Adapting the Global Gender Gap Index for India: State-Level Scores, Policy Imperatives and PPP for Gender Equity

The study adapts the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index (GGGI) framework to develop a composite, state-level measure of gender parity for India’s 36 states and union territories. India’s 2025 GGGI score (0.643) and rank (131st) reveal slow progress relative to global peers. The national averages mask wide subnational disparities that impede targeted policymaking. Retaining the GGGI’s four core domains (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment) the study systematically maps indicators to official, gender-disaggregated datasets, constructing proxies where direct measures are unavailable, and applying statistical imputation for missing values. The resulting state-level index yields a national composite score of 0.780, with near-parity in Education (0.95) and Health (0.96), but persistent gaps in Economic Participation (0.57) and Political Empowerment (0.62). Inter-state variations are substantial: for example, Nagaland (0.77) and Sikkim (0.75) lead in economic parity, while Bihar (0.45) and Assam (0.45) lag; Tripura (0.87) tops political empowerment, whereas Ladakh (0.46) remains the lowest. Findings underscore the methodological and policy value of bridging global indices with granular national datasets, enabling evidence-based, decentralised planning. The paper proposes institutionalising gender-disaggregated data systems as public infrastructure, coordinated by the Ministry of Women and Child Development in partnership with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation and state agencies. A public–private partnership model is recommended to finance and maintain such systems, with open-access dashboards to track domain-specific progress. This subnational adaptation not only enhances diagnostic precision but also strengthens the accountability and design of gender-responsive policies within India’s federal framework.Keywords: Gender Gap Index, gender parity, state-level index, India, decentralised planning, public–private partnership, Sustainable Development Goals