India’s Gender Gap Report 2025: UPSC/GPSC Key Analysis

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India’s Gender Gap Report 2025: A Wake‑Up Call for Aspirants

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025 placed India 131st out of 148 countries with a gender parity score of 64.4%. Despite marginal improvements in education and health, India’s low ranking highlights persistent setbacks in women’s economic participation and political empowerment. This issue is highly relevant for UPSC, GPSC, SSC, and banking exam aspirants, as it intersects with social justice, gender equality, and sustainable development under GS‑II and GS‑III syllabi.

1. India’s Low Global Rank & Structural Challenges

India slipped from 129th in 2024 to 131st in 2025, though its absolute score rose from 64.1% to 64.4%. This fall is due to other countries progressing faster, making India’s position relative decline alarming.

The drop reflects deeper structural issues, not just statistical nuances. Educational and health gains have failed to translate into economic empowerment and political representation - sectors that pull India down in global rankings.

2. Economic Participation & Opportunity Deficit

India’s score in the Economic Participation & Opportunity sub-index improved slightly to 40.7%, due to an increase in women’s estimated income parity—from 28.6% to 29.9%. However, labour force participation remains stagnant at 45.9%, indicating limited progress beyond basic education.

Moreover, women earn around one-third of men’s income in India, placing the country at 143rd in this sub-index. This affects India’s GDP potential, with McKinsey estimating a $770 billion loss from underutilized female human capital.

3. Health & Survival: Anaemia, Life Expectancy, Sex Ratio

India made modest gains in Health & Survival, driven by improved sex ratio at birth and life expectancy. However, persistent issues remain:

  • Nearly 57% of women aged 15–49 suffer anaemia (NFHS-5).
  • Healthy life expectancy for women is declining.
  • Skewed sex ratio persists despite government efforts.

These health indicators affect women’s ability to engage fully in education, work, and civic life, impacting several GS-III and GS-II topics.

4. Invisible Unpaid Care Work

The Time Use Survey shows Indian women spend seven times more on unpaid domestic and care work than men. This ‘invisible labour’ remains absent from GDP estimates and public recognition.

This burden restricts women’s participation in formal economies and leadership, reinforcing systemic gender inequality. Aspirants should link this to themes like gender budgeting, labour rights, and social policy.

5. Political Empowerment: A Regressive Trend

India’s political empowerment score declined in 2025 due to reduced female representation in key roles:

  • Female MPs dropped from 14.7% to 13.8%
  • Women ministers fell from 6.5% to 5.6%.

This drop places India among the bottom ranks globally for women's political power. The lack of progress in the Women’s Reservation Bill underscores the policy gap, making this relevant to GS‑II discussions on constitutional reforms and electoral representation.

6. Comparative & Regional Context

India’s rank trails behind South Asian neighbors:

  • Bangladesh – 24th
  • Nepal – 125th
  • Sri Lanka – 130th

This comparison highlights that economic prosperity alone doesn’t guarantee gender parity. Aspirants should examine state and regional success stories like Kerala, where female literacy and health indicators are significantly higher.

7. Policy Remedies & Way Forward

To close the gender gap, multifaceted policy interventions are required:

  • Integrate unpaid work into GDP and support with care infrastructure (childcare, eldercare)
  • Strengthen women’s health via targeted programmes on anaemia and maternal care
  • Pass the Women’s Reservation Bill to ensure 33% female representation
  • Implement gender budgeting and also time-use surveys
  • Promote women’s entrepreneurship and safe mobility

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These measures align with SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and core GS-II and GS-III themes in governance and social justice.

Conclusion

India’s 2025 Global Gender Gap ranking at 131st serves as a stark reminder that gender equality is still an unmet promise. Despite advancements in education and health, India continues to underperform in economic participation, unpaid labour recognition, and political voice.

For UPSC/GPSC aspirants, this provides a rich case study on how gender deficits intersect with economic productivity, social equity, and democratic governance. In essay and mains answers, connecting data with policy solutions will demonstrate depth and analytical clarity.

Moving forward, aspirants should track India’s progress in future WEF reports, the passage of the Women’s Reservation Bill, and state-level innovations—each offering critical evidence for thoughtful exam responses.

Location: New India Colony Rd, Ankur Chokadi, New India Colony, Ankur Tenament, Nikol, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 382350, India

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