The Hindu Editorial Analysis
12 July 2025
View India’s Gender Gap Report ranking as a warning
(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 6)
Topic : GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment
Context
India must place gender equality at the core of its economic and demographic future.
Introduction
India is now a global economic power, a leader in digital innovation, and hosts the world’s largest youth population. However, the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report (2025) provides a sobering reminder that in terms of gender equality, India still lags significantly behind.
India’s Gender Equality Ranking and Structural Challenges
- India ranks 131 out of 148 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report, with particularly low scores in economic participation and health and survival — critical pillars for true gender parity.
- These indicators reflect not only social issues but a structural failure that hinders national progress.
Health and Autonomy of Women
- Despite progress in educational attainment, India struggles to ensure women’s health and autonomy.
- India’s sex ratio at birth remains one of the most skewed globally, highlighting persistent son preference.
- Healthy life expectancy for women is now lower than that of men.
- These outcomes suggest chronic neglect in reproductive health, preventive care, and nutrition, especially among women from low-income and rural backgrounds.
- There is an urgent need for increased budget allocations for health, especially at the primary care level, to improve women’s access to education and basic health services.
- Without good health, economic inclusion is impossible.
- Nearly 57% of Indian women aged 15 to 49 are anaemic (NFHS-5), reducing their ability to learn, work, and carry pregnancies safely.
- This widespread and correctable issue symbolizes a broader failure to prioritize women’s health in national development.
Economic Participation and Opportunity
| Indicator | India’s Status | Global Projection/Notes |
| Economic Participation Ranking | 143rd | Stubbornly low female labor force participation |
| Wage Gap | Women earn less than one-third of men | Significant economic disparity |
| Potential GDP Gain | $770 billion by 2025 (projected) | Lost opportunity at current progress pace |
| Time to Close Gender Gap | Over a century at current pace | India lags behind global trajectory |
- Women’s labor force participation remains low, and wage inequality is significant.
- The McKinsey Global Institute (2015) estimated that closing gender gaps could add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.
- However, as of 2025, India seems to have missed this opportunity.
- At the current pace, it may take over a century to close the global economic gender gap, with India falling behind even this slow trajectory.
Women’s Employment Beyond Numbers
- Women are heavily engaged in informal and subsistence work, yet remain grossly under-represented in decision-making spaces such as boardrooms and budget committees.
- This results in a policy ecosystem that often sidelines women’s lived realities.
- The burden of unpaid care work is a significant drain on women’s time and agency.
Unpaid Care Work and Its Impact
- Indian women perform nearly seven times more unpaid domestic work than men, according to the Time Use Survey.
- Despite its critical nature, this unpaid labour remains invisible in national accounting and underfunded in public policy.
Need for Investment in Care Infrastructure
- Investing in care infrastructure such as childcare centres, elder care services, and maternity benefits would reduce this burden and enable millions of women to enter or re-enter the workforce.
- The lack of these services points to both a gender and economic blind spot.
Policy Recommendations and Global Examples
- Central and State governments must integrate unpaid care work into economic and social policy frameworksthrough:
- Time-use surveys
- Gender budgeting
- Direct investment in care infrastructure
- India can learn from countries like Uruguay and South Korea, which have successfully incorporated care economies into their development plans with positive outcomes.
India’s Demographic Shift
- India is at a demographic turning point.
- The percentage of senior citizens is expected to nearly double by 2050, reaching close to 20% of the population.
- This increase will mainly involve very old women, especially widows, who often face high dependency.
- Fertility rates have fallen below the replacement level, as noted in NFHS-5.
Economic and Social Implications
- The working-age population will shrink as the elderly’s care needs rise.
- To sustain economic growth, women—who constitute half the population—must be healthy, supported, and economically active.
- Gender equality is now a demographic and economic necessity, not just a rights issue.
Risks and Policy Needs
| Issue | Impact | Policy Requirement |
| Women exiting workforce | Increases dependency ratio | Prevent exclusion; promote re-entry |
| Rising dependency ratio | More strain on fewer workers, fiscal risk | Integrated health, labour, and social protectionpolicies |
- Continued exclusion of women from the workforce will raise the dependency ratio faster, straining fewer workers and threatening fiscal stability.
- Integrated policies that connect health, labour, and social protection are essential to reverse this trend.
Conclusion
India does not lack frameworks or ambition—the slogans and commitments are already in place. What is truly needed is substantial investment in public health systems that focus specifically on women’s needs, in care services that help redistribute unpaid work, and in policies that recognize women not merely as beneficiaries but as active builders of the economy. The Global Gender Gap Report serves not just as a ranking but as a crucial warning: unless India places gender equality at the heart of its economic and demographic future, it risks losing the significant gains it has painstakingly achieved so far.