This article illustrates the complexities of gender-related development through
an analysis of individual indicators covering issues of women’s work,
education, health, survival, safety and participation in public/private
decision-making. State level comparisons based on selected individual
gender-related indicators reveal divergent patterns of development, highlighting
the problems that complexity and non-linearity pose for measuring gender
development. In the absence of unilinear patterns of gender development across
Indian states, the significance of non-composite indicators and their importance
for problem identification and effective intervention is highlighted.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Agnihotri Gupta, Jyotsna
. 2000. New Reproductive Technologies, Women’s
Health and Autonomy.
New Delhi: Sage
.
2.
Agnihotri, S.B.1999.
‘Inferring Gender Bias from Mortality Data—A Discussion Note’
, Journal of Development Studies, 35(4):
175-200
.
3.
Agnihotri, S.B.
. 2000. Sex Ratio Patterns in the Indian
Population—A Fresh Exploration.
New Delhi: Sage
.
4.
Agarwal, Bina
. 1985.
‘Work Participation of Rural Women in Third World—Some
Data and Conceptual Biases’
, Economic and Political Weekly,
20(51-52):
A-155-A-164
.
5.
Agrawal, Rashmi
and
B.V.L.N. Rao.2004. Gender Issues—A Road Map to Empowerment.
New Delhi: Shipra
.
6.
Banerjee, N.
and
Devaki Jain
. 2001. ‘Indian Sex Ratio through Time and Space:
Development from Women’s Perspective’, in
Vina Mazumdar
and
N. Krishnaji
(eds.), Enduring Conundrum, pp. 73-119.
New Delhi: Rainbow Publishers
.
7.
Bardhan, Kalpana
. 1985.
‘Women’s Work, Welfare and Status: Forces of Tradition
and Change in India’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 20(50,
51-52):
2207-2220 and 2261-2269
.
8.
Bardhan, Pranab K.1982.
‘Little Girls and Death in India’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 17(36):
1448-1450
.
9.
Baster, N.1972. ‘Development Indicators: An
Introduction’, in
N. Baster
(ed.), Measuring Development, pp. 1-20.
London: Frank Cass
.
10.
Basu, A.1989.
‘Is Discrimination in Food Really Necessary for Explaining Sex
Differentials in Childhood Mortality?’
, Population Studies, 43(2):
193-210
.
11.
Basu, A.1992. Culture, the Status of Women and Demographic Behaviour.
Oxford: Clarendon Press
.
12.
Basu, A.
and
K. Basu
. 1991.
‘Women’s Economic Roles and Child Survival: The Case of India’
, Health Transition Review, 1(1):
83-103
.
13.
Batliwala, S.
,
B.K. Anita
,
A. Gurumurthy
and
C.S. Wali
. 1998. Status of Rural Women in Karnataka.
Bangalore: National Institute of Advanced Studies
.
14.
Bhat, P.N. Mari
. 2002a.
‘On the Trail of “Missing” Indian
Females—I: Search for Clues’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 37(51):
5105-5118
.
15.
Bhat, P.N. Mari
. 2002b.
‘On the Trail of “Missing” Indian
Females—II: Illusion and Reality’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 37(52):
5244-5263
.
16.
Bhatia, Rajesh
. 2002.
‘Measuring Gender Disparity Using Time-Use Statistics’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 37(33):
3464-3469
.
17.
Boserup, Ester
. 1970. Women’s Role in Economic Development.
New York: St. Martin’s Press
.
18.
Buch, Nirmala
. 2000. Women’s Experience in New Panchayats: The
Emerging Leadership of Rural Women. Occasional Paper No. 35.
New Delhi: Centre for Women’s
Development Studies
.
19.
Census of India
. 1991 and 2001. Provisional Population Totals. Registrar
General of India.
New Delhi: Government of India
.
20.
Centre for Women’s Development Studies
. 2002. Crimes against Women: Bondage and
Beyond—Revelation of Data.
New Delhi: Centre for Women’s
Development Studies
.
21.
Chaudhri, D.P.1999. ‘Female Child Labour and Gender Bias in School
Education in Indian States: 1961-1991’, in
T.S. Papola
and
A.N. Sharma
(eds.), Gender and Employment in India, pp.
278-295.
New Delhi: Vikas
.
22.
Clark, Alice
. 1987.
