Gender Issues

Gender Issues

The gender roles in present day in India are affected by several factors. The caste system, which might seem as old and irrelevant institution has an effect on gender roles in Indian society even today. Since caste is not just solely an economic, but also a cultural variable, economic growth alone will not erase caste-based discrimination. Reservations have been introduced in government jobs, colleges and universities; however it seems that men have gained more from these regulations than women. Religion also affects the status of women in India. Seen as the bearers of religious tradition, women have been restricted on their public and private roles throughout history. Women are discouraged from getting an education, or working.

Labor and Education

Unfortunately disparities on caste, religion, gender and region still exist in access to education and its quality. We have to realize that a girl child is often needed to carry on domestic duties instead of going to school (especially if a boy child is already enrolled) so that her mother can work and earn some supplemental income for the family. The issue of women’s education in particular has come to the attention of Indian policy makers. Establishment of Non-Formal Education Centers all over the county by The Sixth Plan of 1980-1985 all over the country linked the benefits of education and employment in order to make education possible for working and poor women. In the nineties, the Eighth Plan increased the allocated budget for the earlier designed system. The present employment situation in India suggests the presence of discrimination against women. Labor Force Participation Rates are lower for women than men. Surprisingly the highest gaps between the two are in urban areas. Wage differentials have also been extensively documented in all sectors of Indian economy.

Women in Information Technology - Statistics

Women’s ability to participate in India’s IT growth is impaired by the lower status ascribed to women and girls in Indian society throughout history. Women’s literacy rate in India is only 51.4% compared to the men’s literacy rate of 74.5%. Women make up only 1% of engineering students in the country where they make up almost 90% of the students majoring in the arts, science and commerce. Only 23% of India’s internet users are female. Women make up 37% of the employees in IT enabled service sector. Since there are very few IT jobs outside New Delhi in the Northern States, women have to relocate in order to work in the IT sector. This is one of the factors that discourages women from going into information technology.

Policy Framework

The Ministry of Education has both formal and informal education programs aimed especially at girls and women. The department of women and Child Development plans to develop different programs with the help of governmental and private organizations in order to help women overcome the difficulties that they presently face. Namely the creation of women hostels might solve the mobility problem that keeps many women from working in computing.