The State of Gender Inequality in India: A Comprehensive Analysis

By : Suman Singh , Sumedha

Page No: 270-289

Abstract
Gender Inequality in India varies from one region to another due to various socioeconomic, cultural, political and economic factors which provide it a geographical dimension. Current Indian literature on this dimension has some major gaps: (1) a comprehensive inter-dependence analysis of the latest gender inequality indicator data (after 2016) is lacking; (2) in conventional studies, inclusive analysis of indicators like child sex ratio, literacy rate and educational attainment, life expectancy , political and workforce participation is insufficient; and (3) an elaborate state/union territory (UT)wise study that considers all indicators mentioned in the previous point is inadequate. Further, most of the studies deal with variables of gender inequality separately. The present study aims to bridge these gaps by presenting a detailed state/UT-wise analysis of various indicators of gender inequality, including child sex ratio, life expectancy, literacy and attainment of education and participation in the workforce and politics. Data for these analyses are obtained from published secondary sources. Additionally, the relationship among the explored indicators for states/UTs has been examined through multiple correlations. Overall, the present study suggests that we must devise state/UTspecific policies to achieve women empowerment and gender parity because regionally varying socioeconomic, health-related and politico-cultural factors affect the state/UTwise gender inequality indicators and their interdependence. 

Authors:
Dr. Suman Singh : Professor, Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. 
Sumedha : UGC-SRF, Department of Geography, Institute of Science, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. 
 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.32381/ATNAGI.2024.44.02.3