Dr. Savita Madhavrao Gire
Vice Principal,
DJGACSC, College Vaduj, Satara
Co-Other - Dr. K. M. Desai,
Assistant Professor, Shri Shahaji Chhatrapati Mahavidyalaya, Kolhapur
'Women are the only exploited group in history to have been idealized into powerlessness' - Karl Marx
Gender equity is the process of being fair to women and men. To ensure fairness, strategies and measures must often be available to compensate for women’s historical and social disadvantages that prevent women and men from otherwise operating on a level playing field. Equity leads to equality. Gender equality requires equal enjoyment by women and men of socially-valued goods, opportunities, resources and rewards. Where gender inequality exists, it is generally women who are excluded or disadvantaged in relation to decision-making and access to economic and social resources. Therefore a critical aspect of promoting gender equality is the empowerment of women, with a focus on identifying and redressing power imbalances and giving women more autonomy to manage their own lives. Gender equality does not mean that men and women become the same; only that access to opportunities and life changes is neither dependent on, nor constrained by, their sex. Achieving gender equality requires women’s empowerment to ensure that decision- making at private and public levels and access to resources is no longer weighted in men’s favor, so that both women and men can fully participate as equal partners in productive and reproductive life. Gender Inequality is deep penetrated in Indian society. Although it is a global phenomenon, but in the patriarchal Indian society,- it has spread its tentacles widely. Discrimination against women is found even before her birth in the form of female feticide and when she is born female infanticide has been found in practice. Differential treatment on the bases of gender is found right from the childhood. Girls are considered as liability. In spite of progress been made economically, gender parity has not been achieved. Data was collected using secondary sources. The root cause of gender inequality in Indian society lies in its patriarchy system. Advances have been made in social legislation but gender inequality has not ended and the child sex ratio has rather worsened. The educated people should develop a national consciousness of the positive impact of gender equality. There is a need for changes in perception towards women. The human society would be most advantaged only if women are treated equally and are not deprived of their rights. This study considers the gender inequality that exists among every region, social class and prevents the growth of Indian education systems. The reality of gender inequality of higher education in India is very complex and diversified, because it exists in every field like education, employment opportunities, income, health, cultural issues, social issues, economic issues etc. An attempt has been made to find out those factors which are responsible for this problem in Indian education systems. So, this paper highlights the multi-dimensional context of gender inequalities prevalent in Indian education systems. Overall, the study indicates the inequality in economic, social, cultural and legal biasness which are of a great challenge for policy-makers and social scientists to establish proper equality in the entire social field. The researchers have tried to suggest some relevant strategies and policies implication for reducing this gender inequality and to promote the dignified position for Indian women.
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
A number of theoretical and empirical studies have examined the relationship between gender inequality and economic growth. Bloom & Williamson (1998), Dollar & Gatti (1999), Galor & Weil (1996), King, Klasen & Porter (2008), Knowles et al (2002), Lagerlof (2003) and World Bank (2001) have suggested an inverse relation-ship between gender inequality in education and economic growth, largely due to the positive impact of female education on fertility and human capital of the next generation. Gender inequality in educationadversely affects economic growth, as it reduces the average quota of human capital in a society by excluding qualified girls and including less qualified boys (Dollar & Gatti 1999). And given the diminishing marginal returns to education, this signifies that by reducing gender inequality in education giving more access to girls would boost economic growth, as the marginal returns to investment in girls’ education is higher than that of boys’ education (Knowles et al, 2002; World Bank 2001). Female education was found to have a positive impact on next generation’s education, and reduces fertility and infant mortality, all of which significantly contribute to economic growth (Galor & Weil 1996; King, Klasen & Porter 2008; Lagerlof 2003; World Bank 2001). A reduced fertility level lowers the dependency ratio and offers a ‘demographic dividend’ with positive impacts on economic growth (Bloom & Williamson 1998).