‘Social Demography of Excess Female Mortality in India: New Directions’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 22(17):
WS12-WS21
.
23.
Dasgupta, Monica
. 1987.
‘Selective Discrimination against Female Children in Rural
Punjab, India’
, Population and Development Review,
13(1):
77-99
.
24.
Dasgupta, Monica
and
P.N. Mari Bhat
. 1997.
‘Fertility Decline and Increased Manifestation of Sex Bias in India’
, Population Studies, 51:
307-315
.
25.
Dasgupta, Monica
and
P.N. Mari Bhat
. 1998. ‘Intensified Gender Bias in India: A
Consequence of Fertility Decline’, in
M. Krishnarajet al.
(eds.), Gender, Population and Development, pp.
73-93.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press
.
26.
Datta, Anindita
. 2003.
‘Articulation of an Integrated Women’s Health Policy
Using the Life Cycle Approach’
, Indian Journal of Gender Studies,
10(1):
25-43
.
27.
Drewnowski, J.1977.
‘Poverty, its Meaning and Measurement’
, Development and Change, 8(2):
183-208
.
28.
Duvvury, Nata
. 1998. ‘Women and Agriculture in the New
Economic Regime’, in
M. Krishnaraj
,
Ratna M. Sudarshan
and
Abusaleh Shariff
(eds.), Gender, Poverty and Development, pp.
223-244.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press
.
29.
Dyson, Tim
and
N. Crook
. 1984. India’s Demography: Essays on Contemporary
Population.
New Delhi: South Asian Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
30.
Feldman, Shelley
. 1998. ‘Conceptualising Change and Equality in
the “Third World” Contexts’, in
Nelly P. Stromquist
(ed.), Women in the Third World—An En-cyclopedia of
Contemporary Issues, pp. 24-36.
New York: Garland Publishing
.
31.
George, Sabu
,
Rajarathram Abel
and
B.D. Miller
. 1992.
‘Female Infanticide in Rural South India’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 27(22):
1153-1156
.
32.
Gopalan, Sarla
. 2002. Towards Equality—The Unfinished Agenda:
Status of Women in India—2001. National Commission for Women.
New Delhi: Government of India
.
33.
Gopalan, Sarla
and
Mira Shiva
. 2000. National Profile on Women, Health and
Development.
New Delhi: Voluntary Health Association of
India (compiled for WHO)
.
34.
Government of India
. 1974. Towards Equality. Report of the Committee on the
Status of Women in India.
New Delhi: Ministry of Education and Social Welfare
.
35.
Government of India
. 1988. Shramshakti—Report of the National
Commission on Self-Employed Women and Women in the Informal Sector.
Delhi: Government of India
.
36.
Government of India
. 2000. Central Statistical Organisation. Report of the Time
Use Survey.
New Delhi: Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
.
37.
Government of India
. 2001a. Women and Men in India 2000. Central Statistical
Organisation, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
New Delhi: Government of India
.
38.
Government of India
. 2001b. Employment and Unemployment in India 1999-2000,
National Sample Survey 55th Round. Ministry of Statstics and Programme
Implementation.
New Delhi: Government of India
.
39.
Government of India
. 2001c. Selected Educational Statistics (as on 30 September
1999)—1999-2000.
New Delhi: Department of Secondary Education
and Higher Education, Planning, Monitoring and Statistics Division, Ministry
of Human Resources Development
.
40.
Gurumurthy, Anita
. 1998. Women’s Rights and
Status—Questions of Analysis and Measurement. Gender in
Development, Monograph Series No. 7.
New Delhi: UNDP
.
41.
Haddad, L.
and
R. Kanbur
. 1990.
‘How Serious is the Neglect of Intra-Household Inequality?’
, The Economic Journal, 100:
866-888
.
42.
Hilhorst, J.G.M.
and
M. Klatter
(eds.). 1985. Social Development in the Third
World—Level of Living Indicators and Social Planning.
London: Croomhelm
.
43.
Hirway, Indira
. 2001.
‘Understanding Children’s Work in India: An Analysis of
their Time Use’
, Paper presented in Workshop on Food Security and Child Work in
Rural India organised by World Food Programme and Institute for Human
Development, New Delhi, 15-17 March.
44.
Hirway, Indira
. 2002.
‘Employment and Unemployment Situation in the Nineties: How Good
are the NSS Data?’
, Indian Journal of Labour Economics,
45(1):
69-87
.
