India Ranks 131st in Global Gender Gap Index 2025, Slips Two Places
India has slipped two places to 131 out of 148 countries in the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Report 2025, with a parity score of 64.1%. While India showed slight improvement in Economic Participation and Opportunity (40.7%) and Health and Survival, a decline in Political Empowerment, particularly women's representation in Parliament (13.8%) and ministerial roles (5.6%), contributed to the lower ranking. Full global gender parity is estimated to be 123 years away.
Unpacked:
India's decline in the ranking is mainly due to reduced Political Empowerment, with decreases in women's representation in Parliament and ministerial roles. While there was slight improvement in Economic Participation and Health and Survival, these gains were not enough to offset the setbacks in political representation, a key metric in the report.
India ranks poorly even among its South Asian peers. For example, in past years Bangladesh has ranked significantly higher on Political Empowerment, while India remains near the bottom globally for women's economic participation, ahead only of countries like Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
India has shown incremental improvements in Economic Participation and Health and Survival, but overall progress has been slow. The gender gap in areas like education and political representation remains wide, and the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have reversed some previous gains.
The long path to global gender parity is due to slow progress in closing gaps in economic opportunity, political representation, and health outcomes. South Asia, where India is a major country, is projected to take even longer—up to 197 years—due to persistent structural and social barriers.