What happened: India is ranked 87 out of 144 in gender equality ranking.
Who is involved: World Economic Forum, citizens of India
When did it take place: 26th October 2016
Where did it take place: Worldwide
Why did that happen: In a survey conducted by the World Economic Forum on gender equality, for 144 countries in the world, India is 87th in the list – which is low. What this survey essentially means is in which countries are both sexes – male and female given equal opportunity in terms of education, work, right, and other factors.
A lesser number is better in the ranking. Countries in Europe continue to dominate these rankings with Iceland being the first – signifying that women in the country are given as close as possible opportunities that men are given. Finland, Norway, and Sweden occupy the second, third, and fourth position respectively – all of them belonging to the Scandinavian region.
There is some news to cheer about, for India though. We have jumped up 21 places in the ranking due to better education policies and chances for women in the country. Still, a lot of work needs to be done to narrow the gap between men and women.
In comparison to other countries in the neighborhood, Bangladesh has a better ranking than India at 72. Sri Lanka is ranked at 100, Nepal at 110, Maldives at 115 and Bhutan at 121. Pakistan is the second last nation in the survey – ranked at 143 only better than Yemen.
This survey was titled ‘The Global Gender Gap Report 2016’ and measured countries on mainly four parameters – economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political participation.
In all the parameters, India has stayed the same as last year or risen in ranking. Political participation is where India ranks highly at number nine!
A comparison of the BRICS nations, which comprises of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa shows us that only China ranks lower than India – with the top spot clinched by South Africa at 15. Russia was ranked at 75, Brazil at 79 and China at 99.
Women, definitely deserve equal opportunity in every field and clearly, we as a nation, need to bridge that gap between men and women.