45.
Hirway, Indira and Darshini Mahadevia
. 1996.
‘Critique of Gender Development Index—Towards an Alternative’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 31(43):
WS87-WS96
.
46.
Institute of Social Science
. 1995-2001. Women and Political Empowerment Series.
New Delhi: Institute of Social Science
.
47.
International Centre for Research on Women
. 1999. Domestic Violence in India: A Summary Report of Three
Studies.
Washington DC: International Centre for
Research on Women
.
48.
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
. 1995. National Family Health Survey (MCH and Family
Planning) India 1992-93.
Mumbai: IIPS
.
49.
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
. 2000. National Family Heath Survey
(NFHS-II)—1998-99—India.
Mumbai: IIPS
.
50.
Jejeebhoy, Shireen J.1993.
‘Family Size, Outcomes for Children and Gender
Disparities—Case of Rural Maharashtra’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 28(35):
1811-1821
.
51.
John, Mary E.1999.
‘Democracy, Patriarchies and Reservations for Women: A Note’
, Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 6(1):
145-149
.
52.
Joseph, Cherian
and
K.V. Eswara Prasad
(eds.). 1995. Women, Work and Inequality—The
Reality of Gender.
Noida: V.V. Giri National Labour Institute
.
53.
Kabeer, Naila
. 1994. Reversed Realities—Gender Hierarchies in
Development Thought.
New Delhi: Kali for Women
.
54.
Kabeer, Naila
and
Ramya Subrahmaniam
(eds.). 1999. Institutions, Relations and
Outcomes—A Framework and Case Studies for Gender-Aware Planning.
New Delhi: Kali for Women
.
55.
Kalpagam, Uma.1999.
‘Women, Work and Domestic Duties: Income Planning for Housewives’
, Indian Journal of Labour Economics,
42(4):
567-580
.
56.
Kanitkar, I.1991.
‘The Sex Ratio in India: A Topic for Speculation and Research’
, Journal of Family Welfare, 37(3):
18-22
.
57.
Karlekar, Malavika
(ed.). 2000. Reading the World: Understanding the Literacy
Campaigns in India.
Mumbai: Asian South Pacific Bureau of Adult Education
.
58.
Kasturi, Leela
. 1999.
‘Pernicious or Necessary’
, Indian Journal of Gender Studies, 6(1):
123-128
.
59.
Kelley, A.C.1991.
‘The Human Development Index: Handle with Care’
, Population and Development Review,
17(2):
315-324
.
60.
Khan, M.E.
,
Richard Anker, S.K.Ghosh Dastidar
and
Sashi Bairathi
. 1988.
‘Inequalities between Men and Women in Nutrition and Family
Welfare Services: An Indepth Enquiry in an Indian Village’
, Social Action, 38:
398-417
.
61.
Kishor, S.1993.
‘May God Give Sons to All: Gender and Child Mortality In India’
, American Sociological Review, 54:
247-265
.
62.
Krishnaji, N.1997.
‘Human Development Index—A Critique’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 32(35):
2202-2205
.
63.
Krishnaji, N.2000.
‘Trends in Sex Ratio—A Review in Tribute to Asok Mitra’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 35(14):
1161—1163
.
64.
Krishnaji, N.2001. ‘The Sex Ratio Debate’, in
V. Mazumdar
and
N. Krishnaji
(eds.), Enduring Conundrum: India’s Sex Ratio: Essays in
Honour of Asok Mitra, pp. 28-35.
Delhi: Rainbow
.
65.
Krishnaji, N.
and
K.S. James
. 2002.
‘Gender Differentials in Adult Mortality with Notes and
Rural-Urban Contrasts’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 37(46):
4633—4637
.
66.
Levinson, F.J.1974. Morinda: An Economic Analysis of Malnutrition among Young
Children in Rural India.
Cambridge, Massachussetts: MIT/Cornell
University Press
.
67.
Mazumdar, V.1994. Amniocentesis and Sex Selection, CWDS Occasional Paper
21.
New Delhi: Centre for Women’s
Development Studies
.
68.
Mazumdar, V.
and
N. Krishnaji
(eds.). 2001. Enduring Conundrum: India’s Sex
Ratio: Essays in Honour of Asok Mitra.
Delhi: Rainbow
.
69.
Mazumdar, V.
