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A STUDY OFGENDER DEVELOPMENT

INDEX (GDI) OFGRADUATE WOMEN INNASHIK DISTRICT

Dr. Ashlesha Anil Kulkarni

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First Edition : 2020

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Dedicated to My Parents

Mr. Aniland

Mrs. Anagha Kulkarni

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PREFACE

Women represent 50 per cent of the world population. Therefore,if the deliberate efforts are made for women empowerment byproviding them equal opportunities of development the world will betransformed. There is inequality in men and women and amongstwomen, again they are divided into two groups; mere housewives andworking women. Are graduate housewives treated differently thannon-graduates? Does a working non-graduate woman get more statusthan a graduate housewife? What are the determinants of social statusof women? Which factors influence the status of a woman? Withthese questions the researcher began the study. The researcher hasactually visited 60 villages from 15 Talukas of Nashik District andinteracted with 961 women while collecting primary data.

United Nations Programme introduced the concepts of GenderDevelopment Index, Gender Empowerment Measure. These conceptsare treated as the indicator of gender development in a nation. Everyyear the information is collected from the member countries andranks are given to them accordingly. Those indices are calculated atnational level and compared at international level, but if we calculateGender Development Index for a district it will be beneficial for localpolicymakers. So, the researcher decided to calculate GenderDevelopment Index of graduate women in Nashik district. Whilecalculating this index, the researcher has referred technical notes ofHuman Development Report 1995 where the methods of calculationare explained in detail.

In the first chapter, brief introduction of the GDI concept isgiven with its historical background. In the second chapter, a reviewof literature is taken.

Third chapter narrates socio–economic review of Nashik district.Fourth chapter is about gender development in recent decades. Fifthchapter is the profile of sample data collected by the researcher. Sixthchapter includes Gender Development Index of Nashik district. Whilecalculating it the researcher came to know about the missing factor

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that is decision-making power, which was not considered in GenderDevelopment Index. Unless and until a lady gets the freedom tospend and decide about the important family matters. Therefore, theresearcher decided to construct a new index – ‘Recognition Index’.Considering two variables namely, ownership of property andeconomic decision-making power, the formula was developed. Byapplying the formula to sample data, Recognition Index of everyrespondent was calculated.

This book is an effort to put forward reality of GDI of graduatewomen in Nashik district. The book highlights the changing scenarioin rural and urban areas with special reference to Nashik district. Itanalyses the sociocultural and economic problems. It describes thereal picture of women in Nashik district and sets the new index likeRecognition Index with Gender Development Index. The successfulimplementation of any scheme requires actual grassroot level data.Therefore, this book will be helpful for policymakers and theresearchers.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I express deep sense of gratitude to my Guide Dr. S.G.Shrivastav, for his valuable guidance, encouragement andinvolvement in carrying out the thesis successfully.

I am extremely thankful to Dr. Leela S. Kulkarni Director,Institute of Research in Development Studies, Nashik andDr. Sarvottam N. Kulkarni, Advisor WORDS’ Institute of Researchin Development Studies, Nashik, for their counselling and persistentencouragement in performing the task, for selecting and designing thetools, analysing of data and finalising the report of my research worktime to time.

I would like to cherish the memories of learning statisticaltechniques from Dr. Madhav Kulkarni without whom completing thisresearch was just a dream.

I must mention the untiring efforts of my parents Mr. AnilKulkarni, Mrs. Anagha Kulkarni and my sister Ms. Ashwini Kulkarnibecause of whom I could complete this challenging work.

I will never forget the kind support provided by my friendsMs. Anita Phapale, Ms.Honashri Patil and Ms. Manisha Kakade.

Dr. Ashlesha Anil Kulkarni

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CONTENTS

Page No.Preface (v)Acknowledgement (vii)List of Tables (x)List of Figures (xiii)List of Abbreviations Used (xiv)

ChapterNo. Title Page No.

