GLOBAL GENDER GAP REPORT 2024

The report is released annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF).

• It is based on the Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI), which is a framework for benchmarking the current state and evolution of gender parity.
• The GGGI looks at 14 indicators across 4 key dimensions:
  1. Economic participation and opportunity
  2. Educational attainment
  3. Health and survival
  4. Political empowerment

The GGGI provides a comprehensive dataset for tracking progress on relative gaps between women and men across countries and regions over time. It's a widely referenced source for understanding global gender equality trends.

Key Findings

Global

• Among 146 countries, the top 5 countries for gender equality are Iceland, Finland, Norway, New Zealand, and Sweden.
• The share of women in parliamentary positions has shown an almost uninterrupted positive trajectory since 2006.
• At the current rate of progress, it will take 134 years to reach full parity.
• Women constitute 28.2% of the STEM workforce and 47.3% of the non-STEM workforce.

India Ranking:

• India was ranked 129th globally on gender inequality, down from 127th the previous year.
• India ranks 5th in South Asia, behind Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.

Trends:

• India saw small declines in Educational Attainment and Political Empowerment.
• However, Economic Participation and Opportunity showed a slight improvement.

Education:

• India has high shares of women in primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollments.

Recommendations:

• Achieving gender parity by 2030 would require a collective investment of $360 billion per year.
• Targeted interventions and ensuring equitable access to emerging technologies are needed.
• Businesses should have effective diversity, equity and inclusion policies and upskilling programs.

Note:Gender Inequality Index (GII):

• The GII is a UNDP metric that measures gender inequality across three dimensions - reproductive health, empowerment, and the labor market.

 while India performs relatively well on education metrics, it continues to struggle with overall gender inequality, ranking low globally and in the South Asia region. Significant investments and targeted interventions will be required to achieve gender parity by 2030