The recently released Global Gender Gap Report 2022 by the World Economic Forum (WEF) shows a strange phenomenon occurring in India. When it comes to enrolment of girls in primary education, India ranks first among all 146 participating nations—which is a beautiful achievement indeed. But then, when it comes to secondary education enrolment, India ranks 79th. But then India ranks first again when it comes to tertiary education enrolment. Overall, the nation ranks 135th—at the very bottom end of the list.
The WEF says that though India has definitely improved its gender parity ratio, the reason why it ranks so low may be due to a number of challenges. “In 2022, India scores 0.6, which is its seventh-highest score in the last 16 years,” the report states. “With a female population of approximately 662 million, India’s level of attainment weighs heavily on regional rankings.”
The report shows that the challenges women in India face start right at birth. India ranks fifth from the bottom in terms of sex ratio at birth, and ranks 146—the lowest in the world—when it comes to health and survival of the girl child. The fluctuating rankings in primary, secondary and tertiary education then proves that economic status plays a huge role in female education. The report also says that the low participation of both educated and uneducated women in the country’s labour force also plays a huge role in mitigating the issue for the upcoming generations.