Prof. Vibhuti Patel on Economics of Gender & Development, Centre for Distance Education, SNDTWU, Juhu, Mumbai-49

1
Centre for Distance Education
SNDT Women’s University
Mumbai- 49
M.A. – I
Part- I
(W.e.f. 2013-14)
(New Course 80 Credits)
Semester- I
Course Name: Economics of Gender and Development
Course Code: 506107
(English Medium)

2
Course Preparation Team
♦ Content Writers:
Dr.Vibhuti Patel
♦ Content Editors:
Dr. Vibhuti Patel
♦ I/C Director :
Dr. Arundhati Chavan
♦ Coordinator:
Mr. Mangesh Kadam
(Asst. Professor-cum-Asst. Director)
♦ Course Coordinator :
Dr. Falguni B. Vahanwala
♦ Instructional Designer
Ms. Minal M. Kawale
@Centre for Distance Education, S.N.D.T Women’s University.
All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form by mimeograph or
any other means without written permission from centre for Distance Education, S.N.D.T
Women’s University. Publishing year 2016.

3
Syllabus
Unit Course Content Marks
Unit 1 1.Introduction to gender studies:
Importance of Women’s Studies
Concepts- ‘Sex’ Versus ‘Gender’, Oppression and Exploitation
Socialisation
Social Construction , Deconstruction , Patriarchy, Trends in
Feminism, Gender Based Division of labour
Economic Basis and Functioning of Patriarchy and Matrilineal
societies, Structures and systems
Gender and the Process of Economic Development: Feminist
Criticism of Development Indices and WID-WAD-GAD,
Human Development Approach, Gender and Development
Indices- Mainstreaming Gender into-Development Policies,
Gender Planning Techniques and Gender Sensitive Governance,
Paradigm Shifts from ‘women’s Wellbeing’ to ‘Women’s
Empowerment’- Addressing Practical Gender Needs and Strategic
Gender Needs of Women
17
Unit 2 2.Women: Demcgraphic Aspacts:
Age structure, Mortality rates and Sex ratio.
Cause of Declining Sex Ratios and Fertility Rates in LDCs with
Special Reference to India
Theories and Measurement of Fertility and Its Control.
Gender and Population Control Policy with Special Reference to
India.
Reproductive Rights
Women, Health and Nutrition
Economic Status of Women- Work Participation Rate of Women
17
Unit 3 3.women in Decision Making:
Factors Affecting Decision-making by Women
Role of Voluntary Organizations, Self-help Group-Women’s
Leadership in Micro Finance
Review of Legislation for Women’s Entitlement s, Protection of
Property Rights and social Security.
Schemes for Safety-net for women.
Social structure and Social Security of Women-Entitlements, Access
to Control over Economic Resources, Ensuring Economic
Independence and Risk Coverage.
Power of Decision-Making at Household Levels, Class and
Community Levels- Role of Kinship in Allocation of Domestic and
Social Resources
Economic Status of women and its Effect on work Participation Rate,
Income Level, Health and Education in Developing Countries and
India.
Democratic decentralization and Women’s Empowerment in India
17

4
Unit 4 4.Conceptualization of Women’s Work:
Concept and Analysis of Women’s Work-Paid and Unpaid Work-
valuation of Productive and Unproductive Work Visible and Invisible
Works: Visibility of Women in Statistic and Indicators- Economically
Productive and Socially Productive Work
Economics Status, Private Property and Participation of Women in
Pre-industrial and Industrial societies, Women’s Contribution to
National Income
Women and Labour Market-Factors Affecting Women’s Entry in
Labour Market-Supply and Demand of Women’s Labour in the
Developed and Developing Countries
Work participation of women in agriculture and non-agriculture
activities (with reference to India) – Work Efficiency and Women
Women in the Informal Sector, Small Scale and Cottage Industries
Women in the Organised and Service Sector
Wage Differentials in Female Activities-Determinants of Wage
Differentials: Gender.
Education, Skill, Productivity, Efficiency, Opportunities.
Structures of Wages Across Regions and Economic Sectors.
16
Unit 5 5.women Technology and Environment
Impact Of Technological Development And Modernization On
Women’s Work Participation
Industrial Technologies and women
Agricultural Technologies-Mechanisation, High Yielding Varieties-
Green Revolution
Horticulture and Floriculture
Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development
Poultry Development
Women In Sericulture
Women in the Fisheries
Female Activities and Ecological and Environmental Concerns- The
Two Way Relationships
Role of New Technologies for Helping women
Provision of Information and training for Simple Harvesting of
Economic Services
17
Unit 6 6.Social Security and Social Protection for Women
Social Security of Women
Entitlements, Ensuring Economic Independence and Risk Coverage
Access to Credit and Insurance Markets
Role of Voluntary Organizations and SHGs in Providing Social
Security
Labour Market Biases and Gender Discrimination
Effectiveness of Collective Bargaining
Review of Legislation for women’s Entitlements
Protection of Property Rights and Social Security
Scheme For Safety Net For Women
Need For Women Workers Union
Affirmative Action for women And Improvement in Their Economic
And Social Status
16

5
INDEX
Chapter 1 Introduction to Gender Studies .................................................................10
Chapter 2 Women: Demographic Aspects..................................................................19
Chapter 3 Women and Decision Making.....................................................................39
Chapter 4 Conceptualization of Work ........................................................................51
Chapter -5 Women and Labour Markets ....................................................................64
Chapter 6 Women, Technology and Environment .......................................................76
Chapter 7 Social Security and Social Protection For Women.........................................87
Chapter 8 Gender Planning, Development Policies and Governance ..............................98

6
AN APPROACH NOTE
Analytical tools provided by Gender Economics (GE) are extremely useful to deal with
socoi-economic and legal issues concerning women’s work life and family life marriage,
divorce, custody of children, guardianship right, alimony, maintenance, property rights of
mother, sister, daughter, legally wedded wives and her child/ children, co-wives and their
children, keep and their children and the issues concerning adoption. GE has a special
significance the subsistence economy which uses the kinship networks, institutions of
polygamy and polyandry for concentration and centralization of wealth and capital by
either the patriarchs or the matriarchs. Domestic animals, women and clidren are the main
assets in the subsistence sector where collection of fuel, fodder, water are important
components of daily life over and above agrarian chores, live-stock rearing and kitchen
gardening.
GE has drawn heavily from all mainstream disciplines and innumerable social movements
of the last three decades. GE provides insights to examine budgets of Government
Organisations (GOs) and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) from the point of view of
gender justice. Priority areas being women’s education, health and nutrition, skill
development, accounts, financial and commercial viability , legal standing, asset and
corpus building. GE contextualizes day to day survival struggles of women in the family ,
in the households, in the community and in the micro, meco and macro economy with the
perspective of power relations which control women and girl children’s sexuality, fertility
and labour
To explain this concept, I would like to give some examples from popular culture:
Control of women’s sexuality
A) Dress code which, restricts mobility of women and girls, does not allow her to do
those chores which require flexible body movements, reduces her efficiency and
employability in non-conventional occupations.
B) “Tool” as a phallic symbol, not being allowed to be used by menstruating women as
it is supposed to have contaminating influence. Hostility towards women who ride bicycles,
drive cars and scooters, operate machines and use ploughs for farming, wheels forming,
wheels for pottery, saw for carpentry.
C) Women being treated as repository of custom and tradition and cultural practies,
dedicated as devdasis , jogtis and forced to undergo series of masochistic fasting,
scarification and self infliction of pain which make them unemployable and perpetually
dependant on the patriarchs. They enjoy only subversive power of a comfort women that
too is mediated by men, as they don’t have any legal rights. In the commercial context,
the same happen to women beneficiary of Maître-Karar (friendship contract) and Seva-
karar
(Service contract).
D) Need for male escorts, bodyguards for dainty, sickly and weak women who see
their identity as anorexic women. Billion-dollar beauty business thrives by controlling
young women so they are incapable of using their body for manual chores. Here,
women’s insecurity about their looks is used by the cosmetic industry.
E) Women eating last, the least and the left over. Nourishing and balanced diet as a
male prerogative. Daughters and brides kepts on starvation diet. Food secures middle-
aged women as honorary men.
Inference of A,B,C,D and E –Declining sex ratio- As per 2001 census (933 women per
1000 men), high mortality and morbidity rates.