,
K. Sharma
,
N. Buch
and
C.P. Sujaya
. 2001. Gender and Governance—A Country
Paper—India. Study commissioned by UNDP.
New Delhi: Centre for Women’s
Development Studies
.
70.
Mehta, Arun C.1998. Education for All in India—Enrolment
Projections.
New Delhi: Vikas
.
71.
Mencher, Joan P.
and
K. Saradamoni
. 1982.
‘Muddy Feet, Dirty Hands: Rice Production and Female Agricultural Labour’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 17(52):
A149-A167
.
72.
Menon-Sen, Kalyani
and
A.K. Shiva Kumar
. 2001. Women in India: How Free? How Equal? Report
commissioned by the Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in
India.
New Delhi: UNDP
.
73.
Miller, Barbara D.1981. The Endangered Sex: Neglect of Female Children in Rural North
India.
Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press
.
74.
Ministry of Human Resource Development
. 2000. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: A People’s Movement
for Education for All, Draft Guidelines.
New Delhi: Government of India
.
75.
Mitra, Asok
. 1979. Implications of Declining Sex Ratio in
India’s Population.
New Delhi: Allied Publishers
.
76.
Morris, D. Morris
and
Michelle B. McAlphin
. 1982. Measuring the Condition of India’s Poor: The
Physical Quality of Life Index.
New Delhi: Promilla and Co.
77.
Murthi, M.
,
Anne Catherine Guio
and
Jean Drèze
. 1995. Mortality, Fertility and Gender Bias in India: A
District Level Analysis, DEP No. 61, June.
London: London School of Economics
.
78.
Muthulakshmi, R.1997. Female Infanticide—Its Causes and Solutions.
New Delhi: Discovery Publishing House
.
79.
National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB)
. 1998. Crime in India.
New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government
of India
.
80.
National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB)
. 1999. Crime in India.
New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government
of India
.
81.
National Crimes Record Bureau (NCRB)
. 2000. Accidental Deaths and Suicides in India.
New Delhi: Ministry of Home Affairs, Government
of India
.
82.
Nayar, U.1993. Universal Primary Education of Rural Girls in India.
New Delhi: National Council for Educational
Research and Training
.
83.
Nuna, Sheel
. 1990. Women and Development.
New Delhi: National Institute of Educational
Planning and Administration
.
84.
Papola, T. S.
and
A. N. Sharma
(eds.). 1999. Gender and Employment in India.
New Delhi: Vikas
.
85.
Patel, Vibhuti
. 1997.
‘Technology in Service of Female Foeticide’
, Humanscape, 4(7):
19-20
.
86.
PROBE
. 1999. Public Report on Basic Education in India.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press
.
87.
Qadeer, Imrana
. 1998.
‘Reproductive Health—A Public Health Perspective’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 33(41):
2675-2684
.
88.
Rajivan, Anuradha K.1998. ‘Engendering Official Data Systems—At
State and District Levels’.
Department of Women and Child Development, New
Delhi: Government of India
.
89.
Raman, Vasanthi
. 1999.
‘Women’s Reservation and Democratisation—An
Alternative Perspective’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 34(50):
3494-3495
.
90.
Rampal, Anita
. 1996. ‘Education for a Possible Structural
Change’, in
N. Rao
,
Luise Rurup
and
R. Sudarshan
(eds.), Sites of Change—The Structural Context for Empowering
Women in India, pp. 269-298.
New Delhi: UNDP
.
91.
Rustagi, Preet
. 2000.
‘Identifying Gender Backward Districts Using Selected Indicators’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 35(48):
4276-4286
.
92.
Rustagi, Preet
. 2002.
‘Girl Child Labour: Regional Dimensions and Motivations’
, Indian Journal of Labour Economics,
45(3):
465-477
.
93.
Rustagi, Preet
. 2003. Gender Biases and Discrimination against Women: What
do Different Indicators Say?New Delhi: UNIFEM
.
94.
Sample Registration System. 2000a. SRS Bulletin, 33(1). New Delhi:
Registrar General of India.
95.
Sample Registration System
. 2000b. Sample Registration System Statistical Report,
1998.
New Delhi: Registrar General of India
.
96.
Sen, A.K.1992. Inequality Re-examined.
Oxford: Clarendon Press
.
97.
Sharma, Kalpana
and
Ammu Joseph
. 1994. ‘Female Foeticide: The Abuse of
Technology’, in
Ammu Joseph
and
Kalpana Sharma
(eds.), Whose News? The Media and Women’s Issues, pp.
