Gender Gap

India retains 131st rank in Global Gender Gap Index 2026, Iceland on top

India retained the 131st rank on the Global Gender Gap Index 2026 released by the World Economic Forum on Wednesday, with Iceland, Finland and Norway maintaining their top three slots respectively. Only 14 countries ranked below than India on the index of 145 countries. These include Papua New Guinea, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Tajikistan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Mali, Algeria and Congo. Chad was the lowest-ranked country in the index, with Iran and Pakistan joining it in the bottom three. Geneva-based WEF said that nearly every economy tracked since 2006 by the index has advanced gender parity, but noted that full parity is still 120 years away. Globally, 69.2 per cent of the gender gap has now been closed, up by 0.4 percentage points over the last year, the WEF said. 100 per cent representing full parity. In India, the world's most populous country with approximately 1.5 billion people, the progress towards gender parity stood at 64.5 per cent, below the global average. While .

Women underrepresented in India's deeptech sector, says Indeed report

Women remain underrepresented in India's deeptech sector, with limited entry-level hiring and slower career progression despite steady job-seeking activity, an Indeed report shows

StatsGuru: Women's fair political representation still a far cry

Parliament rejects 33% women's reservation Bill, as data shows persistently low representation of women in legislatures despite gains at grassroots levels

A silent attrition of women doctors ails India's healthcare system

A silent attrition is hollowing out India's healthcare workforce, with implications for patient care and equity

Double shift, half the sleep: India's women lose rest to unpaid work

From late-night chores to early alarms, Indian women's sleep is sacrificed for the family's routine

Closing the gender gap: India still has miles to go in growth story

While there has been near gender parity in panchayati raj institutions, the percentage of women elected to the Lok Sabha is on a downward trend relative to the number of women candidates

Best of BS Opinion: Transparency is key to both democracy and global ties

Openness, reliability, and hope are critical to successful democracies and have a cumulative effect on both domestic and global ties

Gender gap persists in India's blue-collar jobs despite some gains: Report

Women in blue-collar jobs in India continue to face systemic hurdles that limit their career growth, as their participation in the workforce remains predominantly in lower-skilled, lower-paid, and less stable roles, a report said on Friday. According to the report by tech-enabled blue-collar hiring platform WorkIndia, women are increasingly channeled into gendered roles like telecalling and maid services, while opportunities in fields like field sales, marketing, and back-office jobs are shrinking. The overall number of job postings for women in India showed a slight uptick in 2023 (0.4 per cent), but in 2024 it witnessed a 5.3 per cent drop, the report said. "This reduction hints at more than just a statistical anomaly, it underscores a deeper issue in gender equality, particularly in blue-collar jobs. Women's participation in the workforce remains predominantly in lower-skilled, lower-paid, and less stable roles," the report said. The WorkIndia report is based on an analysis of o

Women's workforce participation up, but social barriers need more action

The push in women employment has come more from the rural sector than the urban sector

Women occupy 19% of C-suite roles in India; gender bias persists: Study

One of the primary obstacles hindering women's progress to leadership positions is the challenge of work-life integration,, revealed a study conducted by Avtar, a workplace culture consulting firm

Breaking the glass ceiling: Why Kim Kyung-Ah's Samsung CEO role matters

Kim Kyung-Ah's appointment as CEO of Samsung Bioepis breaks an 86-year tradition, making her the first woman outside the founding family to lead a Samsung company

Disney settles lawsuit for $43 million over alleged gender pay disparity

As part of the settlement, Disney has agreed to retain a labour economist for three years to analyse pay equity

Haryana polls: 13% 'criminal' candidates, 52% crorepatis in fray; details

A total of 1,031 candidates are vying for seats in the Haryana Assembly, comprising representatives from national parties, state parties, registered unrecognised parties, and independents

Women's corporate gains slow, true leadership parity decades away: Report

While companies have improved hiring practices and support for employees balancing work and home, advancement rates for women, especially women of colour, continue to lag behind

70% of employees unhappy at work, 54% looking to quit, finds report

Among various industries, the Fintech sector is ranked as the happiest, with the Real Estate sector emerging as the least satisfied

EU chief aims for gender parity but commissioner roles remain male-heavy

At first glance, the European Union may seem like a paragon of gender equality what with Ursula von der Leyen heading the all-important executive branch. Still, all the talk this week is about an excess of men poised for top positions at the EU headquarters. Not that von der Leyen, the first woman to hold the position as European Commission president, would want anything other than full gender parity in the body that runs the day-to-day business of the world's biggest trading bloc of 450 million people. One of its key objectives is achieving gender balance in decision-making, the strategy of von der Leyen's outgoing European Commission boldly proclaimed. Her office was committed to lead by example, with the first female Commission president selected in 2019, and the first gender-balanced College of Commissioners during this time. When it comes to gender issues, the 27-nation EU is often seen as perhaps the most progressive grouping of countries in the world, leaving other nations a

Inclusive development

India must reduce the gender gap

Gender Gap index: Indian women earn Rs 40 for every Rs 100 earned by men

India slipped two spots at 129th rank in World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap index 2024. While India's economic parity score has been improving, it's 6.2 percentage points below 2012 level of 46%

Decline of 9-5 grind: Rise in number of women employees opting gig for work

The number of female consultants in India registering for freelance positions has surged by over 300 per cent in FY24 over FY22

5G speeds up, gender gap in mobile money awareness still loading: Report

Conversely, awareness among adult Indian men with phones increased from 41 per cent in 2022 to 52 per cent in 2023