7
Control of women’s fertility:
a. Women being treated as male-child producing machine. Customary practice of
female infanticide and neglect and abandonment of girl child, scientific techniques de of sex
determination tests used for female foeticide, pre-conception elimination of female embryo
with the help of sex-preselection techniques.
b. Population policies targeting women for unsafe contraceptives and dignity of
married and unmarried girls and.
c. Laws on prostitution and pealising and persecuting women victims of sexploitation
running a parallel economy of as 200 billion rupees.
d. Social boycott of unwed mothers. Illegitimate children being stigmatized by society
and deprived of economic, social and educational opportunities. They are further
marginalized in the economy, which is undergoing massive structural adjustments and
instability. Facilities like identity card, ration card and other legal documents which are a
must for citizenship rights are not provided to them.
e. Inference of A,B,C and D, can be named as brothel model of economic
development which thrives on unpaid and invisiblised labour of women. It perpetuates the
vicious circle of child marriage, child prostitution and child labour (CP , CM and CL). Supre-
exploitation of female headed household and domestic workers get sanctity in this model.
Women have to shoulder this added burden along with the burden of the vicious circle of
poverty, over-population and unemployment.
Control of women’s labour:
A) Use of women in the economy for the occupations which, are extensions of
housework, i.e. 3 Cs (cooking, cleaning and caring). Only 6 % of women are in the
organized sectror which guarantees protection of labour legislation and ERA (Equal
Remuneration Act). 94 % of women are in the informal sector which does not guarantee
job-security, regular income and personal safety.
B) Demonisation of highly qualified, efficiency plus and career women. Which hunting
of intellectually independent and verbally articulate women works, employees, technicians
and decision-makers.
C) Sexual harassment as an occupational hazard to crush the confidence of women
and to keep them in the state of perpetual terrorization, humiliation and intimidation.
Inference of A,B and C, can be limited opportunities for women and ghettoization of
women in non-challenging, routinized and low-status job know as “women prone
industreis” in the official discourse. Most of the economics activities done by majority of
women are non-marked and reward for labour does not reflect the value of their labour .
In such situation to gauge economic worth of their work Time Use studies are most
effective tools to identify their opportunity costs.
Within this framework, now , we will examine efforts at empowerment of women by 550
feminist economics who are functioning in 31 countries under the banner of International
Association of Feminist Economics to provide DAWN (Development Alternatives with
Women).
a. Visibility of women in statistics and data system- For effective execution of
macro policies such as National Perspective plan for women, Maharashtra State women’s
policy , we need an accurate data-base,area studies and time allocation studies, studies on

8
energy expenditure and food consumption patterns among women of different
communities public utility services such as safe transport, public urinals, women’s room in
the office. Gender economists have done pioneering work to understand demographic
profile of women and sex-ratio. Formulation of gender aware data system on literacy,
education level, employment and earnings, health and well-being helps proper planning
and policy making for empowerment of women. Inter –district, Inter-state and cross
country comparisons of women’s empowerment are obtained from Gender related
Development Index (GDI). GDI owes its origin to its precursor, the HDI (Human
Development Index), three main components of which are per capita income, educational
attainment and life-expectancy which is a proxy for health attainment. Gender disparities
attainment and measured keeping these three indicators into consideration. “An additional
measure, gender empowerment measure (GEM) has been formulated to take into account
aspects relating to economic participation and decision-making by women. The indicators
used in GEM are share in parliamentary seats and an index that includes share in
administrative and managerial jobs and share in professional and technical posts.” (K.
Seeta Prabhu, PC Sarkar and A. Radha. This exercise is done with a philosophical
understanding that without engendering, human development is endangered.
(UNDP,1995)
b. Economic Profile Of special needs population- Female headed households
(Divorced, deserted, widowed, separated women), home based workers in the family
enterprise, self-employed women, and women entrepreneurs.
c. Analysis of nature of occupational diversification among women, industrial
classification- Implications of office automation, computerization, flexi-time , job-sharing,
tele working, and part time work.
d. Effect of structural adjustment on Market segmentation- segmented factor
market affects self-employed women directly when they want to buy raw material and
other service. Segmented labour-market has direct bearing on the daily grind of women
works in the informal sector. Segmented product market makes unorganized women
workers and women’s collectives without networking insecure and vulnerable as sellers.
e. Economic basis of customary laws and the family laws : When the
customary laws get codified, we must be vigilant about the fact that women’s interests
are not sacrificed. Women’s land rights and property rights need special mention at the
time of codification of personal laws. Except for Andhra Pradesh and the North Eastern
states, women have lost their customary land right due to Land Act.
f. In mega development projects, which displace the native population, care must
be taken to see to it that women get equal share in monetary compensation, land-rights
and right to shelter. The same to the social and natural disaster management
programmes.
g. Political Economy of GET RICH QUICK formula in the name of dowry, sati
(widow burning), Bhootali (witch hunting) for land grab, or to deprive women of their
legitimate property rights should be examined with a consideration for avoiding violence
against women.
h. Women’s Empowerment by Men Decision Makers- In a situation where
women’s agency is virtually non-existent, the benevolent patriarch wedded to the cause of
Women’s empowerment become project coordinators. Guidelines for Utilisation of
Constituency Development Funds of Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative
Assembly and Area Development Funds of corporators for women’s education,
employment, training, capacity building are drawn by Gender economists

9
WID-WAD-GAD:
There has been a coexistence of three approaches for women’s development. WID-
Women in Development model explains the reasons for women’s being treated as
beneficiaries of the crumbs thrown at the margin of the economy, consumer and an
auxiliary labour force to be utilized in the crisis period and eased out the moment men are
ready for take over. The discourse revolved around the economic growth paradigm. WAD-
Women and Development model integrates womenin the development work as active
change agents. Affirmative action by the state and pro-active approach by the civil society
through NGOs and women’s groups are advocated by these models for empowerment of
women against the forces of patriarchal class society. NGOs-voluntary organisations
implementing this approach have become powerful force during 1990s. GAD – Gender and
Development model is based on an understanding of gender relations and empowers the
weak (he or she). Gender is socially constructed and gender relations are power relations.
Here power is an important analytical category. Explicit measure of gender inequalities
sex-ratio, literacy rates, health and nutrition indicators, wage differentials, ownership of
land and property. “The implicit relations are those embedded in relations of power andin
hierarchies and are more difficult to measure. Located in the household, in custom,
religion, and culture, these intra-household inequalities result in unequal distribution of
power, control over resources and decision-making , dependence rather than self-reliance
and unfair, unequal distribution of work, drudgery and even food. “ (Asha Kapur Mehta,
1996) Super women who are able to look after the interests of each and every stake group
are survivors in this model. In the Indian context, gender relations are determined by the
complex interplay of power relations based on class, caste, ethnicity and religion.
Reference
• Amarja Nerulkar and Vibhuti Patel: Women and Development, Text Book for MA
Part 1 &2, Department of Distance Education, SNDT Women’s University, 1995
• Asha Kapur Mehta “Recasting Indices for Developing Countries- A Gender
Empowerment measure”, Economic and Political Weekly, October 26, 1996. WS
80-WS86.
• Devki Jain: “Valuting woman’s Work: Time as a Measu Devere”, Economics and
Political Weekly, voluntary XXXI, no 43, October 26,1996,WS-46-WS 57.
• K.Seeta Prabhu,P.C. Sarkar and A. Radha “Gender Related Development Index for
Indian States – Methodological Issues”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol XXXI,
No. 43, October, 26, 1996, pp. WS 72 – WS79.
• Krishnaraj, Maithreyi Women and Development of Sociology, SNDT Women’s
University, Bombay, 1988.
• Krishnaraj, Maithreyi (ED) : “Women in the Data Systems”, Research Centre for
Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai, 1991.
• Mukul Mukherjee “Towards Gender – Aware Data Systems – Indian Experience”,
Economic and Political Weekly, Vol XXXI, No. 43, October,26, 1996.

10
Chapter 1 Introduction to Gender Studies
Contents
1.1 Importance of Women’s Studies
1.2 Concepts in Gender Economics
1.3 Gender and the Process of Economics Development
1.4 Economic Basis and Functioning of Patriarchy and Matrilineal Societies, structures
and systems
1.5 Market, Mobility and Women
1.6 Gender bias in Theories of Value, Distribution and population
1.7 Feminist Criticism of Development Indices and WID – WAD – GAD
1.8 Visibility of Women in Statistics and Indicators
1.9 Neoclassical versus Institutional Approach
1.10 Development Debate – Human Development Approach
1.11 Exercise
1.12 References
Dear Learners,
Welcome to the study of this paper on gender and development. After reading the
approach note you are now aware the key features of this paper.
In this lesson we introduced you to world view, scope, analytical vision, scope, analytical
vision, intellectual tools theoretical foundation and concept of Gender Studies. It will show
the importance and relevance of Gender Studies in the Contemporary reality. It persuades
you do adopt an interdisciplinary in approach to understand, analyse and solve women’s
concerns.We wish you all the best for study of this paper.
1.0 Objectives
At the end of this unit, you should be able to :
• Explain the need of gender studies and gender economics;
• Describe epistemological aspects of Women’s studies;
• Discuss concepts in gender economics;
• Show gender biases in the mainstream economic thinking;
• Critique conventional understanding of development;
• Put forward gender aware analysis of patriarchy;
• Provide gender sensitive approach to development debate.
1.1 Importance Of Women’s Studies
What is ‘Women’s Studies’ ?
Women’s Studies as an academic discipline is a science concerned about women’s equality
with man and the development of women. It provides an analytical tool, a worldview to
understand the status of women and an alternative view point to existing knowledge
construction. It is interdisciplinary in perspective. It is a partisan discipline,i.e. it is pro-
women; at the same time, not anti-men. It emphasizes the need for providing a material