In the Indian context, there are several studies that have addressed issues related to gender inequality. There are attempts to explain the gender gap in education in India in terms of labour market discrimination against women and parental discrimination against girls. Using household survey data collected in urban Uttar Pradesh, Kingdon (1998) found that due to overall labour market discrimination, girls face poorer economic incentives to invest in schooling than boys because they get lower labour market returns to education than boys. In another study, Kingdon (2002) finds that girls face significantly different treatment in the intra-household allocation of education. Investigating the extent to which education contributes to women's lower labour force participation and earnings than men, and whether any contribution of education to the gender wage differential is explained by the gender differential in educational endowments or by labour market discrimination, Kingdon & Unni (2001) observe that women do suffer high levels of wage discrimination in the Indian urban labour market. However, education contributes little to this discrimination, and the returns to education rise with the level of education for both men and women. Esteve-Volart (2004) found that the ratio of female-to-male managers and the ratio of female-to-male workers are positively and significantly related to per capita output in 16 major states of India. Arora (2012) reported that, by and large, per capita income is inversely associated with gender inequality in education and health at the sub-national level in India. Ukhova (2015)
Examined how gender inequality has contributed to, and been affected by, growing economic inequality, and suggests policies to simultaneously address the issues of gender inequality and economic inequality in eight emerging economies (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Mexico, Indonesia, and Turkey). Evaluating the role of socio-economic and cultural factors in influencing gender differentials in schooling with district-level data from India, Rammohan & Vu (2018) found that economic development is an important factor in narrowing gender gaps in education, with richer districts more likely to educate girls than poorer districts. Most of the studies in the Indian context are primarily concerned with explaining gender inequalities in various dimensions prevalent in the society. These are mostly carried out from a sociological perspective.
Objectives:
1. To understand and analyze gender inequality in india.
2. To study gender inequality in education, health and employment and to some extent to link the gender relations to the development of the nation
Research methodology-
Data collection- For proper understanding of a place or about an aspect some methods are essential. There are several methods to study about the earth‘s surface. Due to shortage of time and man power, the method applied for the paper is Secondary Data Collection method. For the present work, data for the study have been collected from the Statistical Abstract of India and other related documents published by Census of India and from other world reports on India. The comparative analysis has been done for the years to understand the demographic changes and gender inequality for India. In the context of demographic changes for India the main focus of our study has been to understand gender inequality from the available data on education, health and employment and to correlate it with development.
Research analysis
Despite major progress, gender inequality persists in many societies and violence against women and girls remains widespread. The lack of access to secondary education and to sexual and reproductive health services for girls and women is a key driver of gender inequality. In addition, discrimination against ethnic minority groups, indigenous peoples, people with disabilities, and geographically-isolated populations is widespread throughout the world. Gender inequality and other forms of discrimination violate the universal standards of justice enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other agreements. Societies that discriminate against women and social groups obstruct the economic potential of large shares of their populations, which lowers economic growth and limits poverty reduction. Pervasive discrimination and high levels of inequality are also associated with higher risks of violence.
In response, India has successfully instituted legal and administrative reforms to reduce inequality and realize the human rights of all members of society, with a specific view towards reducing disparities by gender and other status. In some cases, practices that are inconsistent with sustainable development and the realization of human rights, such as child marriage, child labor, and sexual violence, need to be tackled head on. Some countries have also actively promoted social support for children in poor households as a way to ensure that poverty is not “vertically transmitted” from poor parents to their children. Ensuring registration at birth has also proven successful in enhancing equal opportunities and legal rights. Societies and political systems differ in their responses to inequality. Some resist it strongly through aggressive policies and transfers; others seem to tolerate very high levels of inequality. We call on all societies to ensure that all individuals and households are empowered to fully participate in political, economic, and social life.
To ensure sustainable development, economic gains must not only be inclusive, but the quality of social interactions that are based on trust, honesty, voluntarism, and solidarity needs to be enhanced through the promotion of social ethics and the observance of human rights for all. Gender equality is intrinsically linked to sustainable development and is vital to the realization of human rights for all. The gender equality is very essential to achieve the goal of women empowerment. The overall objective of gender equality is a society in which women and men enjoy the same opportunities, rights and obligations in all spheres of life. Equality between men and women exists when both sexes are able to share equally in the distribution of power and influence; have equal opportunities for financial independence through work or through setting up businesses; enjoy equal access to education and the opportunity to develop personal ambitions, interests and talents; share responsibility for the home and children and are completely free from coercion, intimidation and gender-based violence both at work and at home. Gender inequality can arise due to gaps in economic participation and opportunities, educational attainment, health and survival, and political empowerment. These are induced by unequal access to education, legal systems, the labor market and finances, which may result in gender gaps in outcomes, such as low female labor force participation, low wages, and reduced political power (Hakura, et al. 2016). This section evaluates gender inequalities in terms of the Global Gender Gap Index and some indicators of gender gaps in education, health, employment and income at the national and sub-national levels in India. We focus on 15 major states (Andhra Pradesh (AP), Assam, Bihar, Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh (UP) and West Bengal) for which data was consistently available across the time period being observed in the dataset.
