Title_ Gender Equality, Growth and Human Development in India

Author_ Madhusudan Ghosh

Pages 68-87

Abstract_This article evaluates gender inequalities in education and employment and examines their impacts on economic growth and human development in 15 major states of India. Although the overall gender gap has declined marginally due to reduced gender gaps in political empowerment and educational attainment, it has remained high due to huge gender gaps in other categories. India has attained gender parity in primary and upper primary education and has been moving towards gender equality in literacy. Gender equality in life expectancy has improved modestly at the cost of increasing gender disparity in infant mortality. Despite the increasing literacy rate and educational levels among women, the female labor force participation rate has been declining with increasing gender gaps in wage and income. Gender equalities in literacy and labor force participation rates have positive impacts on per capita income and human development. The results suggest the need for adopting policies to create conditions, which would allow both women and men to realize their full human potential. They also suggest that increasing investment in infrastructure and the social sector could play an important role.

Keywords_ Gender Inequality, Education, Employment, Economic Growth, Human Development, India