India’s Covid vaccination drive was started in January 2021 and is gaining momentum. About 21 crores doses have been administered till date including first and second doses; in which Gender gap is prevalent. As of May end, 871 women had been vaccinated for every 1000 men.
Gender Gap in India
Sex ratio in India is already skewed. There are 108.18 males per 100 females. Female population accounts for 48.04 percent of total population while male population accounts for 51.96 percent. This gender gap reflects at all levels in India, including in largest vaccination drive.
Gender-related Development Index (GDI)
GDI measures life expectancy, educational attainment and income. According to it, closer the ratio to 1, smaller is gap between men and women. Human Development Report of 2019 reflects India’s GDI value as 0.892. It ranked India at 129th position out of 189 countries.
Gender Inequality Index (GII)
GII reflects gender-based disadvantage across three dimensions of reproductive health, labour market and empowerment. Countries having unequal distribution of human development experiences high inequality. As per UNDP report 2019, India’s GII is 0.0501 and was ranked at 122. HDI for females in India is 0.549 while for male is 0.671 which clearly reflects disparity.