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Hindustan Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Utmost priority to bridge gender gap in India: Centre on WEF Gender Gap report
New Delhi, The Centre on Wednesday said it has given utmost priority to bridge the gender gap in India, in response to the country slipping to the 131st position out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index 2025, down from 129th rank in 2024. Utmost priority to bridge gender gap in India: Centre on WEF Gender Gap report Responding to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Women and Child Development Savitri Thakur said the government is committed to reducing gender disparity through a "multi-pronged approach" across economic, educational and political domains. "The Government of India has given utmost priority to bridge the gender gap in India, by reducing disparity between men and women and by increasing socio-economic status of women and their participation in various fields," Thakur said in a written reply. She highlighted several initiatives including the enhanced paid maternity leave, cash benefits for mothers under the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, and schemes like Sakhi Niwas, Stand Up India and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana to boost women's employment, entrepreneurship, and skill development. Thakur also underlined the government's focus on political empowerment of women, citing the passage of the Constitution Act, 2023 or the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, which mandates one-third reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies. On the education front, she said schemes like Samagra Shiksha, construction of gender-segregated toilets, and the Vigyan Jyoti initiative are focused on improving enrolment and participation of girls, particularly in STEM fields. Responding specifically to the impact of the Beti Bachao Beti Padhao scheme on India's gender ranking, Thakur said it had transformed from a policy into a "national movement." She said the scheme has contributed to behavioural change, with the sex ratio at birth improving from 918 in 2014-15 to 930 in 2023-24 and gross enrolment of girls in secondary education rising from 75.51 per cent to 78 per cent during the same period. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Time Out
4 days ago
- Business
- Time Out
We're (finally) making moves: Australia just achieved its best gender equality ranking in history
Australia still has a long road ahead when it comes to gender equality – but we're all about celebrating the small wins. This year, we've climbed from 24th to 13th place in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report. It's our highest-ever ranking out of 148 countries, and proof that we're heading in the right direction. Now in its 19th edition, the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index tracks countries against four key benchmarks: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. Australia's 13th-place ranking marks our best performance since the report launched in 2006, and is a huge leap from our record-low 50th place in 2021. Australia's rise in the rankings was largely driven by improvements in political empowerment, where we placed 19th overall – including 30th for the percentage of women in parliament and eighth for women in ministerial roles. We also came 32nd in economic participation and opportunity, with standout results in labour-force participation (21st) and the proportion of professional and technical workers (joint first), where the gender gap was just 9.78 per cent. When it comes to education, Australia scored top marks – ranking joint first in literacy, primary education and university enrolment. However, our overall ranking of 79th in this category was dragged down by lower enrolment rates in secondary education. We also have progress to make in the health and survival category, with Australia slipping from 88th to 96th, driven by women facing a lower healthy life expectancy. Minister for Women Katy Gallagher said, 'Whether it is investing in women's wages and economic opportunities, investing in sexual and reproductive healthcare, or investing in policies to address women's safety and tackling gender-based violence, our government is backing up words with action…However, we know there is always more work to do, and this report will help to inform our work on gender equality over the next three years.' While not reflected in this year's report, the May election saw the first majority-women cabinet in Australian history and the highest proportion of women in government, including 56 per cent of Labor reps. Iceland retained its top spot on the Global Gender Gap Index for the 16th year running, followed by Finland, Norway, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. And while the global gender gap has narrowed to 68.8 per cent, the report estimates it will still take around 123 years to reach full equality. These are the 15 best countries for gender equality Iceland Finland Norway United Kingdom New Zealand Sweden Republic of Moldova Namibia Germany Ireland Estonia Spain Australia Denmark Barbados Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Australia newsletter for more news, travel inspo and activity ideas, straight to your inbox. 🏝️ Fun fact: Australia has 8,222 islands — and you probably never knew they existed ✈️ Australia has one of the most powerful passports in the entire world for 2025 🥳
The Hindu
28-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Where does India lag in gender metrics?
