Vax Gender Gap Improves But Maha, Delhi, Many Others Lag

The gender gap in Covid vaccination has disappeared in 11 Indian states, but it is sharp in most others, including those with a higher human development index such as Maharashtra, Delhi and Goa.

- Malathy Iyer

Mumbai:

A chart drawn up on the basis of gender parity index —a socioeconomic index developed by Unesco to measure gender equity in education— shows India’s GPI is 0.98 (the ideal ratio would be 1). “This index was 0.906 on June 27,” said Dr Sachin Pandey, a Gandhinagar-based professor who maintains the data for his website, https://covidtikaherokuapp.com.

The states with best GPI at the moment are Andhra Pradesh (1.164), Assam (1.016), Karnataka (0.1012) and West Bengal (1.008). In research terms, a GPI between 0.97 and 1.03 indicates parity between genders.

The national capital, Delhi, is at 0.836 while Goa is a bit better at 0.857.