11
basis for women’s independence and autonomy. Important objectives of women’s studies
are as follows :
• To facilitate the process of understanding, recognizing and giving due importance
to the contributions made by women and men.
• To examine the reasons for subordination of women and for male domination.
• To empower women to attain gender justice and an effective role in all decision –
making processes.
• To evolve development alternatives with women.
• To ensure visibility of women as change agents for the enhancement of the status
of women.
• To identify and understand roots of inequality that result in invisibility,
marginalization and exclusion of women from the intellectual world.
• To support social action aimed at equality, development, peace, education, health
and employment of women.
1.2 Concepts in Gender Economics
‘Sex’ Versus ‘Gender’
Sex is a biological term and gender refers to the sex of the individual after socialization.
Sex refers to biological difference between men and women. Gender is a social construct
that defines social relationship between men and women. Women belong to the feminine
gender because during the process of growing up, certain culturally constructed feminine
traits are inculcated into them, right from the birth.
Oppression and Exploitation
Any form dehumanization and degradation, violence and injustice, terrorization and
humiliation, intimidation and threat, subordination and discrimination is considered as
‘OPPRESSION’, while ‘Exploitation’ has an economic connotation. In a Marxian sense, it is
an extraction of ‘surplus labour’ (the generates profit) over and above ‘necessary labour’
that an individual does for his/her subsistence.
Socialization
Socialization is defined as the process through which the self acquires the rules, social
recipes, conceptions of appropriate conduct and knowledge that allows them to act in their
socio-cultural-political world. it is a mechanism of cultural transmission. Gender
socialization means the process by which the individual is taught to internalize socially
determined values of appropriate masculine traits and feminine traits.
Social Construction
It is the process by which men and women are moulded into the culture of the group and
thereby become accepted members of the group/community/society and measure up to
their expectations.
Deconstruction and Reconstruction
They are the analytical tools to examine individuals unfolding capacity to complex forms of
behaviour and direct those capacities to now ethos/values to create new personalities. In
gender economics, these analytical tools are used to bring a change from ‘gender biased’
or ‘gender neutral’ attitude to ‘gender aware’ and ‘gender sensitive’ attitude.

12
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is an institution that perpetuates male domination and female subordination. It
sustains power relations that discriminate against girls and women in the households and
in the economy. It attributes ‘private’ realm to women and ‘public’ domain to men. Pillars
of patriarchy are family, kinship network state, religion and media – PANCH
MAHABHOOTA. In a patriarchal society, the line of inheritance passes from father to son
known as Patrilineage. The patriarchal order is Patrilocal i.e after marriage, the bride is
expected to go to the groom’s residence.
Matriarchy
Matriarchal institutions are mother centered. In this system, the line of inheritance is from
mother to daughter, known as Matrilineage. After marriage, groom goes to brides house
termed as Matrilocal.
Trends in Feminism
a. Liberal Feminists – Those who focus on the constitutional guarantees of equal
treatments of men and women are known as liberal feminist.
b. Marxist Feminists – Those who locate women’s subordination in a class
contradictions are known to be Marxist feminists.
c. Radical Feminists consider ‘patriarchy’ as main culprit for women’s woes.
d. Socialist Feminists believe that women’s predicaments are determined by the
complex interplay of class, caste, race, religion, ethnicity with patriarchy. Hence the need
for deconstructing patriarchy in a different socio-cultural, geo-political and historical
contexts.
e. Psyco Analytical Feminists focus on individual journeys of women to arrive at
mental make up and internalization of values by the people concerned. They critique Freud
for its misogyny but also acknowledge Freud’s analysis of childhood experiences playing
important role in the rest of the life.
f. Post Modern Feminists contest hegemony of meta theories and dominant
discourses and bring to the fore the voice of the subjugated oppressed and marginalized.
They emphasis ‘reeentering’ from the mainstream.
g. Eco – Feminists believe that women’s role in the subsistence economy is crucial
for the survival of the humankind. Women have symbiotic relationship with mother-
nature. Male dominated development models are violent towards mother earth and
women.
h. Black Feminists – Race is the central reality for the black feminists though they
also challenge the patriarchal/ male domination.
i. Womanist – Womanism is a contribution of Afro American feminists who believe
that in spite of barbaric experiences of slavery, subjugation and horror the black culture
celebrations have survived due to women’s resilience. There is a need to promote this
celebrations/cultural legacies thro’ heritage of oral histories, legend, grandmothers stories.
They believe that the non-while and coloured women must be proud of HERSTORY instead
of aping the white, consumerist, oppressive male culture.
Gender Based Division of labour has existed in all societies for thousands of years. In
India, it is based on the ideology of male dominance, caste and social norms of ‘purity and
pollution. It is also based upon the notion that women are physically weaker than men and
are not suited for physically arduous tasks. Women’s biological tasks of monthly

13
menstruation and pregnancy, confined them to subsistence economy such as lowly paid
agricultural work, handicrafts and also household work.
1.3. Gender and The Process of Economic Development
The incorporation of subsistence economies into ‘modern’ market economies has brought
into question the traditional gender-based division of labour as an organizing principle in
the rural and urban sector because of the basic injustice it perpetuates. Women end up
doing the least skilled work and are underpaid or are expected to contribute to survival
needs of the family without any corresponding benefits. Esther Boserup in her pioneering
work brought to fore African women’s crucial contribution towards food security and
explained the political economy of polygamy in Africa that allowed men to concentrate and
centralize economic resources thro unpaid and backbreaking labour of women and children
in the subsistence economy that did not have much animal resources for cultivation of
land.
1.4. Economic Basis and Functioning of Patriarchy and Matrilineal
Societies, Structures and Systems
Patriarchy thrives on control of women’s sexuality, fertility and labour for male hegemony
over economic resources. Analytical tools provided by Gender Economics (GE) are
extremely useful to deal with the socio-economic and legal issues concerning marriage,
divorce, custody of children guardianship rights, alimony, maintenance, property rights of
mother, sister, daughter, legally wedded wives and her child/ children, co-wives and their
children, keeps and their children and the issues concerning adoption. GE has a special
significance in the subsistence economy, which uses the kinship networks, institutions of
polygamy and polyandry for concentration and centralization of wealth and capital by
either the patriarchs or the matriarchs. Domestic animals, women and children are the
main assets in the subsistence sector where collection of fuel, fodder, water are important
components of daily life over and above agrarian chores, live-stock rearing and kitchen
gardening.
GE has drawn heavily from all mainstream disciplines and innumerable social movements
of the last three decades. GE provides insights to examine budgets of Government
Organizations (GOs) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) from the point of view of
gender justice. Priority areas being women’s education, health and nutrition, skill
development accounts, financial and commercial viability, legal standing, asset and corpus
building. GE contextualizes day to day survival struggles of women in the family, in the
households, in the community and in the micro, meso and macro economy with the
perspective of power relations which control women and girl children’s sexuality, fertility
and labour.
To explain this concept, I would like to give some examples from popular culture :
Control of Women’s Sexuality
A) Dress code which, restricts mobility of women and girls, does not allow her to do
those chores which require flexible body movements, reduces her efficiency and
employability in non-conventional occupations.

15
E) Demonisation of highly qualified, efficiency plus and career women. Witch hunting of
intellectually independent and verbally articulate women workers, employees, technicians
and decision-makers.
F] Sexual harassment as an occupational hazard to crush the confidence of women and to
keep them in the state of perpetual terrorization, humiliation and intimidation.
Inference of A, B and C, can be limited opportunities for women and ghettoisation of
women in non-challenging, routinised and low-status jobs known as “women prone
industries” in the official discourse. Most of the economic activities done by majority of
women are non-marketed and non-monetised and reward for labour does not reflect the
value of their labour. In such a situation to gauge economic worth of their work. Time Use
studies are the most effective tools to identify their opportunity costs.
1.5 Market, Mobility and Women
Globalization induced mobility of women has posed new problems for women in the labour
market. Hence, efforts at empowerment of women by 550 feminist economists who are
functioning in 31 countries under the banner of International Association of Feminist
Economics to provide DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women) gain tremendous
importance in the contemporary context. According to them, the most pressing issues are
as follows :
i) Economic Profile of special needs population – Female headed households
(Divorced, deserted, widowed, separated women), home based workers, women workers
in the family enterprise, self-employed women, and women entrepreneurs.
j) Analysis of nature of occupational diversification among women, industrial
classification. Implications of office automation, computerization, flexi-time, job-sharing,
tele working, and part time work.
k) Effects of structural adjustment on Market segmentation – segmented factor
market affects self-employed women directly when they want to buy raw material and
other services. Segmented labour-market has direct bearing on the daily grind of women
workers in the informal sector. Segmented product market makes unorganized women
workers and women’s collectives without networking insecure and vulnerable as sellers.
l) Economic basis of customary laws and the family laws : When the customary
laws get codified, we must be vigilant about the fact that women’s interests are not
sacrificed. Women’s land rights and property rights need special mention at the time of
codification of personal laws. Except for Andhra Pradesh and the North Eastern states,
women have lost their customary land rights due to Land Reform Act.
m) In mega development projects, which displace the native population, care must
be taken to see to it that women get equal share in monetary compensation, land-rights
and right to shelter. The same applies to the social and natural disaster management
progrannes.
n) Political Economy of GET RICH QUICK formula in the name of dowry, sati
(widow burning), Bhootali (witch hunting) for land grab, house-grab or to deprive women
of their legitimate property rights should be examined with a consideration for avoiding
violence against women.
o) Women’s Empowerment by Men Decision Makers – In a situation where
women’s agency is virtually non-existent, the benevolent patriarch wedded to the cause of
Women’s empowerment become project coordinators. Guidelines for Utilisation of

