Global Gender Gap Index
Topic: Human Development: Concept, Approaches and Measurement · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Global Gender Gap Index measures how close women are to equality with men. The World Economic Forum (WEF) has published it since 2006. It looks at four areas: economic participation (jobs and pay), education, health and political empowerment (women in power, such as in parliament and ministries). Countries are ranked by how much of the gap between men and women they have closed.
Example
Iceland, an island country in the North Atlantic, leads the index. In 2025 India ranked 131st of 148 countries, and its weakest area was economic participation, because few women are in paid work (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Gender Inequality Index (GII): the GII is made by UNDP, not the WEF. It covers reproductive health, empowerment and labour-force participation, and a score of 0 means full equality.
- Gender Development Index (GDI): also made by UNDP. It is female HDI divided by male HDI, and a score of 1 means parity.