1 Introduction 1 - 11

2 Review of Related Literature 12 - 39

3 Socio-economic Review of NashikDistrict

40 - 47

4 The Concept and Status of GenderDevelopment in Recent Decades

48 - 52

5 Profile of Sample Women and theirHouseholds

53 - 78

6 Gender Development Index of GraduateWomen in Nashik District

79 - 101

7 Findings and Suggestions 102 - 109

Bibliography 110 - 115

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LIST OF TABLES

TableNo.

Title PageNo.

3.1 Demographic Features of Nashik District 464.1 HDI and GDI of Selected Countries from Asia 504.2 HDI 2010 514.3 HDI and GII Rank of Top Ten Countries 515.1 Distribution of Respondents by Age Group 535.2 Level of Education 555.3 Classification on the Basis of Marital Status 565.4 Age at Marriage 575.5 Number of Children 585.6 Earning before Marriage 585.7 Classification of Source of Earning before

Marriage59

5.8 Total Earnings before Marriage 595.9 Left Job after Marriage 595.10 Education and Occupation of Husbands 605.11 Income of Husbands of Married Respondents 615.12 Women in Service 615.13 Working Hours 615.14 Co-operation from Male Colleagues 625.15 Obedience of Male Subordinates 625.16 Reasons for Disobedience by Subordinates 625.17 Treatment from Superiors 635.18 Denial of Promotion on Account of

Inconvenient Transfer63

5.19 Impact of Service on Personal Life 645.20 Respondents’ Idea of Leisure 65

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5.21 Women doing Business/Service Providers 665.22 Working Life of Business/Service 675.23 Initial Finance for the Business 675.24 Reasons Behind Choosing the Business 685.25 Extent of Co-operation from the Family

Members69

5.26 Behaviour of the Family Members During theUps and Downs in the Business

70

5.27 Ownership of Respondents (Personal Property) 705.28 Decision-Making Power of Respondents in

Economic Affairs72

5.29 Classification of Socially Active Women 735.30 The Types of Social Work Usually Done by

Participated Women74

5.31 Support from the Family Members 755.32 Gains from Your Social Work 765.33 Hobbies of Women 775.34 Progress after Marriage 78

Chi-square Tables6.1 Nashik Urban 856.2 Chandwad 866.3 Deola 876.4 Dindori 876.5 Igatpuri 886.6 Kalwan 896.7 Malegaon 906.8 Nandgaon 916.9 Nashik Rural 926.10 Niphad 926.11 Peth 93

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6.12 Satana 946.13 Sinnar 956.14 Surgana 956.15 Trimbakeshwar 966.16 Yeola 976.17 Regression Analysis 996.18 Summary of Regression Analysis 996.19 Recognition Index 1006.20 Recognition Index of Married Women 101

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LIST OF FIGURES

FigureNo.

Title PageNo.

5.1 Distribution of Respondents by Age Group 545.2 Level of Education 555.3 Classification on the Basis of Marital Status 565.4 Age at Marriage 575.5 Left Job after Marriage 605.6 Impact of Service on Personal Life 655.7 Respondents’ Idea of Leisure 665.8 Extent of Co-operation from the Family

Members69

5.9 Ownership of Respondents (PersonalProperty)

71

5.10 Decision-Making Power of Respondents inEconomic Affairs

73

5.11 The Types of Social Work Usually Done byParticipated Women

75

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS USED

EPW Economic & Political WeeklyGAD Gender and DevelopmentGDI Gender Related Development IndexGDP Gross Domestic ProductGEM Gender Empowerment MeasureGII Gender Inequality IndexGNP Gross National ProductHDI Human Development IndexHRD Human Resource DevelopmentI1 Property ScoreI2 Decision-Making ScoreICTs Information and Communications TechnologiesNGO Non-Governmental OrganisationR.I. Recognition IndexR.I.M. Recognition Index of Married WomenRig. RigvedSGS Sacred GrovesSHG Self-Help GroupSPACE Society for Promotion of Alternate Computing and

EmploymentUNDP United Nations Development ProgrammeECOSOC United Nations Economic and Social Councilw weightsWHO World Health OrganizationWID Women In DevelopmentW WagesZP Zilla Parishad

