India drops two notches to 129th spot in WEF's Global Gender Gap index; a look at country's strengths and weaknesses

India slumped two spots to 129th place in the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Gap index. As per the worldwide rankings released on June 12, Iceland retained its top position.

Among South Asian countries, India occupied the fifth position, while Pakistan stood last among the neighbouring countries -- Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bhutan.

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Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter), the international indexing organisation stated that there was only a slight improvement in the global gender gap. “The @wef's Global #GenderGap24 report is now live. It shows only a slight improvement in the global gap, with parity still five generations away at current rates of progress. However, in a historical election year, improving the #political participation of #women could have a significant impact,” it noted.

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Considering the global performance of 146 economies worldwide, Sudan secured the last position. Pakistan stood 145th, slipping three spots this year.

Setbacks

• India was listed among the economies with the lowest levels of economic equality. Bangladesh, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, and Morocco were the other nations on the list. These countries registered less than 30 per cent gender parity in estimated earned income. 
• The 'Educational Attainment' and 'Political Empowerment' parameters fared worse than earlier, declining two spots from the 127th rank registered last year, according to the report's findings.

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Improvements

• Nonetheless, India demonstrated the highest gender parity in secondary education enrolment. India also performed well in the political empowerment of women as it secured 65th rank globally.
• India occupied 10th position with respect to parity in the number of years with female/male heads of state for the last 50 years.
• The report noted improvement in 'Economic Participation' and 'Opportunity' scores.
• India's economic parity score showed upward trends in the last four years.

"Despite some bright spots, the slow and incremental gains highlighted in this year's Global Gender Gap Report underscore the urgent need for a renewed global commitment to achieving gender parity, particularly in economic and political spheres," PTI quoted WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi as saying.