Gender Inequality Index

The Gender Inequality Index (GII) is a composite indicator introduced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Human Development Report 2010, replacing the earlier Gender-related Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). It quantifies the loss in potential human development attributable to inequality between women and men, expressed on a scale from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (complete inequality). The GII is reported annually in the Human Development Report and is anchored in the capability approach of Amartya Sen and Mahbub ul Haq, the conceptual architects of the broader Human Development framework.

The index aggregates five indicators grouped under three dimensions. Reproductive health is captured through the maternal mortality ratio (maternal deaths per 100,000 live births) and the adolescent birth rate (births per 1,000 women aged 15–19). Empowerment is measured by the share of parliamentary seats held by each sex and the proportion of adult women and men with at least secondary education. Labour market participation is gauged by the labour force participation rate of women and men aged 15 and above. These indicators are combined using a geometric mean within and across groups, and inequality is computed via an association-sensitive aggregation that penalises disparities between the female and male sub-indices, meaning the GII rises as overlapping disadvantages compound.

In the Human Development Report 2023-24, India recorded a GII value of approximately 0.437, ranking 108th out of 166 countries, an improvement over earlier years driven largely by gains in reproductive health and rising secondary education. The Nordic states — Denmark, Norway, Switzerland — consistently occupy the top tier with values near zero, while Sub-Saharan and South Asian states cluster at the higher-inequality end. The GII must be distinguished from the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index (a separate four-pillar measure) and from UNDP's own Gender Development Index (GDI) and the 2022-introduced Women's Empowerment Index (WEI) and Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI), which candidates frequently confuse. A key analytical limitation is that the GII omits unpaid care work, asset ownership, and gender-based violence, and its parliamentary-seats indicator can overstate empowerment where reservation quotas operate.

For the examinations, the GII is tested heavily in current affairs and the Indian Economy / Social Justice papers — UPSC General Studies Paper I (society) and Paper II (social-justice indices), and FSOT and CSS economics sections. The typical question angle asks candidates to (a) identify the publishing body (UNDP, not WEF or World Bank), (b) list the three dimensions and five indicators, (c) recall India's latest rank and value, and (d) distinguish the GII from the Global Gender Gap Index. Prelims MCQs commonly pair the GII with the Multidimensional Poverty Index and the Human Development Index, all UNDP products, while Mains answers require linking the index to schemes such as Beti Bachao Beti Padhao and constitutional provisions like Article 15(3) and Article 39. Memorise that lower GII values signal greater equality — the inverse of the Gender Gap Index scoring.