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Chapter

1Introduction

1.1 Introduction

Gender development is significant in human development. Thepace of economic development enhances with gender development.In the last decade of 20th century the wave of gender empowermentengrossed the globe. All over the world the concept of genderdevelopment added new dimensions to human development. Earlierthough the concept was in existence, it took a long time for thedeliberate efforts. The roots of this concept were hidden in theGender and Development (GAD) approach which is a way ofdetermining how best to structure development projects andprogrammes based on analysis of gender relationships. In 1980s GADapproach was put forward as an alternative to the Women inDevelopment (WID) approach.1

Many times the term gender is misunderstood as differencebetween sexes, but actually sex and gender are two independentconcepts. Sex refers to the biological characteristics that categorisesomeone as either female or male; whereas gender refers to thesocially determined ideas and practices of what it is to be female ormale.2 Therefore, gender development is a wider concept whichincludes social status and equal opportunities of development.

Prior to seventh decade of the 20th century, it was believed thatdevelopment has the similar impact on males and females. WhenEster Boserup published her book, ‘Women’s Role in EconomicDevelopment’, there was a realisation that development affected menand women differently and it was the beginning of more focus on

A Study of Gender Development Index (GDI) of Graduate Women…2

women and development. Boserup firmly stated, “Women weremarginalised in the modernisation process and practices of growth,development, and development policy threatened to actually makewomen worse off.” Boserup’s work resulted into the commencementof term Women in Development (WID). Women in Developmentcoined by the Women’s Committee of the Washington DC Chapter ofthe Society for International Development; a network of femaledevelopment professionals in society. The first aim of WID wasinclusion of women in existing development initiatives. As it hasbeen observed that women were always deprived of advantages of,the WID approach underlined the main problem of women’s unequalrepresentation and participation. WID approach considered patriarchyas the root cause, which did not consider women’s productive andreproductive work. Women were so much engrossed with theirdomestic work that they were hardly observed in developmentprogrammes. The WID approach began to gain criticism as ignoringhow women’s economic marginalisation was linked to thedevelopment model itself. Some feminists argued that the keyconcept for women and development should be subordination in thecontext of new capitalist forms of insecure and hierarchical jobstructures, but not marginalisation as WID approaches wereemphasised.3

The gender issues were brought into the mainstream of society.It was considered as the global strategy and was adopted at the UnitedNations Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing(China) in 1995. The conclusion of this conference was, “HumanDevelopment is endangered unless it is engendered.” It highlightedthe necessity to ensure that gender equality is a primary goal in allarea(s) of social and economic development. The definition of gendermainstreaming was made by the United Nations Economic and SocialCouncil (ECOSOC) in July 1997. “Mainstreaming a genderperspective is the process of assessing the implications for womenand men of any planned action, including legislation, policies orprogrammes, in any area and at all levels. It is a strategy for makingthe concerns and experiences of women as well as of men an integralpart of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation ofpolicies and programmes in all political, economic and societalspheres, so that women and men benefit equally, and inequality is not

Introduction 3

perpetuated. The prime aim of mainstreaming is to achieve genderequality.”4

Though, gender equality was set as a goal, even today it is amere dream because 50 per cent of the world’s active population isdeprived of equal opportunities of development. Women who aregiving their contribution for family, society and the economy at largeare always underestimated. Unfortunately, everywhere in the worldirrespective of economic system, political framework andsociocultural background, women are treated with prejudice. In 21stcentury, the life of a woman has not yet changed. Simon de Beauvoirnarrated in detail the life of women at different stages in ‘The SecondSex’ (1949)5, but it can be related to current age. Nothing has beenchanged. Women are living miserable lives and especially, when itcomes to housewives they are spending their time, energy andeverything for the family throughout their life. The contribution ofhousewives is always neglected and not calculated in national income.As domestic work is not taken into consideration, housewives arealways taken for granted. They are spending their entire life for thefamily; they know it well that it is a thankless job. While satisfyingthe unending demands of family members she becomes a mereservice provider. No one cares about her feelings, and no one is readyto accept her as human resource. When a highly qualified ladybecomes a mere housewife giving priority to her family responsibility,she is not only becoming voluntarily unemployed but at the sametime she is withdrawing herself from active participation in theprocess of production. When such type of lakhs of working womenare ending their professional participation, the economy cannot utiliseits human resources at the maximum level. Housewives hardly getstatus. Freedom depends on economic conditions even more thanpolitical conditions. If a woman is not economically free and selfearning, she will have to depend on her husband or someone else anddependents are never free.6

