Gender Gap Persists: India Ranked 131, Iceland Leads Again
What Happened
India retained its 131st position out of 145 countries in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index 2026. Iceland, Finland, and Norway occupied the top three spots. India’s overall gender parity score improved slightly to 64.5%, but remained below the global average of 69.2%.
Key Takeaways
India's strongest area was Political Empowerment, where it ranked 67th globally, while Economic Participation and Opportunity remained a major challenge with only 41.2% parity. The report suggests that despite gains in education and health, India needs faster progress in women's workforce participation, leadership representation, and economic opportunities to improve its global standing. The WEF estimates that at the current pace, global gender parity remains about 120 years away.