The story so far:India dropped two places in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index for 2025, slipping to the 131st rank out of 148 countries. While the gender gap has narrowed or remained stable in the case of three categories — economic participation and opportunity; educational attainment; health and survival — it has worsened in the case of political empowerment. At a time when rising numbers of women are voting in elections, the number of women in the highest halls of power remain stubbornly low. This is set to change in 2029, when mandatory 33% reservation for women in State and national legislatures is set to kick in, but steps need to be taken to ensure the benefits of this law extend to the long term. What led to the drop? The Index uses three indicators to assess political empowerment, with India falling in two — the percentage of women in Parliament, which dropped from 14.7% (78 MPs) in 2024 to 13.79% (74 MPs) in 2025 after the general election for the 18th Lok Sabha; and the percentage of women in ministerial positions, which dropped from an already abysmal 6.45% in 2024 to just 5.56% in 2025. What will change after women's reservation? The legislation for 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and in State legislatures was passed after a long wait in 2023, but as it is tied to a new Census and delimitation exercise, it can only be implemented from the 2029 general election at the earliest. Women's representation in the Lok Sabha has ranged from 3.4% in 1977 to 14% in 2019. At the time of the passage of the women's reservation legislation in 2023, women accounted for only 9% of MLAs in State Assemblies, with Chhattisgarh having the highest representation (18% women MLAs), while Himachal Pradesh had just one woman MLA and Mizoram had none. Jacking these figures up to at least 33% will give a significant boost to India's political empowerment scores. The catch is that reservation is only valid for 15 years from the time the law passes, meaning that it is likely to be implemented in only two general election cycles, 2029 and 2034, raising concerns about the sustainability of gains women would make in this period. Also, while more women may become MPs, it remains to be seen if ruling parties also appoint them to ministerial roles in higher numbers, increasing their representation in actual governance. Despite the three-decade old 33% reservation for women at the panchayat and municipality level, which has been increased to 50% in most States, there is no clear pipeline to draw such local leaders into State-level politics. Does the rise in women voters matter? Back in 1952, 28 lakh women were excluded from voting in the general election as they were listed on the electoral rolls only as someone's mother or wife, with their own names missing. The gender gap among voters has narrowed speedily since then, from 17 percentage points in 1962 to less than two percentage points in 2014. In fact, in the last two general elections, women voters have actually overtaken men, though this can also be partially attributed to rising male migration for employment, leaving men unable to vote in their home States. The rising numbers of women voting has led to political parties wooing women as a votebank, with a slew of welfare schemes aimed at women, ranging from free bicycles for girls to a monthly allowance for poorer women. How to increase women candidates? The trend with respect to women voters, however, has not translated into an increase in women's representation. 'Political parties continue to give lower representation to women candidates in so-called 'good seats', often citing a lack of winnability,' says Rahul Verma, a political scientist at the Centre for Policy Research, noting that many parties field women in seats reserved for Scheduled Caste/Tribe candidates, in a bid to offset that quota. 'Women voters do not automatically vote for women candidates. Gender is not like caste, where voters may vote on the basis of identity. Women are much more practical, looking for actual programmatic delivery,' says Tara Krishnaswamy of Political Shakti, a non-partisan group working to improve women's representation in politics. However, she dismisses parties' excuses that women candidates are not winnable. 'In every general election since 1952, women candidates have had a higher winning percentage in comparison to men. The problem is that women do not make it to the candidates list… Women candidates in the lists of recognised parties average about 8% or 9%,' she says.
Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
What gender gap lens reveals about declining fertility rate
— Rituparna Patgiri The under-representation of women in diplomacy and the importance of breaking down structural barriers to support women in global decision-making roles were highlighted during the International Day of Women in Diplomacy observed on June 24. This global concern also resonates in the recently released Global Gender Gap Report 2025 in which India ranks 131st out of 148 countries. The Global Gender Gap Index, developed by the World Economic Forum and published annually since 2006, measures gender parity across four dimensions – economics, politics, education and health. Global Gender Gap Report builds on the foundational efforts of earlier initiatives such as the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) launched in 1984 and the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women that have helped foster gender equality. In 2015, gender equality was further reinforced as a global priority when it was included as Sustainable Development Goal 5 in the United Nations Agenda for Sustainable Development to be achieved by 2030. The importance of the Global Gender Gap Report lies in the fact that policymakers use it as a benchmark to assess progress made in addressing gender disparities. If one looks at India's performance in the latest report, the parity score is 64.1 per cent – one of the lowest in South Asia. In the third parameter – health and survival – India has improved scores in sex ratio at birth and healthy life expectancy. Declining fertility rate and gender inequities However, there are concerns over the declining fertility rate. India's Total Fertility Rate (TFR) – the average number of children per woman – has dropped to 2.0, according to the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) State of World Population Report 2025. The same was also reported in the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) of 2019-21. A TFR of 2 is considered the replacement level as two kids will replace their parents. But since some kids die, the replacement level is considered as 2.1. Hence, India's TFR has fallen below the replacement level of 2.1. The falling fertility rate is linked to India's ranking in the Global Gender Gap Index, indicating how reproductive freedom and choice are being regulated by external factors. Economic, social, cultural and political reasons together influence couples' decisions to have fewer or no children. Hence, fertility is not merely a matter of individual choice but a socially constructed outcome. In a survey by the UNFPA and YouGov conducted in 14 countries, including India, 20 per cent of respondents were of the view that they may be unable to have the number of children that they want. One in five cited future concerns like climate change, war and pandemics as reasons behind having fewer children. In the case of India, financial limitations (38%) pose a significant challenge to