Gender equality: The old story gets worse

We may celebrate the birth a girl as the seventh billion baby, but UNDP’s report 2011 finds that India needs to work hard to give its women equal share as men. We lag behind even Pakistan and Bangladesh when it comes to gender equality. 

India has a Gender Inequality Index (GII) value of 0.617, ranking it 129 out of 146 countries in the 2011 index.

In comparison, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan are ranked at 112, 113 and 115 respectively on this index. GII is measured on three parameters - reproductive health, empowerment and economic activity.