Same is the case of working women. They assume their respectwhich comes from their earnings, but actually they have to shoulderdouble workload. With the achievements of career, they cannot avoidtheir domestic responsibilities. They satisfy themselves with thefeeling of sacrifice which is sometimes actually exploitation.

A Study of Gender Development Index (GDI) of Graduate Women…4

Irrespective of age, religion, caste, sects, economic status, allover the world majority of women are living the same tragic life. Asfar as India is concerned, it is really very difficult for a lady to heavea sigh of relief. In India all women begin their day early in themorning and there is no specific limit for the end of the day.

1.2 Status of Women in India

Women in India are an asset to the nation from ages. Womenhave played a significant role in the development of the nation. Fromthe Vedic Age to 21st century the contribution made by women isremarkable. In spite of obstacles and number of difficulties, they haveproved their unique identity. With the change in time, social status ofwomen has also changed. So, it becomes necessary to take a reviewof social status of women in India so that they can inspire from thepast to conquer the future and can avoid the previous mistakes. Thischapter is the review of social status of women in India which willfocus on the contribution of women to the society in number of fieldsand will also comment on the current status of women. According toHDI (Human Development Index) of UNDP (United NationsDevelopment Programme), there are certain norms to know the levelof women empowerment like life expectancy of women, their share inproperty, health and their participation in politics, etc.7 As per thesenorms, status of Indian women is secondary. Compared to othernations, there is a good scope for improvement.

Economic empowerment relates to the process of improving thequality of life in the economic aspects both in monetary and valueterms. In India women have about 10 per cent of total households andthe ownership of land and other properties are mainly in the name ofmale members of the family. Hence, women are hardly able to haveany ownership of resources and autonomy to take decisions.8

For women empowerment, some other things should beconsidered. Though women have become economically self-reliant,that does not mean that they are empowered. Irrespective of it, theirsocial status, dignity and their active participation in socio-economic-cultural life of the nation aren’t given much importance. It becomes

Introduction 5

necessary to test the remarkable contribution of women in the field ofsocial engineering. In welfare economics, the concept of GDI(Gender Development Index) made revolution; still the concept of“male-female equality” should be put forward in a meaningful waybecause in this 21st century social status of women is not satisfactory.According to World Development Report 2006 published by UNDP,70 per cent women in the world are living below the poverty lineincluding developed countries.9 Obviously, in a developing countrylike India women are living a miserable life.

1.3 Social Status of Women inVedic Age

Since ages Indian culture has given equal status to women. LordShiva was the chief deity of Aryans whose incarnation“Ardhanarinateshwar” itself is the symbol of male-female equality.“Yadnya” was the important and inevitable duty of an individual. Itwas a belief that “Yadnya” could be incomplete without wife.Therefore, after abandonment of Seeta; Ram made a golden idol ofher to complete “Ashwamedh Yadnya”.

In Poorva Mimansa, women have equal rights in Yadnya Karma.As per the opinion of Shroutasootra, women used to repeat Vedicmantras with their spouse. In Yamasmruti,10 it is mentioned that

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It means women had right to know Vedas, Gayatri mantra andright of Upnayana (thread ceremony).

Vedic period was known for the liberty and equality of women.Women participated in all spheres like men. Equal opportunity oflearning Vedas was given to both men and women. Girls in highersocieties were allowed to undergo Upanayana rite. Great women likeGargi, Atreyi, Ghosa, Apala, Lopamudra, Visvara, Indrani, and Yami,inter alia, were accomplished in art, music, and even welfare. InAitereya Upanishad, the wife had been called companion of husband.