16
Constituency Development Funds of Members of Parliament and Members of Legislative
Assembly and Area Development Fund of corporators for women’s education, employment,
training capacity building are drawn by Gender economists.
1.6 Gender Bias in Theories of Value, Distribution and Population
Has been a major bone of contention. Neoclassical analysis based on law of marginal
utility in consumer analysis, marginal cost in the product pricing and marginal productivity
have come under severe scrutiny. In the area of home economics, Nobel Laureate Gary
Backer’s model of ‘competing interests’ in distribution of resources in the households and
higher ‘opportunity cost’ of men as ‘bread-earner’ and women as ‘home-maker’ is
criticized by women’s studies scholars as sexist and statusquo-ist. Amartya Kumar Sen
and Martha Nassbaum have put forward a concept of ‘cooperative conflict’ in the theory of
distribution. Feminist Reading of Economic Laws : Marginal Productivity Theory and Laws
of Maximisation form basic tenets of Gender Economics. The feminists economists also
believe in engendering micro and macro economics.
1.7 Feminist Criticism of Development Indices and Wid-Wad-Gad
Conventional indicators of development such as modernization, technological
development, Mechanization, automation, urbanization, industrialization are critiqued by
women’s studies as they have bypassed and marginalized women. They have provided
three approaches to understand women’s role in the micro-macro and macro economy.
There has been a coexistence of three approaches for women’s development. WID-
Women in Development model explains the reasons for women being treated as
beneficiaries of the crumbs thrown at them, in the margin of the economy, consumer and
an auxiliary labour force to be utilized in the crisis period and eased out the moment men
are ready for take over. The discourse revolved around the economic growth paradigm.
WAD- Women and Development model integrates women in the development work as
active change agents. Affirmative action by the state and pro-active approach by the civil
society through NGOs and women’s groups are advocated by these models for
empowerment of women against the forces of patriarchal class society. NGOs-voluntary
organizations implementing this approach have become powerful force during 1990s. GAD
– Gender and Development model is based on an understanding of gender relations and
empowers the weak (he or she). Gender is socially constructed and gender relations are
power relations. Here power is an important analytical category. Explicit measures of
gender inequalities are sex-ratio, literacy rates, health and nutrition indicators, wage
differentials, ownership of land and property. “The implicit relations are those embedded in
relations of power and in hierarchies and are more difficult to measure. Located in the
household, in custom, religion, and culture, these intra-household inequalities result in
unequal distribution of power, control over resources and decision-making, dependence
rather than self-reliance and unfair, unequal distribution of work, drudgery and even
food.” (Asha Kapur Mehta) Super women who are able to look after the interests of each
and every stake group are survivors in this model. In the Indian context, gender relations
are determined by the complex interplay of power relations based on class, ethnicity and
religion.

17
1.8 Visibility of Women in Statistics and Indicators
For effective execution of macro policies such as National Perspective Plan for Women,
Maharashtra State Women’s Policy, we need an accurate data-base, area studies and time
allocation studies, studies on energy expenditure and food consumption patterns among
women of different communities, public utility services such as safe transport, public
urinals, women’s room in the office. Gender economists have done pioneering work to
understand demographic profile of women and sex-ratio. Formulation of gender aware
data system on literacy, education level, employment and earnings, health and well-being
helps proper planning and policy making for empowerment of women. Inter – district,
Inter-state and Cross country comparisons of women’s empowerment are obtained from
Gender related Development Index (GDI). GDI owes its origin to its precursor, the HDI
(Human Development Index), three main components of which are per capita income ,
educational attainment and life-expectancy which is a proxy for health attainment. Gender
disparities are measured keeping these three indicators into consideration. “An additional
measure, gender empowerment measure (GEM) has been formulated to take into account
aspects relating to economic participation and decision-making by women. The indicators
used in GEM are share in income, share in parliamentary seats and an index that includes
share in administrative and managerial jobs and share in professional and technical posts.”
(K. Seeta Prabhu, P.C. Sarkar and A. Radha). This exercise is done with a philosophical
understanding that without engendering, human development is endangered. (UNDP,
1995)
1.9 Neoclassical Versus institutional approach
Neoclassical approach of consumer’s rationality (Maximisation of utility) and producers
rationality (Maximisation of profit) has come under massive attack from the women’s
studies scholars as they find it a historical, simplistic and gender – neutral. Its philosophy
of Laissez Faire Does not acknowledge the unequal power relations determined by
colonialism, neo-colonialism and segmentation in the labour, factor and product markets
based on caste, class, ethnicity, race, religion, age and gender. As against this institutional
approach is found more realistic and hence appropriate as takes into consideration
historical, socio-cultural, geographical and political dynamics in economic analysis.
1.10 Development Debate- Human Development Approach
Current development debate has resulted into generation of Meaningful Indicators of
Women and Development Comparative data of 130 countries regarding gender-related
development index (GDI) reveals that gender-equality does not depend entirely on the
income level of society. The human development approach which focuses on demographic,
health, educational and human rights profiles have revealed that there is an urgent need
to reexamine this approach by conducting participatory action research and rapid rural
appraisal not by social scientists alone, but in collaboration with other professionals such
as scientists, doctors – occupational health and safety experts, engineers and lawyers who
believe that like them, citizens from subsistence sector also have right to enjoy fruits of
modern science and technology in terms of food security, safe transport, clean
environment, secure housing and healthy life. India ranks 103rd
in GDI and 104th
in the

18
HDI as, the Indian women enjoy nearly 1/5th
of the total earned income, life expectancy of
60.4 years and 35.2% adult literacy rate and combined primary, secondary and tertiary
Gross enrollment ratio (GER) of 45.8. While their male counterparts enjoy 4/5th
of the
earned income, life expectancy of 60.3 years, 63.7% adult literacy rate and combined
primary, secondary and tertiary GER of 63.8. HDI for India is 0.398 and GDI for India is
0.401. There is a gender gap of 0.003. (Human Development Report, UNDP, OUP,
Bombay, 1995, p.33.) As compared to their male counterparts women in India have higher
life expectancy because women from the middle and upper classes live in a secure
environment, produce one or two children and control food (kitchen) of the household.
1.11Exercise
1. Describe important concepts in gender economics.
2. What are the reasons for criticism of conventional indicators of development?
What are the approaches towards Women and Development debate?
3. Write short notes on :
A. Relevance of women’s studies.
B. Visibility of Women in Statistics and Indicators
C. Economic Basis of Functioning of Patriarchy
D. Paid and Unpaid Work of Women.
1.12 References:
Amarja Nerulkar and Vibhuti Patel: Women and Development, Text Book for M A
Part I & 2, Department of Distance Education, SNDT Women’s University, 1995.
Asha Kapur Mehta “Recasting Indices for Developing Countries- A Gender
Empowerment Measure”, Economic and Political Weekly, October 26, 1996. WS 80 –
WS86.
Devki Jain : “Valuing Women’s Work: Time as a Measure”, Economic and Political
Weekly, vol. XXXI, no 43, October 26, 1996, WS-46-WS 57.
Vibhuti Patel (2002) Women’s Challenges of the New Millennium, Gyan
Publications, New Delhi.

19
Chapter 2 Women: Demographic Aspects
Contents
2.1 Age structure, Mortality rates and Sex ratio
2.2 Causes of Declining Sex Ratios and Fertility Rates in LDCs with Special Reference to
India
2.3 Theories and Measurement of Fertility and Its Control
2.4 Gender and Population Control Policy with Special Reference to India.
2.5 Reproductive Rights
2.6 Women and Nutrition
2.7 Women and Health
2.8 Women and Education
2.9 Economic Status of women
2.10 Work Participation Rate of women
2.11 Exercise
2.12 References
2.0 Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
• Explain demographic features of women in India
• Describe health, educational and work profile of women.
• Age Structure, Morality Rates And Sex Ratio
2.1 Age structure, Mortality Rates and Sex Ratio
Table: 1
Current Population of India 1,065,070,607 (July 2004 est.)
Population Density of India 324 persons per square kilometer
Age structure
0 to 14 years 31.7% (male 173,869,856; female 164,003,915)
15 to 64 years 63.5% (male 349,785,804; female 326,289,402)
65 years and over 4.8% (male 25,885,725; female 25,235,905) (2004 estimate)

21
In 0-45 age-groups, there is deficit of women. Social discrimination against women results
into systematic neglect of women’s health, from womb to tomb. Female infanticide and
female foeticide are widely practiced in BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Uttar Pradesh) and DEMARU (Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat) states. As
per 2001 census, there were only 933 women per 1000 men and there was a deficit of 3.5
crore women. Sex ration is the most favourable to women is Kerala. But, in Kerala also, in
the 0-6 age group the sex ratio was 963, as per 2001 census. Total 0-6 age-group
population of Kerala was 36.5 lakhs. Out of this 18.6 lakhs were male babies and infants
and 17.9 lakhs were female babies and infants. Thus, 79760 female babies and infants
were missing in 2001 in Kerala. This masculanisation of sex ration is as a result of
selective abortion of female foetuses after the use of ultra-sound techniques to determine
sex of the foetus.2
Table 3: Causes of Maternal Deaths In 1993 In Rural India
Direct Obstetric Causes Percentage
Haemorrhage 22.6
Abortion 11.7
Infection 12.5
Obstructed Labour 5.5
Eclampsia (Blood Pressure) 12.8
Other Direct Causes 14.6
Indirect Obstetric Causes
Anaemia 20.3
Source: Registrar General, India
As girls under 5 years of age, women face neglect of medical care and education, sexual
abuse and physical violence. As adolescent and adult women in the reproductive age-
group, they face early marriage early pregnancy, sexual violence, domestic violence,
dowry harassment, infertility, if they fail to produce son, then face desertion, witch hunt.
The end result is a high
_________________
1
Ashish Bose; “Without My Daughter- Killing Fields of the Mind". ”he Times of India, 25-4-
2001.
2
Mridual Eapen and Praveena Kodoth: Demystifying the “High Status” of Women in
Kerala, An Attempt to Understand the contradictions in Social Development, Centre for
development Studies, Kerala, 2001.