young people's child bearing aspirations. Unemployment and job insecurity (21%), housing issues such as lack of space and high rent (22%), and inadequate childcare facilities (18%) contribute to making parenthood seemingly unattainable. Healthcare is yet another significant factor that determines fertility decisions. Globally, one in three people have faced unintended pregnancy. In India, 14 per cent of people say they face barriers in accessing fertility or pregnancy-related medical care. At least 15 per cent of people cite poor general health or chronic illnesses as reasons behind not wanting to have children or to have fewer. There are notable regional variations in fertility rates across India. According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21, only five states – Bihar (2.98), Uttar Pradesh (2.35), Jharkhand (2.26), Meghalaya (2.91), and Manipur (2.17) – still exceed the replacement rate of 2.1. In comparison, southern and western states such as Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Gujarat report fertility levels below replacement levels – ranging from 1.6 to 1.9. The TFR has also declined in both urban (1.6) and rural (2.2) areas. High fertility rates are often associated with pressure on public infrastructure and lower levels of women's education and agency, while low fertility rates raise concerns about better economic and social security. Although the decline in fertility is often seen as a matter of women's choice, the reality is more complex. The role of the state and society in creating enabling conditions that make parenthood, especially motherhood, can be underlined here. It includes ensuring equitable access to healthcare facilities and protecting reproductive freedom. Moreover, motherhood cannot be seen as biologically determined and needs to be supported by state-backed measures like parental leave, flexible working hours, and childcare facilities. For instance, the Voice of Women Study 2024 involving 24,000 women employees found that even making use of family-friendly policies – such as medically necessary maternity leave – incurs a reputational cost for women in the workplace. Women are often pushed into lower-paid, part-time roles, limiting career advancement and increasing economic inequality. As such, parenthood is seen as an opportunity cost, particularly for women. Hence, the falling fertility rate needs to be seen in the context of broader societal and institutional issues. The UNFPA and YouGov survey also shows that parenthood aspirations are changing for both men and women. Moreover, in the context of India, women alone rarely make reproductive decisions. Social pressure, particularly the preference for male children, affects women's reproductive choice. Sociological studies by scholars like Leela Dube and Prem Chowdhry have noted this. For instance, in her book Women and Kinship: Comparative Perspectives on Gender in South and South‑East Asia, Dube argues that kinship systems structure gender relations in ways that undervalue women as compared to men. Similarly, Chowdhry in her works such as The Veiled Women: Shifting Gender Equations in Rural Haryana has written about prejudices associated with having a daughter in India. At the policy level, what is required is to build trust through stable and rights-based approaches. For example, in 2024, the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly amended the Panchayat Raj and Municipal Acts, which had earlier banned anyone with more than two children from contesting local body elections. The declining fertility rates in the state prompted it to repeal the old policy. According to the NFHS 2019-21, Andhra Pradesh reported a TFR of 1.47 in urban areas and 1.78 in rural areas – both well below the replacement level of 2.1. But it is not enough to ask couples to have more children. Rather concrete provisions offering economic and social security would help make parenthood a feasible choice. At the societal level, the desire to have fewer or no children is also guided by how gendered roles operate in the domestic space. According to the Time Use Survey conducted by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation in 2024, 41 per cent of women participate in caregiving compared to only 21.4 per cent of men. Women spend 140 minutes per day in caregiving activities whereas men spend 74 minutes. This reflects the Indian social fabric where domestic and caregiving responsibilities are largely seen as women's work, often discouraging women from having children or opting for fewer. It underlines a pressing need for policies that formally recognises women's unpaid domestic labour. Feminist economists like Devaki Jain in her 1996 paper titled Valuing Work: Time as a Measure have advocated for the same. Domestic responsibilities and parenthood need to go beyond gendered roles to address the declining fertility rate. It is not a 'women's problem' but one that needs to be tackled at both societal and policy levels. Fertility choices in India are after all deeply embedded in caste, religion and patriarchy. To what extent does India's low ranking in the Global Gender Gap Report reflect structural barriers to reproductive autonomy? How do declining fertility rates in India reflect on the narrative of women's empowerment? In what ways do gendered domestic responsibilities, as reflected in Time Use Survey data, shape reproductive choices Fertility-related policies should focus more on economic incentives or on dismantling structural inequalities. Illustrate with examples. (Rituparna Patgiri is an Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati.) Share your thoughts and ideas on UPSC Special articles with Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week. Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – IndianExpress UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.
16-06-2025
- Business
No Improvement for Japan in 2025 Gender Gap Ranking
Japan Data Gender and Sex Politics Society Jun 16, 2025 A drop in the number of women in the cabinet to just two contributed to Japan remaining at 118th in the Global Gender Gap Index for 2025. Japan's position remained unchanged at 118th in the Global Gender Gap Report issued by the World Economic Forum on June 12, 2025, which ranked 148 countries in terms of gender equality. The WEF report analyzes various statistical data on the status of women using four categories: economy, education, health, and politics. The gender gap index is based on 1.00 being the highest possible score, indicating that gender parity has been achieved, while 0.00 means complete gender disparity. Among Group of Seven countries, Britain was ranked the highest in terms of gender equality, leaping ten places to fourth overall. Germany (9) was the next-highest G7 country, followed by Canada (32), France (35), the United States (42), and Italy (85). Japan was the only G7 nation to fail to place within the top 100. Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru's October 2024 cabinet only included two female ministers (10% of the total), which was a significant drop from the five (25%) in Prime Minister Kishida Fumio's cabinet the previous year. This led to Japan dropping in the ranking for politics from 113th to 125th. 2025 Global Gender Gap Index Rankings Created by based on data from the World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2025. Data Sources Global Gender Gap Report 2025 from the World Economic Forum, 2025. (Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.) gender women gender equality
