India slips a notch on gender index

NEW DELHI: India slipped a notch to 114th rank, out of 134 countries, in the latest Gender Gap Review of the World Economic Forum (WEF) released on Monday. The annual review assesses the ability of a nation to distribute resources equally between women and men in its overall population. The review measures gender gap based on four pillars���health, education, economic participation and political empowerment. Among these, India was ranked favourably only in the political empowerment gap, occupying 24th rank.

���This could be because of the government���s conscious efforts to empower women at the local body or Panchayat level,��� said US ambassador-at-large for global women���s issues Melanne Verveer. She also added that women���s
empowerment is important because it is integrated with the economic prosperity of a country.

Among the other three pillars, India was ranked 134th in health gender gap, 121st in education gap and 127th in economic participation and opportunity gap. In the overall gender gap rating last year, India was ranked one position higher, at 113. In 2007, it was ranked 114th. The country was ranked 98th in the inaugural edition of the review in 2006.

Among the group of top emerging countries, India was ranked much below Russia, China and Brazil, which occupied the 51st, 60th and 82nd positions, respectively. Within South Asia, only Pakistan was ranked lower than India.
���Women will need to be more efficiently integrated into the economy in order to boost India���s long-term competitive potential. To achieve this integration, Indian companies will need to set targets, improve policies to close salary gaps and promote work-life balance,��� said Saadia Zahidi, co-author of WEF���s Global Gender Gap Report 2009 and head of WEF���s Women Leaders and Gender Parity Programme.

The WEF gender review, which analysed responses from 100 biggest employers in India, revealed that women employees ���earn almost one-third of what male employees earn, although, the gap is narrower for similar jobs���. While men earned an annual average income of $3,698, women earned $1,185. This could be because at the entry-level positions, more women are employed by companies, but the numbers come down as one moves up the hierarchy.