Equality, parity, impartiality- that's what women want! When societies become more equal, economies become more resilient.

According to World Economic Forum report, there are 178 countries that prevent women's full economic participation, 95 countries do not guarantee equal pay for equal work and 19 countries where husband can legally prevent wife from working even in this day and age. The report adds that it would take 136 years to close the gender gap worldwide.

The report shows that India ranks an abysmal 140 out of 156 countries on the gender gap index. It fares the worst on health & survival and economic participation of women. However it fares marginally better on educational attainment and best when it comes to political empowerment.

In countries across the world, studies have documented the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, and why they remain far more vulnerable than men.

Between 2020-2021 women's employment declined by twice as much as men's at 10.5 percent.

While men make up more than 89 percent of the workforce, women have lost more jobs in percentage terms and their share in the workforce has gone down over the years.

To discuss this, CNBC-TV18 spoke to Shrayana Bhattacharya, Economist at World Bank's Social Protection and Labour Unit for South Asia; Varsha Adusumilli, Founder of Wonder Girls and Tarun Jain, Professor of Economics at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

Watch video for more.