23 Jun GENDER GAP REPORT
This article covers “Daily Current Affairs” and the topic details “Gender Gap Report”. The topic “Gender Gap Report” has relevance in the Social Justice section of the UPSC CSE exam.
Relevance:
For Prelims:
What is the Gender Gap Report?
For Mains:
GS 2: Social Justice
Key findings of the Report?
Key findings regarding India?
Why in the news?
India climbs eight places to 127 in global gender index, says WEF report.
What is the Gender Gap Report?
The Global Gender Gap Report, published annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF), serves as a crucial tool for measuring and analyzing gender disparities across nations. This comprehensive assessment focuses on four key areas: economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. By examining these dimensions, the report provides valuable insights into the progress made and the challenges that persist in achieving gender equality globally.
Key findings of the Report?
- Labor Market Disparities: Despite a slight increase in women’s participation in the labor market, significant gaps still exist. Between 2022 and 2023, the global labor force participation rate parity improved from 63% to 64%.
- Workforce Representation: Women’s underrepresentation in leadership positions remains a significant concern across industries. While women account for 41.9% of the global workforce, their representation in senior leadership positions stands at only 32.2%. Notably, different industries exhibit varying levels of gender representation in leadership roles. Sectors such as construction, financial services, and real estate show the lowest levels of female representation. Efforts are needed to break down barriers and promote gender equality in leadership positions.
- Gender Gaps in STEM: The underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations persists. While there has been an increase in the percentage of female STEM graduates entering the workforce, the retention of women in STEM careers remains a challenge. In the field of artificial intelligence (AI), progress in women’s representation has been slow, with women comprising only approximately 30% of AI workers. Encouraging greater female participation in STEM fields is crucial for fostering innovation and driving economic growth.
- Gender Gaps in Future Skills: Online learning platforms provide opportunities for skill development, but gender gaps in access and enrollment persist. Disparities exist across various skill categories, particularly in technology skills and AI, with less than 50% parity. Moreover, the gender gaps tend to widen as proficiency levels increase. Ensuring equal access to future skills training is essential for empowering women and narrowing the gender gap in emerging industries.
- Gender Gaps in Political Leadership: While progress has been made in increasing the number of women in political leadership roles globally, significant gender gaps still exist. As of December 2022, approximately 27.9% of the global population lived in countries with a female head of state. The report also highlights a steady increase in the representation of women in parliaments globally, with the percentage of female parliament members rising from 18.7% in 2013 to 22.9% in 2022. Continued efforts are necessary to enhance women’s political empowerment and ensure their meaningful participation in decision-making processes.
Key findings regarding India?
- India’s Ranking and Overall Gender Gap: India improved its ranking in gender parity, moving up eight places to secure the 127th position among 146 countries. The report highlighted that India has closed 64.3% of the overall gender gap, indicating some progress in addressing gender disparities.
- Comparison with Neighboring Countries: In comparison to its neighbors, India’s gender parity performance is varied. The report ranked Pakistan at 142, Bangladesh at 59, China at 107, Nepal at 116, Sri Lanka at 115, and Bhutan at 103. These rankings provide insights into the relative progress made by India concerning gender equality.
- Economic Participation and Opportunity: The report underscored that India still lags behind in economic participation and opportunity, achieving only 36.7% parity. This highlights the existing gaps in employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for women in the country.
- Enrolment in Education: India has achieved parity in enrolment across all levels of education. This indicates that girls and women have equal access to educational opportunities in India, reflecting a positive stride toward gender equality in education.
- Wage Parity and Senior Positions: While there has been an improvement in wage parity and income equality, the report noted a slight decline in the share of women in senior positions and technical roles. This highlights the need for continued efforts to address barriers and biases that hinder women’s advancement to leadership positions in various sectors.
- Political Empowerment: India registered a parity score of 25.3% in political empowerment, with women constituting 15.1% of Members of Parliament (MPs). While there has been progress in women’s representation in politics, the figures indicate that significant gender gaps persist in political leadership roles.
- International Comparison: Among the 117 countries with available data since 2017, only 18 countries, including Bolivia (50.4%), India (44.4%), and France (42.3%), have achieved women’s representation of over 40% in local governance. This highlights the need for increased efforts to enhance women’s political participation at various levels of governance.
Plutus IAS Current Affairs 23rd June 2023
Q.1 In the Global Gender Gap Report 2023, which area did India achieve parity in across all levels of education?
(a) Economic participation and opportunity
(b) Political empowerment
(c) Enrolment in education
(d) Wage parity and senior positions
Answer:(C)
Q.2 Which of the following statements regarding labor market disparities, as highlighted in the Global Gender Gap Report 2023, is correct?
1. Women’s participation in the global labor market has decreased between 2022 and 2023
2. Women face higher unemployment rates compared to men in the labor market.
3. Women’s representation in senior leadership positions across industries is higher than men.
4. Women have achieved parity in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) occupations.
Select the appropriate options.
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1, 2, 3 and 4
(d) 1, 3 and 4 only
Answer: (b)
Q.3 Discuss the key challenges and potential solutions highlighted in the Global Gender Gap Report 2023 regarding labor market disparities and women’s representation in leadership positions. How can these challenges be addressed to promote gender equality and empowerment?
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