India’s dream of becoming a global economic powerhouse continues to be haunted by an unyielding truth: half of its population is still denied equal opportunity. In the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2025, India has slipped two positions to rank 131 out of 146 countries, signalling a stubborn and systemic failure to empower women politically, economically, and socially.
With an overall gender parity score of just 64.1%, India now ranks behind many of its South Asian neighbours, including Bangladesh (24), Nepal (117), and Sri Lanka (122). Even more concerning is that this is not a temporary dip – India has been consistently stagnating in the bottom third of the global list, despite bold policy pronouncements and public campaigns on women’s empowerment.
At the core of this dismal performance lies India’s abysmally low score in political empowerment, which stands at just 25.3%. Women currently hold a mere 13.8% of parliamentary seats, and their share in ministerial roles has dropped further to 5.6%, down from 6.5% last year. In a country of 1.4 billion people—where women have played pivotal roles in the freedom struggle, social reform, and even led states as chief ministers—the near invisibility of women in national decision-making is both alarming and unacceptable.
Economically, the picture is slightly more nuanced but far from encouraging. India improved marginally in the area of estimated earned income parity, climbing from 28.6% to 29.9%. However, women’s labour force participation remains distressingly low at 45.9%, and much of that is concentrated in the informal sector, where exploitation, low wages, and job insecurity are rampant.
In education and health, India has seen moderate gains. The education parity score rose to 97.1%, driven by better enrolment in tertiary education. The health and survival score also improved, largely due to efforts to correct the skewed sex ratio at birth and marginal increases in women’s healthy life expectancy. Yet these advances seem hollow when viewed against the wider canvas of social and economic inequality.
What makes India’s position more troubling is the contrast it presents with its global counterparts. Iceland, for the 15th consecutive year, topped the list, closing over 93.5% of its gender gap. Even countries with lower per capita incomes like Nicaragua, Rwanda, and Bangladesh outperformed India by significant margins, largely due to better representation of women in political leadership.
Experts warn that gender equality is not merely a moral issue, but an economic necessity. Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director at the World Economic Forum, emphasized that nations failing to close gender gaps risk not only social fragmentation but also slowed economic growth and innovation. India, projected to be one of the largest economies by 2030, cannot afford to move forward while leaving its women behind.
The data offers a stark reality check for policymakers. Token representation, short-lived campaigns, and hollow slogans won’t bridge a gender gap entrenched in patriarchy, institutional bias, and policy inertia. What’s needed is structural reform – legal, economic, educational, and political to give Indian women the power to not only participate but to lead.
From unpaid care work and pay disparities to underrepresentation in STEM fields and the alarming rise in online and offline violence against women, the report lays bare an uncomfortable truth: India’s gender inequality is not just an outcome of backward traditions – it is being systemically reproduced every day by institutions that resist change.
As India slips further down in the global gender equality ladder, the message from the world is clear: the time for symbolism is over. What India needs now is systemic change.
