India's Gender Equality Challenges

India, despite being a global economic power and digital innovator, ranks poorly in gender equality as per the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report (2025). The country is placed 131 out of 148 countries, with significant deficits in economic participation and health and survival.

Key Issues

• Economic Participation:
  • India ranks 143rd on the Economic Participation and Opportunity subindex.
  • Women earn less than a third of what men do.
  • Closing gender gaps could have added $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025, yet this potential remains unfulfilled.
• Health and Survival:
  • India has a skewed sex ratio at birth, showing a preference for sons.
  • 57% of women aged 15-49 are anaemic, impacting their ability to work and bear children safely.

Societal and Economic Impacts

• Unpaid Care Work:
  • Women perform nearly seven times more unpaid domestic work than men.
  • This work remains invisible in national accounting.
• Under-representation:
  • Women are under-represented in decision-making spaces like boardrooms and budget committees.

Required Actions

• Increased budget allocations for health, particularly at the primary care level.
• Investment in care infrastructure such as childcare centers and elder care services.
• Central and State governments should account for unpaid care work through time-use surveys and gender budgeting.

Demographic Shifts

India is facing a demographic shift with a rising percentage of senior citizens, expected to double by 2050. An increasing dependency ratio due to declining fertility rates and a reducing working-age population highlights the need for women's economic participation.

Conclusion

Gender equality is essential not just as a rights issue but for demographic and economic stability. Integrated policies connecting health, labor, and social protection are critical. Real investments in public health systems and policies treating women as economic builders are necessary. The Global Gender Gap Report serves as a warning to prioritize gender equality for sustainable growth.