HPAS/Allied Mains 2022 Answer Writing Challenge Day 213: Model Answer

Question: What is Gender Development Index? (4 marks/60 words)

Answer:

The GDI measures gender gaps in human development achievements by accounting for disparities between women and men in three basic dimensions of human development – health, knowledge and living standards using the same component indicators as in the HDI.

• The GDI is published by UNDP.
• The GDI is the ratio of the HDIs calculated separately for females and males using the same methodology as in the HDI.
• It is a direct measure of gender gap showing the female HDI as a percentage of the male HDI.
• The GDI shows how much women are lagging behind their male counterparts and how much women need to catch up within each dimension of human development.
• It is useful for understanding the real gender gap in human development achievements and is informative to design policy tools to close the gap.