behind Bangladesh, which ranked 24th globally.
In fact, India slipped three positions since last year. For a nation that celebrates women achievers like boxer Mary Kom and astronaut Ritu Karidhal, it is a sobering reminder that individual success stories are poor substitutes for collective gender justice.
A country that dreams of a US $5 trillion economy and a seat at the global high table is ranked abysmally low when it comes to ensuring equal opportunities and dignity for half of its population.
To understand what this really means, we need to unpack the four sub-indices that make up the overall Gender Gap Index: Economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival; and political empowerment.
READ I Manufacturing rebounds, but caution still warranted
Gender gap – A grim economic reality
In the Economic Participation and Opportunity sub-index, India ranks 144th out of 148. The numbers speak volumes.
While India may claim rising GDP growth rates, this prosperity is barely touching women. Female labour force participation in India is a dismal 41.7 percent, one of the lowest in the world, compared to a global average of 48.7 percent.
Rural women, especially in informal sectors, face severe job insecurity, wage discrimination, and harassment. This is not just a development issue; it is an economic tragedy.
According to a McKinsey Global Institute study, India could boost its GDP by US $770 billion by 2025 simply by bridging the gender gap in labour force participation. But instead of harnessing this potential, India seems content sidelining half of its demographic dividend.
Take the story of Rekha Das from West Bengal’s Hooghly district. A skilled weaver, she was forced to abandon her craft post-pandemic as orders dried up and local contractors refused to deal with women directly, insisting male family members be intermediaries. Such stories, multiplied by millions, explain why India continues to languish near the bottom of this index.
Education: A mixed bag
On the Educational Attainment sub-index, India fares slightly better at the 110th place.
School enrolment rates for girls have indeed improved. Schemes like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao have made some impact, at least in getting more girls into classrooms. According to government data, girls’ gross enrolment ratio at the primary level now stands at 102 percent, marginally higher than boys. The figure exceeds 100 percent as it includes under-age and over-age enrolment.
However, the problem lies beyond primary school. Dropout rates for girls surge dramatically at the secondary and tertiary levels, largely due to early marriage, unpaid domestic labour, safety concerns, and lack of access to higher education institutions.
Only 26.9 percent of women aged 25 and older have completed secondary school education, compared to 54 percent for men.
If education is meant to be the great equaliser, it remains a distant dream for India’s girls.
Health: The silent crisis
The most shocking of all is India’s position in the Health and Survival sub-index: it ranks 143rd out of 148.
Despite advances in healthcare infrastructure and maternal care initiatives, gender-based health disparities remain stark in the country.
The issue of missing women, a term coined by the Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, continues to haunt India. Discriminatory practices like female foeticide, neglect of girls’ health, and higher mortality rates among women endure across regions and social groups.
The child sex ratio has barely improved, with 929 girls per 1,000 boys according to the latest National Family Health Survey-5 data. In affluent states like Haryana and Punjab, patriarchal attitudes ensure that the preference for a male child persists.
Sunita Hansda, a young woman from Khanakul Block of Hooghly District, narrates a common ordeal : denied iron supplements during pregnancy due to family indifference, she lost her new-born daughter to preventable complications.
Multiply this by millions, and one can understand India’s 143rd rank.
Political empowerment
The only area where India performs relatively better is on the Political Empowerment sub-index, ranking 69th.
This is largely due to the constitutional provision of 33 percent reservation for women in local government bodies or Panchayat Raj institutions. At the national level, however, women hold just 15 percent of seats in Parliament and 13 percent in the state legislatures.
While notable figures like President Droupadi Murmu and several female chief ministers (currently India has Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and Rekha Gupta in Delhi) in India’s history are symbols of hope, political tokenism is no substitute for structural change. The long-delayed Women’s Reservation Act or Nari Shakti Vandan Act 2023, proposing 33 percent seats for women in Parliament and State Legislatures, although passed by Parliament, is expected to be implemented only after 2029.
The cost of silence
Perhaps the most unsettling revelation in the 2025 report is the stagnation of India’s progress since 2006, when WEF began this annual exercise.
Among 100 countries with continuous data, India ranks 63rd in terms of progress — demonstrating that it has done little while other countries have moved ahead.
Why does this matter?
Because discussions around gender inequality are increasingly relegated to academic debates, feminist forums, or token observances on Women’s Day. Mainstream media rarely covers these statistics. The humanities and social science departments, traditionally spaces for such discussions, face steady defunding and delegitimisation.
Yet, international embarrassment cannot be contained by suppressing domestic voices. The same government ministers who proudly narrate India’s growth story at WEF summits must also be held accountable for the country’s appalling gender equality record.
What India needs to do
To seek global leadership, India must first confront its widening gender gap.
This begins with the speedy implementation of the Women’s Reservation Act and robust investments in women’s skill development, employment opportunities, and reproductive healthcare. Persistent issues like female foeticide and low female labour force participation can no longer be ignored.
Ensuring that girls complete secondary and higher education is vital to break intergenerational cycles of inequality.
Simultaneously, making workplaces safer, harassment-free, and inclusive is not optional but essential for meaningful economic growth. However, state action alone won’t suffice. Citizens must demand gender-sensitive policies, challenge everyday sexism, and push for women’s representation in decision-making spaces.
Dr. Soumyabrata Mondal is Research Associate, Department of Economics, Banaras Hindu University. Originally published under Creative Commons by 360info
.