22
maternal mortality. Causes of maternal deaths in our country are haemorrhage, abortion,
infection, obstructed labour, eclampsia (blood pressure during pregnancy), sepsis, and
anaemia.
Table-4 Maternal Mortality Rate (MMR)
States Maternal Deaths Per 100000
Births
Andhra Pradesh 436
Assam 534
Bihar 470
Gujarat 389
Haryana 436
Himachal Pradesh 456
Karnataka 450
Kerala 87
Madhya Pradesh 711
Maharashtra 336
Orissa 738
Punjab 369
Rajasthan 550
Tamil Nadu 376
Uttar Pradesh 624
West Bengal 389
All India 453
Source: UNICEF, 1995.
Escalating number of cases of domestic violence, dowry deaths and bride burning has
motivated Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) run K.B. Bhabha Municipal General
Hospital to collaborate with an NGO, CEHAT to launch to project Dilaasa (means
reassurance) to provide social and psychological support to women facing domestic
violence. On March 8, 2002, the process will begin to replicate this model in all BMC run
hospitals in the Greater Bombay.

23
2.2 Causes of Declining Sex Ratios and Fertility Rates in LDCs with
Special Reference to India
Table-5 Sex Ratio of different States of India
State Sex Ratio- Females per 1000 males
India 933
Andaman & Nicobar Islands 846
Andhra Pradesh 978
Arunachal Pradesh 901
Assam 932
Bihar 921
Chandigarh 773
Chhattisgarh 990
Dadra & Nagar Haveli 811
Daman & Diu 709
Delhi 821
Goa 960
Gujarat 921
Haryana 861
Himachal Pradesh 970
Jammu & Kashmir 900
Jharkhand 941
Karnataka 964
Kerala 1058
Lakshadweep 947
Madhya Pradesh 920
Maharashtra 922

24
Manipur 978
Meghalaya 975
Mizoram 938
Nagaland 909
Orissa 972
Pondicherry 1001
Punjab 857
Rajasthan 922
Sikkim 875
Tamil Nadu 986
Tripura 950
Uttar Pradesh 898
Uttaranchal 964
West Bengal 934
Source: Census of India, 2001
As a result of sex-determination and sex-preselection tests, sex ration of the child
population has declined to 927 girls for 1000 boys. Sixty lakh female infants and girls are
“missing” due to sex-selective abortion of female foetuses and pre-conception rejection of
daughters.
Table- 6 Population In The Age Group 0 to 6 Years In 2001, India
Infants And Children-All 15.8 Crores
Male Infants And Children 8.2 Crores
Female Infants And Children 7.6 Crores
Deficit Of Female Infants And Girls 6 Lakhs
Sex Ratio Of Child Population 927
Source: Census of India, 2001.
Sex ratio (number of women per 1000 men) of Greater Bombay has reduced from 791 in
1991 to 774 in 2001 in spite of rise in its literacy rate.

26
reproduction are approached by infertile couples to produce sons. Doctors are advertising
aggressively, “Invest Rs.500 now, save Rs. 50000 later i.e. if you get rid of your daughter
now, you will not have to spend money on dowry.
2.3 Theories and Measurement of Fertility and its Control
Demographic transition theory has focused economic explanations of the phenomenon of
fertility within marriage. Most research ignores the role of nuptiality: timing of marriage
and the rate of childbearing after marriage are influenced by different factors Traditional
societies view of children:
• source of labour
• investment for parental support in old age
• insurance against an uncertain environment
• enhance physical security of family
______________________________
5
K. Rameshwar Sharma: When the Baby Weighs Low- On Low Birth Weight and How to
Remedy it’, Health Action, Vol. 14, No. 12, December 2001, pp. 18-19.
6
ARROW for Change, Women’s Gender Perspectives in Health Policies and Programmes,
Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Vol. 7, No 1, 2001.
7
Vibhuti Patel “Girl Child: An Endangered Species?” in Viney Kripal (ed) The Girl Child in
20th
Century Indian Literature, sterling Publications Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, 1992. p. 9.
Modernization of societies changes the economics of childbearing so that larger
numbers of children are seen as disadvantageous, so fertility decline is rational and
lagged:
• shift from familial modes of production reduces the utility of child labor (transition
from corporate kinship systems to extended, then nuclear families)
• mass education reduces availability of children for labor
• new forms of investment and insurance developed for families
Explanations of Marital Fertility Decline
Coale’s preconditions for (European) marital fertility decline:
• fertility is a conscious choice
• effective techniques of fertility reduction must be known and available
• reduced fertility must be perceived to be advantageous
• “Classical” Transition Theory (Thompson, Davis, Notestein)
Fertility declined with urbanization and the undermining of traditional values supporting
high fertility
• “Demand” Theory/Chicago School Approach/New Home Economics (Becker)
(1960s) branch of consumer choice theory, idea of (mother’s) time as valuable commodity

27
• Combination of economic decision-making with social and biological constraints
(Easterlin)
Consider factors which influence supply of children: morality and marriage as well as
demand factors. Dominance of economic factors remains in theories of population.
• Cultural and Normative context of reproduction
When morality falls, ideal and beliefs which supported high fertility decline
• Attempts to unite economic and sociological explanations: Caldwell’s
Intergenerational Wealth Flows
Pre-transitional societies have transfer of wealth from children to parents, reversal of the
flow of transmission of child-centered nuclear family
• Diffusion of Innovations Theory
Concerned with how new reproductive technologies and forms of behaviour spread in a
population
Demand theories are refuted on the following grounds:
• Conscious exercise of birth control absent in traditional societies
• Absence does not simply children possess high economic value
• Timing of transition influenced by cultural factors (parents education, religion) not
economic factors
• Speed and pervasive nature of transition suggest role of diffusion of ideas rather
than micro-economic forces
• Declines in parents demand for children as indicated by fertility preferences do no
precede transition.
2.4 Gender and population control policy with special reference to
India
Population Control Policies
There is a serious need to examine Population policies and Global funding from the
perspective of statisation of Medical Market and Marketisation of the nation states in the
context of newly emerging culture of daily changes of sponsors. Financial economists have
reigned supreme to generate moment-to-moment existence among population so that
they can get an unending supply of cannon fodder for the NRT experimentation. Budgetary
provision on health has a hidden agenda of NRT. The victims are not given scientific details
and by labelling them as parasites and beneficiaries, their consent is not sought. So many
families have been broken. It has burdened women with backbreaking miseries. The
nation states have been coached to implement the use of NRT in Secrecy- in line with the
programmes executed by G8 in Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh. To achieve
population stabilisation, 2.1% growth rate of population and NRR- net reproduction rate of
1(i.e. mother should be replaced by 1 daughter only) are envisaged. These have inherent
sexist bias because it desires birth of 1 daughter and 1.1 sons. Those who support sex-
determination (SD) and sex-preselection (SP) view these tests as helpful to achieve NRRI.
This will further widen the gap between number of girls and number of boys in to achieve