The cultural construct of Indian society which reinforces gender bias against men and women, with varying degrees and variable contexts against the opposite sex, has led to the continuation of India's strong preference for male children. Female infanticide and sex-selective abortion is adopted and strongly reflects the low status of Indian women. Census 2011 shows decline of girl population (as a percentage to total population) under the age of seven, with activists estimating that eight million female fetuses may have been aborted in the past decade. Continuing preference for boys in society, for the girl child the apathy continues the child sex ratio in India has dropped to 914 females against 1,000 males, one of the lowest since Independence according to Census 2011. Declining sex ratio is a silent emergency. But the crisis is real, and its persistence has profound and frightening implications for society and the future of humankind. The lowest-ever child sex ratio of 914 over shadowed an increase in the overall sex ratio, which is now 940—the highest nationwide since Census 1971 and a shade lower than 1961—as it reflects a continued preference for a male child. As per the provisional data of Census 2011 recently, while the overall sex ratio had gone up by seven points to touch 940, against 933 in Census 2001, the child sex ratio plummeted to 914 from 927. As per a study by National Commission for Women (NOW; Delhi, Punjab and Haryana) may be economically progressive but have askewed sex ratio compared to other states. Even after immense struggles against gender discrimination a huge gender deficit continues to persist. Education Probably the most important problem faced by the higher education system in India is the persistence of inequalities in access to higher education. Inequalities in access to higher education result in socio-economic inequalities in the society which, in turn, accentuate inequalities in education. In fact, it is a cyclic chain of Inequalities: inequalities in access to higher education result in inequities in access to labor market information, which result in inequalities in employment and participation in labor market, resulting in inequalities in earnings contributing in turn to socio-economic and political inequalities. The socio- economic and political inequalities again are translated into the education sector, resulting in inequalities in education. Inequalities in access to education reflect loss in individual as well as social welfare. That economic returns to investment in education of the weaker sections are estimated to be higher than returns to their counterparts , implies that inequalities in education would cause huge losses in national output; and that inclusive strategies that contribute to equity should be viewed favorably not only from the point of view of social justice but also even in terms of economic well-being, as the total equity gains might surpass the losses in efficiency, if any (Patnaik,2012).One of the most important dimensions of inequality is between men and women. Women are generally found to be lagging behind men in every sector including higher education in India as in many countries, though reverse trends could be observed of late in a good number of countries. During the post-independence period, there is a significant improvement in women’s participation in higher education. Women constitute 43 per cent of the total enrolments in higher education in 2011–12, while there were only 14 women per 100 men in higher education in 1950–51, according to the available UGC statistics (UGC, 2013). Thus, compared to the earlier decades, this marks a significant improvement. While this 43 per cent is an all-India average across all disciplines of study, there are wide variations between different states and also across disciplines. Women students constitute 11 per cent in engineering/technology, 4 per cent in medicine and less than 5 per cent in education. Nevertheless, the overall level of participation of women in higher education has improved remarkably and the current overall level is quite impressive. Further, research studies (for example, Basant and Sen 2012) have also shown that ‘after controlling for other factors, the chances of women participating in higher education are higher than that of men’ meaning the generally observed inequalities by gender in higher education need to be interpreted with caution.
Conclusion
It could be seen clearly from the above discussion that gender equality is very essential to achieve the goal of women empowerment. It is observed that women in India have been subjected to various types of discrimination and disabilities towards enjoyment of benefits of development consequent upon disempowerment. Hence the empowerment of women could be possible through attainment of gender equality. In order to promote gender equality in socio economic development, the following measures can be considered.
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