The Global Gender Gap Report 2024, released by the World Economic Forum, presents a dire picture of the current state and evolution of gender parity across four indices: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. It would take 134 years, that is, till 2158, to reach full gender parity,Says report.

Highlights of the report

1. The global gender gap score, interpreted as the percentage of the gender gap that has been closed, stands at 68.5 per cent for 2024, improving by a mere 0.1 percentage point from last year.
2. 97 per cent of the world’s economies have closed more than 60 per cent of the gender gap, a significant increase from 85 per cent in 2006.
3. India has slipped two places on the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global Gender Gap index to 129th place, while Iceland retained its top position in the rankings published on June 12.
4. Within South Asia, India was ranked fifth after Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Bhutan, while Pakistan was ranked last. Globally, Sudan was ranked last on the index of 146 countries, while Pakistan slipped three places to 145th.
5. Iceland remains at the top, having closed 93.4 per cent of its gender gap, leading the index for over a decade and a half.