Closing the gender gap

More workforce participation can right the imbalance

India’s five-rank improvement on the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Gender Gap Index detracts from the fact that its performance on gender equality remains among the worst in the world. At rank 135 out of 146 countries against 140 out of 156 countries in 2021, it ranks above only 11 countries which included states such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Congo, Iran, and Chad. India does not fare much better when the sample is narrowed to 19 East Asian states, few of which enjoy top 50 rankings in the first place. Here, the country weighs in at rank 17, ahead only of