64-69.
New Delhi: Sage
.
98.
Sonpar, Shobna
and
Ravi Kapur
. 2001.
‘Non-Conventional Indicators—Gender Disparities under
Structural Reforms’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 36(1):
66-78
.
99.
Srinivasan, K.
(ed.). 1996. Population Policy and Reproductive Health.
New Delhi: Hindustan Publishing Corporation
.
100.
Srivastava, Nisha
. 1997.
‘Striving for a Toe-hold: Women in the Organised Sector’
, Indian Journal of Labour Economics,
40(3):
527-543
.
101.
Sudha, S.
and
S. Irudaya Rajan
. 1999.
‘Female Demographic Disadvantage in India 1981-91: Sex Selective
Abortions and Female Infanticide’
, Development and Change, 30:
585-618
.
102.
Sunanda, K.S.1995. Girl Child Born to Die in Killing Fields?Madras: Alternative for India Development
.
103.
Sutton, Margaret
. 1998. ‘Feminist Epistemology and Research
Methods’, in
Nelly P. Stromquist
(ed.), Women in the Third World—An Encyclopedia of
Contemporary Issues, pp. 13-23.
New York: Garland Publishing
.
104.
Tilak, Jandhyala B.G.2002.
‘Education Poverty in India’
, Review of Development and Change, 7(1):
1-44
.
105.
Timaeus, Ian
,
Katie Haris
and
Francesca Fairbairn
. 1998. ‘Can Use of Health Care Explain Sex
Differentials in Child Mortality in the Developing World?’,
in Too Young To Die: Genes or Gender? pp. 154-178.
New York: United Nations
.
106.
Tinker, Irene
(ed.). 1990. Persistent Inequalities.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press
.
107.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO)
. 1981. Women and Development: Indicators of their Changing
Role. Socio-Economic Studies 3.
Paris: UNESCO
.
108.
United Nations
. 1998. Too Young To Die: Genes or Gender?Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population
Division. New York: United Nations
.
109.
United Nations Development Programme
. 1995. Human Development Report.
New Delhi: Oxford University Press
.
110.
Vimochana
. 1999. Unnatural Deaths of Women in Marriage: A Campaign
Diary.
Bangalore: Vimochana
.
111.
Visaria, Leela
. 1985.
‘Infant Mortality in India—Levels, Trends and Determinants’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 20(32, 33,
34):
1352-1392; 1399-1405; and 1447-1450
.
112.
Visaria, Leela
. 1988.
‘Sex Differentials in Nutritional Status and Survival during
Infancy and Childhood: Review of Available Evidence’
, Paper presented at the Conference on Women’s Position
and Demographic Change in the Course of Development, Asker,
Norway, 15-18 June.
113.
Visaria, Leela
. 1993. Regional Variations in Female Autonomy and Fertility
and Contraception in India. Working Paper No. 50.
Ahmedabad: Gujarat Institute of Development Research
.
114.
Visaria, Pravin
. 1971. Sex Ratio of the Population of India, Monograph No.
10, Census of India 1961.
New Delhi: Office of the Registrar General
.
115.
Visaria, Pravin
. 1999. ‘Level and Pattern of Female
Employment—1911-94’, in
T.S. Papola
and
A.N. Sharma
(eds.), Gender and Employment in India, pp.
23-51.
New Delhi: Vikas
.
116.
Viswanathan, Renuka
. 2001.
‘Development, Empowerment and Domestic
Violence—Karnataka Experience’
, Economic and Political Weekly, 36(24):
2173-2177
.
117.
Waldron, Ingrid
. 1976.
‘Why do Women Live Longer than Men?’
, Social Science and Medicine, 10:
349-362
.
118.
Waldron, Ingrid
. 1998. ‘Sex Differences in Infant and Early
Childhood Mortality: Major Causes of Death and Possible Biological
Causes’, in Too Young to Die: Genes or Gender, pp.
64-83.
New York: United Nations
.
119.
Wazir, Rekha
(ed.). 2000. The Gender Gap in Basic Education: NGOs as
Change Agents.
New Delhi: Sage
.
120.
Woolley, F.R.
and
J. Marshall
. 1994.
‘Measuring Inequality within the Household’
, Review of Income and Wealth, 40(4):
415-432
.
