India betters gender gap rank; Rwanda, Philippines among top 10

India has improved its performance in a global gender gap measure that tracks relative divide between men and women across four key areas: health, education, economy and politics.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index placed India 108th out of 145 countries, up six notches from last year’s ranking. Having more than doubled the number of women in ministerial positions (from 9% to 22%), the country registered notable progress in representation of women in political leadership.

However, it performed poorly in economic participation for women, slipping five places to 139, lowest since the index was launched in 2006. Worldwide, the gender gap across all pillars (economy, politics, health & education) has closed by 4% since 2006.

According to the WEF, ‘economic participation and opportunity’ gap has been closed by 59%, with slow improvements of 3% over the past 10 years.

In education, the gap has decreased compared to 2006 and now stands at 95%. ‘Health and survival’ is closest to parity, at 96%, but the gap has widened slightly compared to 2006. Gender gap in political empowerment remains the widest. Here’s a partial list of rankings...