The document discusses gender and development in India, emphasizing key demographic indicators such as sex ratios, literacy rates, labor force participation, and infant mortality rates. It highlights the historical context of women's roles in the economy, critiques existing feminist theories of development, and explores challenges faced in feminist development studies. The document concludes with recommendations for analyzing gender disparities and improving policy implementations in post-independent India.

1. TD 601
Gender and Development
Sowmya M. R. - 160260028
Ananya Sarangi - 183350016
Satish Dulla - 183350017
Akanksha Chavan - 183350018
Prathamesh Antarkar – 183350019
Under the guidance of :
Prof. N. C. Narayanan

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Contents:
• Introduction
• Demographic Indicators
• Sex ratio
• Gender and Literacy rates
• Labor force participation
• Infant mortality rate
• Mortality under 5 years of age
• Mean marriage age
• Limits of feminist theories of development
• Major assumptions of the developmental paradigm
• Challenges for thinking in feminist development studies
• Scope
• References

3. INTRODUCTION
● National planning commission in 1938 - SCW- dealt with planning
for women’s role in economy.
● Committee comprised of highly educated women , lacked expertise
on everyday life of rural women.
● Women identified as individuals , emphasis on education , health ,
work participation except agriculture and cottage industries.
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4. ● 1970s- committee realised invisibility of women’s role in many sectors of
society
● Movements organised but limited only to educated middle class feminist
activists .
● Issues in health , employment questioned gender based policies
Source-Maitrayee Chaudhuri,1995, Citizens, workers and emblems of culture, Contributions to Indian Sociology
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5. • Sex ratio
• Literacy rates
• Labor force participation
• Mortality rates
• Mean age at marriage
Demographic Indicators
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6. Sex Ratio
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7. According to Census 2011,
Male literacy : 75% Female literacy : 64%
Males- Females gap in literacy : 11%
Gender and Literacy Rates
Reasons for lower female literacy
● Marriage
● Work force participation
● Cultural determinants
Effects of higher female literacy rates:
● Smoothens economic development
● Educated mothers create better conditions in
terms of health and education
● Reduction in fertility and child mortality rates
Source: National Commision on Population
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8. Labor force participation
• Labor force participation by women and literacy rates
• Female house head
• Demand for skilled and semi skilled workers
• Formal sector and informal sector
• Informal sector and labor intensive technologies
• Female labor force participation and girl child labor
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9. INFANT MORTALITY RATE
• Health status- child and mother
• Female mortality rate less than male
• More frailty
• Greater survival potential- female
infant
• Lesser vulnerability to perinatal
conditions
• Congenital anomalies
• Intestinal infections
• Lower respiratory infections
Source: https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/india/mortality-rate
0
20
40
60
80
100
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Infant mortality value per 1000 live births
(Female)
0
20
40
60
80
100
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Infant mortality value per 1000 live births
(Male)

10. Source: https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/india/mortality-rate
Mortality Rate Under 5 years of age
• Female: Female mortality rate
higher than male mortality rate
• Socio-cultural bias- after weaning
• Neglect health and nutrition
• CMRD reveals- unequal
distribution- food, nutrition,
affection, care
• Malnutrition
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mortality value per 1000 live births
under age 5 (Female)
mortality value per 1000 live births
under age 5 ( Male)

11. Mean Age At Marriage
0
5
10
15
20
25
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
Age
Year
Age in years
Age in years
Source: J&K women oldest to marry, Jharkhand youngest, shows govt report, Zeeshan Shaikh, April 2017, indianexpress 11
• Minimum age at marriage-risk to woman’s health- child survival- intervention
• Awareness
• Working women

12. LIMITS OF FEMINIST THEORIES OF
DEVELOPMENT
• What are the assumptions of the present development framework that have
been critiqued by contemporary feminist theorists?
• What are the major challenges of female development studies in India?
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13. Major assumptions of the developmental
paradigm
• Public - private dichotomy
• Evolution and growth as a movement towards development of
productive forces - theory of exploitation
• Western culture as a universal definition of modernity
• Existing methodologies of social science research
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14. • The legacy of colonialism
• Measuring women’s work
• Dilemma of economic growth
• Expanding citizenship and public participation
• Cultural plurality and lack of consensus in ethical issues
Challenges for thinking in feminist development
studies
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Scope
• Analyze the different perspectives taken by the feminist engagement with
mainstream development discourse has taken.
• Read further about the specific policy implementations in the Constitution
regarding gender roles and the roles they have played in the post-
independent development of India.
• Discuss solutions and possible alternative approaches that development
framework could incorporate to reduce the gender disparities further.
• Finally discuss existing gender-related problems in society, possible
solutions and how they will go on to aid development.

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References:
• Rustagi, P., 2000. Gender development indicators: issues, debates and ranking of districts. Occasional Paper No. 33, Centre for
Women’s Development Studies, New Delhi
• S. Agnihotri. “Juvenile Sex Ratios in India: A Disaggregated Analysis.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 31, no. 52, 1996, pp.
3369–3382. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4404938.
• Verma, Vidhu. “Engendering Development: Limits of Feminist Theories and Justice.” Economic and Political Weekly, vol. 39, no. 49,
2004, pp. 5246–5252. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4415871.
• Professor Dominique Anxo, Professor Thomas Lindh “Women’s impact on development in India” Thesis in Economics, NA3083,
Winter 2009, LINNAEUS UNIVERSITY
• Sundaram, A. & Vanneman, R. (2007). “Gender Differentials in Literacy in India: The Intriguing Relationship with Women’s Labor
Force Participation”. World Development, Vol. 36, No. 1, pp. 128–143
• John, Mary E. “Gender and Development in India, 1970s-1990s: Some Reflections on the Constitutive Role of Contexts.” Economic
and Political Weekly, vol. 31, no. 47, 1996, pp. 3071–3077. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4404800.
• Prerona Bura Gohain. "Gender Inequality and Development in Indian Scenario: Consequences, Causes, Challenges and Cures". IOSR
Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 21, Issue 6, Ver. 5 (June. 2016) PP 01-10 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-
ISSN: 2279-0845

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