28
NRR1. This will further widen the gap between number of girls and number of boys in the
country. As it is 100 million women have been missing due to femicide (female infanticide,
ill treatment and discrimination leading to higher mortality rate among women/girls in the
first three quarters of 19th
century, and in the last quarter of 19th
century due to misuse of
SD and SP) over a period of 1901 to 2001.
Contraceptive Research Treating women’s Bodies as Testing Ground
Invasive birth control techniques entered India along with PL 480 wheat in the late sixties
support by USAID. During the emergency rule (1975-1977) forced male sterilisation
programmes created political crisis for the ruling Congress. In the post emergency period
to this date, women have been targeted for population control programmes. Hormonal
pills (Estrogen-Projestone combinations), injectible contraceptives (Depo-Provera-Depot
Medroxy Progesterone Acetate, Net En- Nortesteeone Enenthate) and anti-fertility vaccine
have been foisted on Indian women’s bodies without any concern for collateral damage in
terms of thyroid, migraine, chest pain, giddiness, upsetting of regular cycle of woman’s
body. Research by the scientists and doctors of women’s group have shown 78 side effects
of these hormone-based contraceptives. Though there was extreme secrecy surrounding
their clinical trials, women’s groups struggled to gather data and highlighted instances of
abuse of health hazardous contraceptives. Pressure from, women’s groups prevented Depo
Provera and Net En from being included in the family planning programme for more than a
decade. It also forced IDRC-International Development Research Council, Canada to stop
funding the anti-fertility vaccine being developed by the National Institute of Immunology,
India.
Latest in the list and still more harmful is Quinacrine as a contraceptive, which is being
supplied through private routes without the permission of the drug controller or the
approval of the Indian Council of Medical Research. To impart knowledge about its side
effects, women’s groups have to reach out to the public through posters, pamphlets and
leaflets.
• Reproduction Rights
Restrictions on the right reproduce results in unnecessary and extremely harmful policies,
such as forced sterilization or abortion in India and China, or enforced childbearing in Nazi
Germany and Romania. In these cases, procreative liberty had to be curtailed to avoid
catastrophe is dubious, if not absurd. To avoid such illegitimate interferences with
procreative liberty, we should regard the right reproduce as absolute. With this
understanding the International Convention on Population and Development (1994)
ensured paradigm shift from ‘Reproductive Control’ to ‘Reproductive Rights’. World Bank
raised a slogan “Education and development of women are the best contraceptive”. The
UN declared, “Women’s reproductive rights are human rights.”
As women are perceived as mothers, not as individuals in their own right, they are
covered under MCH (mother and child programme). Even MCH does not cover majority of
Indian women. Only 49.2% of total pregnant women received antenatal check-up by
health professionals. Health workers visited only 21% of pregnant women. Tetanus toxoid
coverage of pregnant women was 53.8% and Anaemia prophylaxis coverage among
pregnant women was 50.5%.8 Majority of Indian women are left with no choice than to
deliver at home.9
Every 5000 population has an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM) with
responsibility to attend childbirth. Only negligible parts of home-births are attended by
ATMs.10
Institutional deliveries constituted only 22% of total deliveries at the national

29
level. Urban areas were better covered: 55 percent as against a very megre 18% in rural
areas.11
__________________
8
International Institute of Population Sciences, Bombay, 1995.
9
Kalyani Menon Sen and A.K. Shivakumar: Women in India- How Free? How Equal?
Report commissioned by the United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, New Delhi,
2001. p. 37.
10
Shyam Ashtekar: Health and Health Care Systems- Observations From China,
Philippines and Thailand & Reflections on India, Bharat Vaidyak Sanstha, Nasik, p.128.
11
Registrar General of India, 1997.
New Reproductive Technologies (NRTs) and Women
NRTs perform 4 types of functions. In Vitro Fertilisation and subsequent embryo transfer,
GIFT (Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer), ZIFT and cloning assist reproduction.12
Contraceptive Technologies prevent conception and birth. Amniocentesis, chorion villai
Biopsy, niddling, ultrasound are used for prenatal diagnosis.13
Foetal cells are collected by
the technique of amniocentesis and CVB. Gene technologies play crucial role through
genetic manipulation of animal and plant kingdoms.14
Genomics is “the science of
improving the human population through controlled breeding, encompasses the
elimination of disease, disorder, or undesirable traits, on the one hand, and genetic
enhancement on the other. It is pursed by nations through state policies and
programmes.”15
• Women and Nutrition
Balanced diet containing carbohydrate, protein, vitamins and minerals make a healthy
body and healthy mind. Only 10% of women are fortunate to have the privilege of
nutritious diet. Majority of women in our country work more than men and for longer
period but eat less, the last and the left over of poor quality of food. Their energy
expenditure is not compensated by intake of diet as it is inadequate and lacks in nutrition.
India has the highest prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia in the world. 87% of pregnant
women, about 68% in the reproductive age group and about 60-70% of adolescent girls in
our country are anaemic.16
This is the major reason for high level of morbidity among
Indian women. The Government Organisations (GOs) and Non-Government Organisations
(NGOs) need to make a concerted effort to provide iron rich and vitamin C rich low-cost
and locally available food to women through active nutrition education and change in
dietary habits.
• Women and Health
World Health Organisation has defined health as “a state of complete physical, mental and
social well-being” which is necessary for leading a productive and fruitful life. Health is a
basic human right/women’s right. Attainment and maintenance of good health depends on
women’s access to nutritious food, appropriate medicine to treat illnesses, clean water,
safe housing, pollution free environment and health services. Thus, women’s health is
determined by the forces working at homes, work places, society and the state.

31
2.8 Women and Education
Five decades of independent India have generated different patterns of male and female
literacy due to different priorities of different state governments and different cultural
legacies determining women’s autonomy and control of movements. As per Economic
Survey, 2000-2001 of the Government of India, in the 53th Round of National Sample
Survey Organisation, 50% of Indian women were found literate in 1997. Kerala scores the
first rank in female literacy, thanks to the active collaboration of voluntary organisations
such as Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad (KSSP) and Library Movement, university
supported National Service Scheme (NSS), the state government
____________________
17
Amartya Sen: “Many Faces of Gender Inequality”, an inauguration Lecture for New
Redcliff Institute at Harward University, 24-4-2001.
18
Gracy Fernandes and Cecily Stewart Ray: Raids Rescue, Rehabilitation, The Story of
Mumbai Brothel Raids- of 1996-2000, The College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan,
Mumbai, 1991.p.78.
19
Sameera Khan: “The Indian Women: confronting HIV/AIDS”, SANKALP, The Newsletter
of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in India, Nov.- Dec. 2001.p.7.
20
S. Wal and Ruchi Mishra; op. cit., pp.27-30.
21
Sarla Gopalan and Mira Shiva: National Profile on Women’s Health and Development,
Voluntary Health Association of India and World Health Organisation, Delhi, 2000, p213.
supported Literacy Mission and an efficient private and KSRTC (Kerala State Road
Transport Corporation) supported transport, over and above railways and waterways used
for transporting the students at extremely reasonable rates. Sex segregation, caste
hostilities and unsafe transport have resulted into tremendous restrictions on women’s
mobility in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh which keeps 75% of the
female population illiterate. Alcoholism among men resulting into domestic violence in the
urban working class areas and rural and tribal areas actively promoted by the economic
and political vested interests has been a single major impediment in the literacy
programmes in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Orissa,
Punjab and Tamil Nadu22
. It is sad to notice conspiracy of silence concerning violence
against women (in the domestic arena, while going to and returning from school, in
classroom situations and in the school-college-university campuses) in all discourses about
women’s education in India.
Table- 8: Literacy Rate, 2001
State Total Male Female
Andhra Pradesh 61 71 51
Assam 64 72 56
Bihar 48 60 34
Gujarat 70 81 59

32
Haryana 69 79 56
Karnataka 67 76 57
Kerala 91 94 88
Madhya Pradesh 64 77 50
Maharashtra 77 86 68
Orissa 64 76 51
Punjab 70 76 64
Rajasthan 61 76 44
Tamil Nadu 73 82 65
Uttar Pradesh 57 70 43
West Bengal 69 78 60
All India 65 76 54
Source: Final Population Total of 200 Census, Series 1, paper no. 2 of 2002. The Registrar
General of India.
Ethnic tension in Assam and paucity of funding for educational purpose in West Bengal
prevent literacy missions to be successful. Against such hostile forces, women teachers
are expected to achieve the targets of universal literacy.
As per the world Development Report23
62% adult women and 35% adult men in India are
illiterate. This fact is alarming because the social fabric which provided the family-based
safety-net, is getting
________________
22
power dynamics operating at the levels of state politic, police bootleggers-underworld
nexus, rural-urban networking for promotion of country liquor are succinctly portrayed in a
film by Shabnam Virmani- Anti Arrek Movement, copy of video-cassette available with
Vacha Women’s Library, Bombay. Trafficking of narcotic drugs is patronised by more
powerful lobbies.
23
World Development Report, World Bank, 1997, p.226
eroded and the day to day governance of society cannot be handled without literacy and
systematic paper-work
In primary and upper primary school levels, discrepancy in the school attendance between
girls and boys rate is quite sharp. Less number of schools, violent discrimination against
girls from the poor economic background, unsafe journey in the overcrowded state
transport are some of the factors preventing girls from rural areas to attend schools.
Though fear of teenage pregnancy has been one of the major stumbling blocks in the way

