{"id":342722,"date":"2025-07-12T18:15:20","date_gmt":"2025-07-12T12:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/?p=342722"},"modified":"2025-07-12T18:15:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T12:45:20","slug":"india-must-prioritise-gender-equality-for-national-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/india-must-prioritise-gender-equality-for-national-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"India must prioritise gender equality for national progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source<\/strong>: The post India must prioritise gender equality for national progress has been created, based on the article \u201cView India<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s Gender Gap Report ranking as a warning<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu<\/strong>\u201d on 12th July 2025<\/p>\n

UPSC Syllabus Topic:<\/strong> GS Paper<\/strong>1-<\/strong>Social empowerment<\/p>\n

Context<\/strong>: India is emerging as a global economic and digital power, yet it remains among the lowest-ranked nations in gender equality, as shown in the World Economic Forum\u2019s Global Gender Gap Report 2025<\/em>. The report exposes deep-rooted structural issues that hinder women\u2019s participation and national progress.<\/p>\n

For detailed information on India needs full gender parity to move forward confidently<\/strong> read this article here<\/a><\/p>\n

Persistent Gender Inequality in Key Sectors<\/strong><\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. Low Global Ranking Reflects Deep Disparities: <\/strong>India ranks 131 out of 148 countries<\/strong>, performing poorly in economic participation<\/strong> and health and survival<\/strong>. These failures are not only social but reflect serious structural challenges holding back development.<\/li>\n
  2. Health Gaps Undermine Women’s Well-being: <\/strong>Despite improvements in education, women’s health remains neglected. The sex ratio at birth<\/strong> is still highly skewed, and healthy life expectancy for women is lower than for men<\/strong>, indicating a failure in providing reproductive and preventive care.<\/li>\n
  3. Anaemia and Poor Health Outcomes: <\/strong>A striking 57% of women aged 15\u201349 are anaemic<\/strong> (NFHS-5), reducing their ability to study, work, or safely bear children. This problem, largely preventable, highlights a national failure to prioritise women’s health in development planning.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Economic Exclusion and Missed Growth Potential<\/strong><\/h2>\n
      \n
    1. Stagnant Female Workforce Participation<\/strong>: <\/strong>India ranks 143rd in Economic Participation and Opportunity<\/strong>. Women earn less than one-third of men and are still not entering the labour force in large numbers. Despite a 2015 projection that closing the gender gap could add $770 billion to GDP by 2025<\/strong>, this potential remains unrealised.<\/li>\n
    2. Unpaid Work and Invisible Labour: <\/strong>Most women remain confined to informal or subsistence work<\/strong>. Their massive contribution to unpaid care work<\/strong>, almost seven times more than men<\/strong> (Time Use Survey), is invisible in national statistics and under-supported in public policy.<\/li>\n
    3. Neglected Care Infrastructure: <\/strong>There is minimal investment in childcare, elder care, or maternity services<\/strong>, making it hard for women to participate in the workforce. This omission shows both a gender bias and an economic oversight.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Need for Policy Recognition and Investment<\/strong><\/h2>\n
        \n
      1. Time to Value Unpaid Care Work: <\/strong>Governments must integrate unpaid care work into economic policy via time-use surveys<\/strong>, gender budgeting<\/strong>, and direct investment<\/strong>. Countries like Uruguay and South Korea<\/strong> offer successful models for integrating the care economy into development plans.<\/li>\n
      2. Holistic Policy Measures Are Essential: <\/strong>India already has policy frameworks and slogans. What it lacks is real investment<\/strong> in public health, care services, and support systems that treat women as contributors, not just recipients.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Demographic Shifts and the Care Economy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
          \n
        1. Rising Elderly Population and Women<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s Role: <\/strong>By 2050, nearly 20% of India<\/strong>\u2019<\/strong>s population<\/strong> will be senior citizens, most of them older women. With fertility rates falling below replacement level, the working-age population will shrink<\/strong>, while care demands rise<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
        2. Economic Growth Requires Women’s Inclusion: <\/strong>Excluding women from the workforce will increase the dependency ratio<\/strong>, burdening fewer workers and threatening fiscal stability<\/strong>. Gender equality is now an economic and demographic imperative<\/strong>, not just a social goal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n

          The Global Gender Gap Report<\/em> is more than a ranking\u2014it is a warning<\/strong>. Unless India places gender equality<\/strong> at the core of its economic strategy, it risks losing the very gains that have propelled it onto the world stage.<\/p>\n

          Question for practice:<\/strong><\/p>\n

          Examine<\/strong> how gender inequality in health, unpaid care work, and economic participation affects India’s overall development and demographic future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Source: The post India must prioritise gender equality for national progress has been created, based on the article \u201cView India\u2019s Gender Gap Report ranking as a warning\u201d published in \u201cThe Hindu\u201d on 12th July 2025 UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper1-Social empowerment Context: India is emerging as a global economic and digital power, yet it remains… Continue reading India must prioritise gender equality for national progress<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230],"tags":[263,264,10498],"class_list":["post-342722","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","tag-gs-paper-1","tag-society","tag-the-hindu","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=342722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/342722\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=342722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=342722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=342722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}