Gender Disparity in India

Sociologically the word gender refers to the socio-cultural definition of man and woman, the way societies distinguish men and women and assign them social roles. The distinction between sex and gender was introduced to deal with the general tendency to attribute women’s subordination to their anatomy. For ages it was believed that the different characteristics, roles and status accorded to women and men in society are determined by sex, that they are natural and therefore not changeable. Gender is seen closely related to the roles and behavior assigned to women and men based on their sexual differences. As soon as a child is born families and society begin the process of gendering. The birth of the son is celebrated, the birth of a daughter accepted with pain; sons are showered with love, respect, better food and proper health care. Boys are encouraged to be tough and outgoing; girls are encouraged to be homebound and shy. All these differences are gender differences and they are created by society.

Recently, the Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee has termed the continuing gender disparity in education as one of the factors that substantially weakens the democratic fabric of the country. Many of the Indian States had gender indicators worse than that of sub-Saharan African countries and gender disparity was directly linked to gender inequality at the familial and social levels, he observed.

The Lok Sabha Speaker said that democracy cannot thrive unless and until there is equal participation of men and women in politics and different national activities and for that to happen, educational empowerment is a must. If we fail to overcome the obstacles to education, particularly in the case of women, a major portion of our population will be prevented from exercising human rights, he said.

Socio-Political System
So far our socio-political system has failed to ensure that at least a majority of children between the ages of six and 14 are in school—instead of making up the world’s largest child labour force. Around 53 per cent and 34 per cent of the children enrolled in Class I do not complete Class VIII and Class V respectively. Most of them are Dalits and Adivasis and remain labourers all their lives. If necessary, incentives to enrol and retain girls in schools should be provided.

As far as women’s empowerment is concerned, it is very sad they are not getting the Constitutional amendments reserving a third of the seats for women in the Assemblies and in Parliament passed as it was done in the case of women’s representation to the local self-government bodies through the 73rd and 74th amendments.

Urban-Rural Divide
There was a big urban-rural divide in educational investment and opportunities. To maintain our social progress and realise our economic potential the concerns of the rural population have to be given adequate attention in our planning process. A majority of women in the rural areas were not even aware of the laws that directly impact their day-to-day lives such as the gender-neutral National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA), the Right to Information Act and the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act.

Impact on Development Goals
Gender inequality is, therefore, a form of inequality which is distinct from other forms of economic and social inequalities. It dwells not only outside the household but also centrally within it. It stems not only from pre-existing differences in economic endowments between women and men but also from pre-existing gendered social norms and social perceptions. Gender inequality has adverse impact on development goals as it reduces economic growth. It hampers the overall well-being because blocking women from participation in social, political and economic activities can adversely affect the whole society. Many developing countries including India have displayed gender inequality in education, employment and health.

A new study using gender disaggregated statistical indicators has highlighted disparities in gender development across the different States and Union Territories of India. The study, entitled ‘Gender biases and discrimination against women: What do different indicators say?’ focuses on disparities across the diverse regions of the country, analysing individual indicators pertaining to health, education, mortality, economic participation, decision-making and safety and security.

Most illustrative is the data on survival indicators, which reveals that demographic imbalances stem as much from socio-cultural practices as from economic factors. The BIMARU States of Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, despite some improvements, still show figures indicating backwardness in terms of various health indicators. Despite these adverse findings, demographic imbalances such as negative sex ratios are not highest in these states. On the contrary, it is the prosperous states of Haryana and Punjab that are among the worst with adult sex ratios of 869 and 886 respectively compared to the national figure of 934 females per 1000 males as per Census 2001.

While economic factors such as poverty and deprivation seem to affect educational attainments and health status of women in most states, demographic imbalances or work participation levels are better explained through attitudinal biases in society.

UNIFEM Findings
According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), sex-disaggregated data and gender specific indicators serve to unmask the socio-economic and cultural differences among women and men that exist within society and in the household due to inherent gender biases. The new study, in her opinion, throws light on some of the reasons behind the various forms of gender inequality by analysing seven development indicators in the light of the broader socio-economic and cultural factors prevalent in the respective states and by making inter-State comparisons. While economic factors such as poverty and deprivation seem to affect educational attainments and health status of women in most States, demographic imbalances or work participation levels are better explained through attitudinal biases in society.

The high incidence of dowry deaths, torture or cruel treatment of women in northern States including Delhi and some Union Territories such as Chandigarh, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands may all be contributing factors leading to relatively shorter life spans among adult women. Better sex ratios are noted among the southern States, some hill regions and in states where tribal groups are a significant proportion of the population. These, feels the author, could be due to the historical prevalence of matriliny, women’s control over property and resources and their greater participation in decision-making.

Child Sex Ratio
So far as child sex ratio is concerned, the condition is even more dismal. Since baby girls are biologically stronger, there would be more surviving girls than boys in the 0-6 age group population if there were no gender-based discrimination. However, the chilling reality is there are only 927 girls for every 1000 boys. For every 1000 boys, therefore, at least 73 girls are missing in India today.

In fact, over the past decade the number of girls per 1000 boys has been declining in most states of India. The states that have much to explain over the significant drop in the number of girls are Punjab (793), Haryana (820), Delhi (865), Gujarat (879) and Himachal Pradesh (897). In fact, prosperity appears to have enabled the use of the advanced scientific technology of sex determination to do away with girls before they are even born in the northern belt of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Delhi as well as parts of Maharashtra.

Status of Women
At the core lies the low status of women that stems from patriarchal mindsets, social attitudes and cultural perceptions.

If one goes by the data from different sources such as the Census of India, Sample Registration System (SRS), National Sample Survey (NSS), National Family Health Survey (NFHS) and the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), one can make a link between shrinking State resources to unavailability of health and educational services to women. States where poverty levels are high—such as Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Arunachal Pradesh—give less importance to education, especially in the case of females. These States also seem to have lower levels of access to health care and organised sector employment that can help women lead a better life.


In the political arena, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments have enabled the entry of nearly a million women at different levels through a policy of reservation of one-third seats for women in village-level panchayats (village councils) and urban municipalities. The best State in terms of highest participation is Bihar followed by Karnataka, Kerala, Sikkim and West Bengal. The representative quota was not achieved in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Haryana, and the explanations vary from state to state. While questioning whether this participation of women is empowering or whether women are simply being co-opted by prevailing patriarchal structures, the study nevertheless describes it as a crucial step towards gender equality and empowerment.

One of the most common obstacles that hinder girls’ education, mobility, income earning capacity and political participation is violence, which assumes various forms, not all of which are quantifiable. Safety levels differ depending on where women live and recorded crimes against women are highest in Rajasthan with a rate of 246 cases per million persons.

Crime Against Women
There are no signs of crimes against women declining so far, with Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh recording particularly high rates of rape and molestation while torture and killing/burning of women is most prominent among the northern States. Since many of the problems associated with women are a by-product of social biases, tackling the problem of violence would to a large extent lead to improving women’s status.

However, there is a need for greater investigation into the manner in which these gender biases and inequalities appear in different spheres of life by focusing on one issue at a time. Observing that the States of India are large geographical areas representing very heterogeneous groups within them, the need of the hour is more in-depth disaggregation at the sub-State levels.