Global Gender Gap Report

Global Gender Gap Report is an index used to measure the level of gender equality as prevalent in different countries. It is the index. It is designed to measure gender gaps in accessing resources and opportunities in countries to the available level of such resources and opportunities in those countries.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report of the World Economic Forum (WEF) of 2021, another generation of women will have to wait for parity in terms of gender. As an outcome of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the global gender gap has increased from 99.5 years to 135.6 Years.

Global Gender Gap Report - Key Findings

The Global Gender Gap Report ranks countries on the progress achieved towards gender parity.

This progress is evaluated based on four dimensions -

1. Economic Participation and Opportunity.
2. Educational Attainment.
3. Health and survival.
4. Political Empowerment.

Global Gender Gap Report - Overview

This year in the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, WEF has benchmarked 156 countries. The index's methodology has remained the same since its inception, thereby aiding in a sound and strong cross-country and time-series. The Global Gender Gap Report measures progress by countries towards gender parity on a scale of 0 to 100, where scores are interpreted as distance to this basic parity.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, the overall average distance to gender parity now stands at 68%. As per the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, the largest gap in this context remains to be closed in the sector of Political Empowerment, with only 22% closed as of now.

The second-largest gender gap as per the findings of the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 is in the dimension of Economic Participation and opportunity, with only 58% of the gap closed so far. And in the Educational Attainment and Health and Survival dimension, the gaps are almost closed. Global Gender Gap Report 2021 findings say that almost 95% of the gap has been closed in this term, with almost 37 countries already showing parity in this sphere.

Position of India According to the Global Gender Gap Report

1. According to the Report of 2021, India ranks 140 of 156 countries, which is a matter of serious concern.
2. According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021, India’s gender gap has been closed by 62.5%.
3. In the economic participation and opportunity sub-index, the gender gap disparity in India has widened by 3%, according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021.
4. India regressed by 13.5 % in the Political Empowerment sub-index.
5. Also, according to the report, India recorded a fall in the women’s labour force percentage from 24.8% to 22.3%.
6. Overall, the performance of South Asia is the worst in reducing the gender gap, according to the Global Gender Gap Report.
7. It will take estimated 195.4 years to close the gap for the South Asian region.

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Some initiatives of the Indian Government addressing this issue of the gender gap are the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao, and One Stop Centre Scheme. Further, in the Preamble of the Constitution of India, the principles of Gender Equality are enshrined in

Fundamental Rights, Fundamental Duties, and also in Directive Principles.

FAQs on Global Gender Gap Report

Q.1. When was the First Global Gender Gap Report published?

Ans. The very first Global Gender Gap Report was published in 2006.

Q.2. In the Global Gender Gap Report context, what does WEF stand for?

Ans. In the Global Gender Gap Report context, WEF signifies Women Economic Forum, an International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. It was established in 1971.

Q.3. Which country has fared the best according to the Global Gender Gap Report?

Ans. For the 12th time in 15 years, Iceland is ranked as the most gender-equal nation globally by the Global Gender Gap Report 2021.

Q.4. Which are the top gender-equal countries according to the Global Gender Gap Report 2021?

Ans. The Top Gender Equal Countries according to Global Gender Gap Report 2021 are Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Rwanda, Sweden, Ireland, and Switzerland.

Q.5. What is India’s Rank in Global Gender Gap Report 2021?

Ans. India has fallen by 28 places in the Global Gender Gap Report 2021.