ET : India slips into last 10 in terms of opportunity for women : Nov 12,2007
PTI NEW DELHI
INDIAN womens empowerment is still a long way if the World Economic Forums report, which has put the country among the bottom 10 when it comes to their participation in economic agenda, is any hint.
According to the World Economic Forums latest Gender Gap Index report released over the weekend, India has been ranked at 114th position after taking into account economic, political, educational and health parities, among a total 128 countries. In terms of economic participation and opportunity alone, India has fared even worse at 122nd position, pushing it into the bottom ten.
In the overall ranking, the country has slipped from 98th rank in 2006 when the index included a total of 115 countries.
This years Gender Gap Index has been topped by Sweden with a gender equality of 81.5%, followed by Norway, Finland, Iceland and New Zealand. The countries ranked below India include Bahrain, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Iran, Oman, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, Benin, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Pakistan, Chad and Yemen with the lowest gender equality of 45.1%.
According to the WEF report, India has an overall 59.4% gender equality, while for economic participation and opportunity it stands at 39.8%. Compared to its 122nd rank for economic participation, India has fared much better in terms of political empowerment at 21st position. The country has 106 women in Parliament, 118 in ministerial positions and has seen four years with a female head of state in the last 50 years.
India is ranked at fourth position with a 43% gender equality when compared in terms of a women state head. The economic parity index is based on four parameters labour force participation, wage equality for similar work, income, legislators, senior officials and managers and professional and technical workers. In terms of wage equality, Indias rank is much better at 59th with a 67% gender equality, while for professional and technical it is 97th (27% equality). It has been ranked below 100th positions for the other three parameters. WEF said India has 36% female participation in overall labour force, while for professional and technical workers it is 21%.
In terms of economic participation and opportunity, Mozambique has been named as the top country with best gender equality of 79.7%, followed by Philippines (78.9%), Ghana (78.1%), Tanzania (78%) and Moldova (77.8%). On economic parameters, the only six countries faring worse than India are Iran (123rd), Bahrain (124th), Oman (125th), Pakistan (126th), Saudi Arabia (127th) and Yemen (128th).
The major countries faring better than India on economic parameters include the US (14th), the UK (32nd), Australia (12), South Africa (85) and France (61st). Among the BRIC countries, Brazil (62nd), Russia (16th), and China (60th). GENDER GRIND
114 INDIAS OVERALL POSITION
122 RANK IN ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION
43 % IN TERMS OF WOMEN STATE HEAD
59.4 % INDIAS GENDER EQUALITY
39.8 % INDIAS ECONOMIC PARTICIPATION
59 RANK IN TERMS OF WAGE EQUALITY