The World Economic Forum said India’s economic parity score has trended upwards for the past four years.
| Photo Credit: AFP

India has slipped two places on the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Gender Gap index to 129th place, while Iceland retained its top position in the rankings published on June 12.

Within South Asia, India was ranked fifth after Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, while Pakistan was ranked last. Globally, Sudan was ranked last on the index of 146 countries, while Pakistan slipped three places to 145th.

India figured among the economies with the lowest levels of economic parity, alongside Bangladesh, Sudan, Iran, Pakistan, and Morocco. All of them registered less than 30% gender parity in estimated earned income.

However, India showed the best gender parity in terms of enrolment in secondary education, while it scored well on political empowerment of women at 65th rank globally. With regard to parity in the number of years with female/male heads of state for the last 50 years, India was ranked 10th.

With a population of more than 140 crore, India has closed 64.1% of its gender gap in 2024 and the decline of two places from 127th last year, mainly happened due to small declines in ‘Educational Attainment’ and ‘Political Empowerment,’ parameters, while ‘Economic Participation’ and ‘Opportunity’ scores slightly improved. The WEF said India’s economic parity score has trended upwards for the past four years.

“In the Political Empowerment subindex, India scored within the top-10 on the head-of-state indicator, but its scores for women’s representation at the federal level, in Ministerial positions (6.9%) and in Parliament (17.2%), remain relatively low,” it added.

Indian economy projected to grow 6.5% in 2024: UNCTAD

The WEF said the world has closed 68.5% of the gender gap, but at the current pace it will take another 134 years — equivalent to five generations — to achieve full gender parity. Since last year, the gender gap has closed by 0.1 percentage points.

“Despite some bright spots, the slow and incremental gains highlighted in this year’s Global Gender Gap Report underscore the urgent need for a renewed global commitment to achieving gender parity, particularly in economic and political spheres,” WEF Managing Director Saadia Zahidi said.

“We cannot wait until 2158 for parity. The time for decisive action is now,” she added. Iceland was followed by Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Sweden in the top five. The U.K. was ranked 14th, while the USA was at 43rd place.

Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the World Economic Forum addresses attendees during the opening of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on January 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of the World Economic Forum (WEF), will step back from his current role and become chairman of the board of trustees by next January, the organization said on Tuesday.

The Geneva-based institution said in an emailed statement it was undergoing a planned “governance evolution” from a founder-managed organisation to one where the president and the managing board assume full executive responsibility.

The forum, which was established by Mr. Schwab in 1971, is known for its annual gathering of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.

Mr. Schwab’s goal was to create a forum for policymakers and top corporate executives to address major global issues and learn practices for leadership and management.

However, the event, once regarded as a cheerleader for globalisation, is not without its detractors. In recent years, it has been criticized by activists and commentators as a talking shop for the jet set that adds to global carbon emissions.

Acknowledging the shift, the WEF’s theme for last year’s annual conference was “Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” and it called on world leaders to address immediate economic, energy and food crises while laying the groundwork for a more sustainable world.