Global Gender Gap Index 2026:
India has retained its 131st rank out of 145 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index 2026, released by the World Economic Forum (WEF).
- India ranked 131st in the Global Gender Gap Index 2026, with 64.5% gender parity. Despite strong performance in education and health, gaps persist in economic participation, political representation, leadership and technology.
- Bridging the gap requires addressing low female workforce participation, unpaid care work, safety and digital divides, while strengthening political representation, gender-responsive budgeting, care infrastructure, skilling and financial inclusion.
Key Highlights of the Global Gender Gap Index 2026:
- India achieved an overall gender parity score of 64.5%, retaining its 131st rank out of 145 countries. Although this marks a 4.3% point improvement since the inaugural 2006 edition, the country still lags behind the global average of 69.2%.
- India has achieved 24.5% gender equality in political representation. However, female representation at the ministerial level stands at just 5.9%, down sharply from a peak of 30% in 2019.
- A critical weak point, where women have achieved only 41.2% equality in the workforce compared to men.
- While female representation among professional and technical workers has doubled to 49.9% since 2006, women hold a dismally low 13.1% of senior leadership and managerial roles.
- India has achieved a high 96.6% equality score. The country maintains a complete balance between boys and girls in secondary and tertiary school enrollment, making this one of its most successful dimensions over the long term.
- India achieved a 95.6% equality score. Though overall health metrics have improved, India’s sex ratio at birth in 2026 remains nearly one percentage point lower than it was in 2006.
Global Gender Gap Report 2026:
- It is an annual flagship publication released by the WEF. First launched in 2006, it serves as a global benchmark to track how close countries are to achieving full gender equality.