33
of teenage girls’ education, none of the mainstream research organisations have
highlighted this fact. Only participatory action researches conducted by women’s
organisations have focused on this aspect24.
Need for Multifaceted Approach in the context of Unevenness in Different states:
We need to learn a lot from the 19th
century social reform movement to effectively
manage literacy mission with the help of the state apparatus and progressive sections of
the civil society. In the official documents one hardly finds legitimization of difficulties
faced by women animators, anganwadi and balwadi workers in the Northern parts of India
where they are increasingly facing backlash of violence by statuesquoist forces in BIMARU
states. In these areas, if more men from different caste, ethnic and religious backgrounds
are involved in the literacy programmes, it will be easier to negotiate women’s concerns
with the patriarchal forces (here I would like to clarify that both, women and men are
carriers of patriarchal hostility against women’s education). One of the reasons for the
success of the literacy mission in Kerala and Maharashtra has been active involvement of
male animators and male decision makers from different caste backgrounds who have
been able to convince the caste and community Panchayats to support women’s
education. They have been able to discuss prevalent stereotypes against the educated
women i.e. “Education makes girls hostile to manual work, arrogant, disrespectful towards
elders, uncontrollable, unruly and irresponsible towards domestic responsibilities (cooking,
cleaning and caring).”
In the middle level literacy areas, vocational training programmes under TRYSEM and
Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) have been introduced for women. “Although 1887 it is
throughout the country also enroll women, to improve their access, 132 separate women’s
it is were established along with 98 separate women’s wings in the general ITIs25. But
these vocationally trained women are not given any training in crisis management,
assertiveness and self-defense. Women technicians’ cooperatives with regular meetings for
discussion of their day-to-day problems should be formed.
_______________________________________
24
Fatima Burnad: Teen-age Pregnancy and Unsafe Abortion in Rural Tamilnadu, Women
and Health Camp. Rural Women’s Liberation Organisation, Arkonam, 1986.
Manisha Gupte, Sunita Bandewar and Hemlata Pisal: Abortion Need of Women in India- A
case Study of Rural Maharashtra, Reproductive Abortion: Unfinished Business, No. 9, May,
1997, pp77-86.
Verbal presentations of women delegates from Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Tamilnadu, Karnataka and Muslim women from Ahmedabad (Gujarat) in the IV
National Conference of Women’s Movement in India in Calicut, Dec. 1990.
Sunita Bandewar: A Note on ABOPTION: CAUSE FOR CONCERN IN INDIA-EVEN 25 YEARS
AFTER ITS LEGISLATION, Paper presented at Sixth National Conference on Women’s
Movements at Ranchi, Dec. 1997.
25
Gender and Poverty in India, a World Bank country study, The World Bank, Washington,
1992, p. 106.
Which are the factors responsible for the success of Mahila Samakya (Programme for
education for women’s equality) in Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh26
. The most
important factor for its popularity is its persuasive approach and democratic handing of

34
the programme, both horizontally and vertically. Women animators working in the
community are at ease with the managerial cadre due to relationship of mutual respect
and all women employees are provided secure environment and personal safety by the
government apparatus (top down) and the beneficiaries (bottom up). These factors seem
to be missing in the Women and Development Programmes (WDP) in Rajasthan27
. There is
insecurity all around- among the animators and among the beneficiaries.
In the high literacy areas, there is a need to identify potential women decision-makers and
efforts should be made to groom them to fulfil the tasks of social development.
Highly educated women who can complete in the global market should be provided the
gender-just and secure environment to realise their full potential. Deskilling is the major
casualty with the Indian educated Women Patriarchs of, both Government Organisations
(GOs) and Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) systematically encourage deskilling of
highly qualified women by making them do monotonous, routine chores, which could have
been easily done by moderately educated and skilled persons. This has prevented
professional women from taking decision-making roles, which demand abilities for critical
evaluation, immediate response to unfolding realities and strategic thinking.
Section of women which is either hostile towards classroom teaching or can’t learn from
the teacher either individually or in the classes can be reached out only through television,
video-films or radio and wall papers, charts. Married women fall in this category. One-to-
one teaching is a luxury, which can be afforded by, the economically secure individuals
and institutions.
2.9 Economic Status of Women
According to UN estimates, in 1970 India had 60 million economically active women and in
1990 the number had risen to 76 million. Out of the total workforce of women, 2% are
administrative and managerial workers, 11% are clerks, sales and service workers, 15%
are industrial and transport workers and 31% are agricultural and hunting workers. In
predominantly tribal states like Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Manipur, the
WPR of women is higher but the quality of employment, in terms of wages or income from
self-employment and work-condition, is deplorable.
_____________________
26
for more details on these programmes, see Maitreyi Das: The Women’s Development
Programme in Rajasthan-A Case Study in Group Formation for Women’s Development,
Chapter-X- Mahila Samakhya and Group Formation for Education. Policy Research Working
Papers- Women in Development, The World Bank, 1992.
27
I arrived at this understanding after listening to verbal presentations of women
employees of the WDP (Rajasthan) during National Conferences of Women’s Movement in
India, in Patna (1988) and Calicut, 1990. Discussions with women animators of Mahila
Samakhya in Karnataka, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh in Calicut, Surat and Ahmedabad
between 1990 and 1994 corroborated the same.
Women in the Unorganised Sector:
94% of the total women workers are in the ‘informal’ (dependent) sector. The economic
reforms reinforce the trend of informalisation and flexibalisation for the female workforce.
The formation of ‘flexible’ labour force is the key concept of NEP. A shift from a

35
stable/organised labour force to a flexible workforce has meant hiring women on a part-
time basis and the substitution of highly paid male labour by cheap female labour. The
NEP provides congenial state support for the large corporate houses that are closing down
their big city units and using ancillaries that employ rural and tribal girls (without
responsibilities for families and children) on a piece-rate basis. In the name of increase in
‘efficiency’ and ‘productivity’ of labour, home-based work by women and girls get easily
legitimised.
In the name of increasing marginal efficiency of financial capital, there have been attacks
on women’s access to credit, extension services and input subsidies. The same concern for
efficiency and the proper management of public funds, however, was not to be seen when
it came to stock market speculators. The banks that were indicated in the country’s
biggest financial scam, talked of increasing their interest rates, to the detriment of self-
employment women who are dependent on loans. This had affected the small businesses
of self-employment poor women. To continue their business, these women now have to
approach private money-lenders who charge compound rate of interest.
The liberalisation of the economy has not liberated working women. The elimination of
7000 licences, the scrapping of MRTP limits and the reduction in customs duty on capital
goods have given free grazing grounds for foreign capital. Following the liberalisation of
the economy, the right to fish in Indian waters has been given to several foreign firms,
including Union Carbide. As a result, 50,000 fisher-folk families have lost their jobs. Food
processing industries with foreign collaboration are being established.
Use of women in the informal sector of electronics, diamond, garment manufacture and
pharmaceutical industries has increased. Here again, the underlying reality is disturbing.
With globalisation of production and the introduction of assembly-line production, research
and management is being controlled by the first world, while strenuous, monotonous,
‘unskilled’ or ‘semi-skilled’ work is being done by third world women. Commenting of this
situation, the UN Report, Third World Women: 1970-90 states, “The informal sector is by
no means a panacea for women. It is far less secure than formal sector work and it
generally pays less than the minimum wage.”
Employment Profile in the Public Sector:
The NEP has declared 200 public sector units ‘economically unviable’ and ‘sick’.
Consequently millions of workers have lost their jobs disinvestments in public sector units,
closures and retrenchment rendered 6.6 million workers (7% to 9% of them women)
unemployed, within a year of the introduction of SAP, according to the Annual Survey of
Industries, 1991. 50% of the factory employees who were supported by the National
Textile Corporation are now unemployed. New job opportunities are provided by the
information technologies. The Information Technology (IT) profession has created an army
of teleworkers.
In the rural areas, some state like Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh have generated
massive employment in the IT sector which provide services in the fields of telemedicine,
literacy programme and science education.
In the last decade, new recruitment in railways, banks and insurance companies has
virtually stopped. Following the SAP, the GOI has declared 4 lakh workers as surplus in the
nationalised banks. Out of 900,000 bank employees in India, 20% are women. Plans for
retrenchment in the Indian Railways, announced by the GOI, has made thousands of

36
women typists, telephone operators, and clerks’ jobless. The post and telegraph
department has declared 200,000 workers as ‘excess’. The women-dominated profession
of nursing has been greatly affected by the SAP. Recruitment of nurses in the public
hospitals of Maharashtra has decreased by 15%. Vacancies are not filled because of
budgetary cuts in public health expenditure. Nursing was an occupation that had
experienced virtually full-employment in India. This is now changing. One of the largest
government hospitals in Bombay, the J.J. Hospital, has not filled 217 vacant staff-nurse
posts. In the Employment State Insurance Scheme (ESIS) hospitals, 500 nurses have
been declared surplus. Consequently, the workload of employed nurses has increased
tremendously. According to the nursing council, the nurse: patient ratio 1:4 but in these
changed circumstances nurses work at a ratio of 1:15. Though there are 5 sanctioned
beds per nurses, because of staff shortage they end up caring for 40-50 patients.
Reduction in educational funds by the government has created job-redundancy in the
teaching profession, where women constitute 22.8% of teachers. Encouragement to the
private sector in the education has eroded the rights provided by the labour laws, as
private institutions hire teachers on a contract basis and often terminate employment
before staff becomes legally entitled to a permanent post.
In the organised sector of the overall economy and in private enterprise the growth rate of
employment during 1980-1990 was 2% and 1.5% respectively. Now it has been reduced
to 0.60%.
Employment Profile in Agriculture:
The employment elasticity of output in agricultural has reduced to 0.64%. Reduction of
subsidy and credit in agriculture has affected small and marginal farmers negatively.
Unemployment and underemployment in the rural areas have gained serious proportion
because, in the NEP, schemes for rural development and rural industrialisation have not
been given any importance. (Dholakia,1992). As per Economic Survey 2000-2001
budgetary allocation under several employment schemes has to absorb the backlog of the
unemployed and the new additions to the labour force.
There has already been a major shift in the cropping pattern from subsistence production
like rice, millet, corn, wheat to cash-crop production such as fruit, mushrooms, flowers
and vegetables. This process has affected women’s employment in the agrarian sector.
Several studies have shown that a shift from subsistence to cash-crop production
invariably leads to women being the first to lose their jobs. As a result of shrinking self-
employment prospects for women, the large majority of them join the rural and urban
reserve army of labour. In rural India, 31% of total female population is employed as per
2001 census.
Opening up of market since 1-4-2000 for 729 new commodities (240 are agrarian
products including rice, meat, milk powder, fruits) that can be imported unrestrictedly
have resulted in enormous tragedies resulting into suicides and starvation deaths among
farmers and weavers. Prices of rubber, cotton, coconut, coffee, cardamom, pepper,
tomatoes, sugarcane and potatoes have crashed. Urban poor women in Kerala and
Karnataka are fighting desperate struggles against imports of these items to express their
solidarity with their rural and tribal sisters.

38
nursing and teaching professions, working either on a contract-basis or self-employed. The
rise of work participation rate is not a sign of empowerment but a sign of sheer
helplessness and economic distress. Subcontracting, home-based production, family
labour system, and the payment of wages on a piece-rate basis, are jobs earmarked for
women. According to the 1991 census, 19% of the total female workforce constitutes
unpaid family labour. Even in a state like Kerala, only 17% of the women are gainfully
employed.
2.11 Exercise
• Give a demographic profile of women in India.
• What are the factors affecting continuously declining sex ratio in India?
• Describe work participation and sectoral contribution of working women in India.
• Write short note on:
• Reproductive Rights of Women
• Women and Education
• Women and Health
• Economic Status of Women
2.12 References:
• Amartya Kumar Sen (2001) “Many Faces of Gender Inequality”, New Redcliff
Institute at Harvard University.
• K. Srinivasan and A Shroff (1988). India: Towards Population and Development
Goals, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
• Martha Nussbaum, and Amartya Sen (eds.) (1999) The Quality of Life, Oxford
University Press, Delhi.
• Rekha Wazir (2000). The Gender Gap in Basic Education: EGOs as Change Agents,
Safe Publications, New Delhi.
• Sarala Gopalan and Mira Shiva (2000) National Profile on Women, Health and
Development, Country Profile-India, Voluntary Health Association of India and world
Health Organisation, Delhi.
• T. P. Schultz, (1988) “Education Investments and Returns”, in Chenery, H. B. and
T. N. Srinivasan, The Handbook of Development Economics, North Holland, New York.
• Vibhuti Patel (2002) Women’s Challenges of the New Millennium, Gyan
Publications, Delhi.

39
Chapter 3 Women and Decision Making
Contents
3.1 Factors Affecting Decision-making by Women
3.2 Role of Voluntary Organizations, Self-help Groups
3.3 Review of Legislation for Women’s Entitlements, Protection of Property Rights and
Social Security
3.4 Schemes for Safety-net for Women
3.5 Social Structure and Social Security of Women-Entitlements, Access to Control over
Economic Resources, Ensuring Economic Independence and Risk Coverage.
3.6 Power of Decision-Making at Household Levels, Class and Community level
3.7 Economic Status of women and its Effect on work Participation Rate, Income Level,
Health and Education in Developing Countries and India.
3.8 Role of Kinship in Allocation of Domestic and Social Resources
3.9 Exercise
3.10 References
3.0 Objectives
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
• explain to factors responsible for women's decision making power in the family and
public life;
• discuss women's entitlements, property rights;
• debate on women's access and control over economic resources;
• highlight the relationship between women's economic status and women's work-
participation, health and education Contents.
3.1 Factors Affecting Decision-Making by Women
Poverty, lack of access to basic resources, lack of access to political party lists, low
salaries, and discrimination in the workplace are considered as root causes of women's
under-representation in economic and political decision-making. If women have to be
concerned with survival, there is little time left for assuming positions of leadership and
economic power. Recognition of women's unpaid work and the need for sharing of family
and household responsibilities, along with training in non-traditional skills, are key factors
to help explain why so few women worldwide have actual decision-making power in the
households, community and economy.

40
3.2 Role of Voluntary Organizations, Self-Help Groups
Women's participation in preventive diplomacy and negotiations at the peace table were
considered to be essential to achieving peace and development and for diverting military
expenditures for peaceful purposes. It was suggested that decision-making processes,
involving both women and men, including in situations of intrastate conflict, could help to
create a more peaceful approach.
The importance of creating national machineries, inter-ministerial bodies, national
committees and women's bureaus to ensure women's equal participation in all aspects of
decision-making, with adequate levels of staffing and funding, and located at the center of
political power, was cited as critical. In addition, the mainstreaming of gender issues in
institutions was noted as another means to promote the advancement of women in
decision-making. The need for effective monitoring mechanisms was emphasized, with
time-bound targets and measurable indicators to evaluate progress.
In keeping women in power, greater harmonization between professional work and family
responsibilities for both men and women was considered essential. Greater sharing of
parental and household responsibilities between women and men was deemed to be
paramount. Recognition of women's unpaid work, need for flexible working hours and
sharing of family responsibilities with men, and the need for women to participate in
decision-making at the household level, were also cited.
The importance of education and training to enable women to have greater control over
their lives was emphasized. Training women candidates in the conduct of electoral
campaigns and fund raising had proved to be important for effecting the election of
women to public office. Once in office, women often need training in parliamentary
procedures and budgetary matters. Leadership training was considered essential for
women at all levels.
The revision of education curricula and textbooks remains an important means of
eliminating gender-based stereotypes. Attitudinal change was considered to be especially
important at the earliest stages of life when boys and girls have not yet internalized sex
stereotypes. The role of the media in perpetuating sex stereotypes and the need to ensure
a positive view of women and portrayal of girls in non-traditional roles (wore) noted.
Continued stereotyping of women and their negative portrayal as sex objects on television
and in films undermines the struggle for women's equality. The value of stimulating public
debate on the diverse role of women particularly in public life and in the family was
emphasized. Despite the growing presence of professional women in the media, decisions
about editorial content and production issues are still largely controlled by men.
An urgent need was identified for case studies on "women making a difference" and for
the creation of a database to monitor women's participation in government, corporation,
political parties, trade unions, international organizations and the military.
Women need to seek greater partnership with men to build coalitions and strengthen
alliances to advocate for women's political empowerment and representation. Women
leaders and older women and men represent a valuable resource for mentoring young
women as future leaders. National and regional women's parliamentary caucuses should
also include women from the private sector and the civil service.

41
International organizations, governments, non-governmental organizations and women
parliamentarians should join efforts to support the development of women leaders through
training, so as to facilitate their entry into the political arena. An enabling environment
should be established for women's full participation and equal representation in power and
decision-making.
3.3 Review of Legislation for Women's Entitlements, Protection of
Property Rights and Social Security.
In 1994, the 73rd and 74th Constitutional Amendments brought 10 lakh women as elected
representatives in the local self-governmental bodies due to reservation of seats for
women in the village councils, tehsil councils and district councils as well as municipal
councils and corporations. Eleven years of governance has made them confident to deal
with public economics, area development agenda and gender audit of budgets. Quotas and
targets in jobs, legislature and political parties are suggested as necessary to accelerate
the equal representation of women in all areas of governance. Looking at the controversial
nature of quotas, it should be seen only as a temporary solution. Those who oppose
affirmative action by the state in favour of women believe that women should still enter
into power-structures strictly on the basis of competition, laissez faire in the labour, factor
and product markets.
To put forward women's economic agenda, their leaders need to have agenda setting
power. Electoral reform, specifically in the adoption of proportional representation in place
of plurality systems, is a possible means for increasing the percentage of women in
parliaments. The bill on 33% reservation of seats in the parliaments has already been
introduced. For past two decades, the issue has remained extremely controversial. Those
who support the bill suggest that there should be no less than 30-40% and no more than
60-70% of either sex in decision-making positions.
Women Empowerment Policy, 2001 of Government of India can be effective only when its
principles and programmes get translated into a plan of action.
*For implementation of the plan, there has to be an efficient resource management by
elected representatives and motivated civil servants, sincere financial commitments for
women's schemes & programmes and consistent monitoring by women's bodies within the
state apparatus and civil society.
3.4 Schemes for Safety-Net for Women
The tenth five year plan has demanded that each and every ministry of the state and
union governments are bound to channelise 30% of funds/ benefits from development
sector to Women. Recommendations for Employment
A policy for women's employment has to include strategies for challenging the sexual
division of labour and gender ideology inside as well as outside the workplace.
Policies for access-include access to employment, education, training, credit etc.
1. Policies to improve the quality of employment, including her position in the
household.

Prof. Vibhuti Patel on Economics of Gender & Development, Centre for Distance Education, SNDTWU, Juhu, Mumbai-49

Prof. Vibhuti Patel on Economics of Gender & Development, Centre for Distance Education, SNDTWU, Juhu, Mumbai-49

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