India is the world’s largest democracy, with 1.

2 billion people, and is expected to be the world’s

most populous country by 2050. Where India makes progress towards development goals, the
lives of hundreds of millions of people can be improved: in recent decades, India has made
substantial progress to improve child nutrition, immunization rates and education enrolment
rates, as well as to achieve broad economic growth. Yet, gender disparities persist against a
backdrop of rapid economic growth: rates of violence against women are still high, women’s
participation in government is low, and discriminatory dowry and inheritance practices continue.

In India, discriminatory attitude towards men and women have existed for generations and thus it
affects the lives of both genders. Although the constitution of India has granted men and women
equal rights, but gender gap still remains. Female discrimination violates human rights. These are
mostly seen in family land sharing among sisters and brothers. Women are perceived to be
disadvantaged at work. Indian laws on Rape, Dowry and Adultery have women 's safety at heart,
but these highly discriminatory practices are still taking place at an alarming rate. Gender
discrimination in India refers to health, education, economic and political inequalities between
men and women. Gender inequalities, and its social causes, impact India 's sex ratio, women 's
health over their lifetimes, their educational attainment, and economic conditions.

Gender Inequality in India

As per the World Economic Forum’s gender gap ranking, India stands at rank 108 out of 149
countries. This rank is a major concern as it highlights the immense gap in opportunities in
women with comparison to men. In Indian society from a long time back, the social structure has
been such that the women are neglected in many areas like education, health, decision-making
areas, financial independence, etc.
Another major reason, which contributes to the discriminatory behavior towards women in India,
is the dowry system in marriage.  Because of this dowry system, most Indian families consider
girls as a burden.  Preference for son still prevails. Girls have refrained from higher education.
Women are not entitled to equal job opportunities and wages. In the 21 st century, women are still
preferred gender in home managing activities. Many women quit their job and opt-out from
leadership roles because of family commitments. However, such actions are very uncommon
among men.
Conclusion
For overall wellbeing and growth of a nation, scoring high on gender equality is the most crucial
aspect. Countries with less disparity in gender equality have progressed a lot. The government of
India has also started taking steps to ensure gender equality. Several laws and policies are
prepared to encourage girls. “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Yojana” (Save girl, and make girls
educated) campaign is created to spread awareness of the importance of girl child.  Several laws
to protect girls are also there. However, we need more awareness of spreading knowledge
of women rights. In addition, the government should take initiatives to check the correct and
proper implementation of policies.

affirmative action
There is clearly a need for policy initiatives to empower women as gender disparities in India
persist even against the backdrop of economic growth.
Current literature provides pointers from policy changes that have worked so far. One unique
policy experiment in village-level governance that mandated one-third representation for women
in positions of local leadership has shown promising results.
Evaluations of this affirmative action policy have found that in villages led by women, the
preferences of female residents are better represented, and women are more confident in
reporting crimes that earlier they may have considered too stigmatizing to bring to attention.
Female leaders also serve as role models and raise educational and career aspirations for
adolescent girls and their parents.
Behavioral studies find that while in the short run there is backlash by men as traditional gender
roles are being challenged, the negative stereotype eventually disappears. This underscores the
importance of sustained affirmative action as a way to reduce gender bias.
Another policy change aimed at equalizing land inheritance rights between sons and daughters
has been met with a more mixed response. While on the one hand, it led to an increase in
educational attainment and age at marriage for daughters, on the other hand, it increased spousal
conflict leading to more domestic violence.
Improvements in labour market prospects also have the potential to empower women.
An influential randomization study found that job recruiter visits to villages to provide
information to young women led to positive effects on their labour market participation and
enrolment in professional training.
This also led to an increase in age at marriage and childbearing, a drop in desired number of
children, and an increase in school enrolment of younger girls not exposed to the programmed.
Recent initiatives on training and recruiting young women from rural areas for factory-based
jobs in cities provide economic independence and social autonomy that they were unaccustomed
to in their parental homes.
Getting to parity
For India to maintain its position as a global growth leader, more concerted efforts at local and
national levels, and by the private sector are needed to bring women to parity with men.
While increasing representation of women in the public spheres is important and can potentially
be attained through some form of affirmative action, an attitudinal shift is essential for women to
be considered as equal within their homes and in broader society.
Educating Indian children from an early age about the importance of gender equality could be a
meaningful start in that direction.

In a society, everyone has the right to lead his/her life accordingly without any discrimination.
When this state is achieved where all individuals are considered to be equal irrespective of their
caste, gender, colour, profession, and status, we call it equality. The most prevalent
discrimination is gender inequality. Even in progressive societies and top organizations, we can
see many examples of gender bias. Gender equality can only be achieved when both male and
female individuals are treated similarly.
Discrimination is a social menace that creates division. We stop being together and stand
together to tackle our problems. This social stigma has been creeping in the underbelly of all the
society for many centuries. This has also been witnessed in gender-based cases. Gender
inequality is the thing of the past as both men and women are creating history in all segments
together.
In this century, women and men enjoy the same privileges. The perception is changing slowly
but steadily. People are now becoming more aware of their rights and what they can do in a free
society. It has been found that when women and men hold the same position and participate
equally, society progresses exclusively and creates a landmark. When a community reaches
gender equality, everyone enjoys the same privileges and gets similar scopes in education,
health, occupation, and political aspect. Even in the family, when both male and female members
are treated in the same way, it is the best place to grow, learn, and add great values.
A nation needs to value every gender equally to progress at the right place. A society attains
better development in all aspects when both the genders are entitled to similar opportunities.
Equal rights in decision making, health, politics, infrastructure, profession, etc will surely
advance our society to a new level. The social stigma of women staying inside the house has
changed. Nowadays, girls are equally competing with boys in school. They are also creating
landmark development in their respective profession. Women are now seeking economic
independence before they get married. It gives them the confidence to stand against oppression
and make better decisions for themselves.
The age-old social structure dictated that women need to stay inside the home taking care of all
when men will go out to earn bread and butter. This has been practised since ages when the
world outside was not safe. Now that the time has changed and we have successfully made our
environment quite safer, women can step forward, get educated, pursue their passion, bring
economic balance in their families, and share the weight of a family with men. This, in a
cumulative way, will also make a country’s economy progress faster and better.
Gender equality can be measured and a country’s growth can be traced by using the following
methods.
 Gender Development Index (GDI) is a gender-based calculation done similar to the
Human Development Index. 
 Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) is a detailed calculation method of the percentage
of female members in decision-making roles. 
 Gender Equity Index (GEI) considers economic participation, education, and
empowerment.
According to the Gender Gap Index (GGI), India ranks 113 among 135 participating countries.
The Indian society is still wrecked by such stigmas that dictate that women are meant to manage
home and stay indoors. Women are neglected even though our country is quickly gaining pace in
economic development in the world. Other stigmas such as child labour, child marriage, and
dowry also contribute to this problem.
Once all these menaces will be eradicated, every family will understand the value of a woman
and our country will achieve gender equality in real sense. Women are creating examples
everywhere and we all should highlight it to change the scenario and give them equal rights.

Investing in girls’ education transforms communities, countries and the entire world. Girls who
receive an education are less likely to marry young and more likely to lead healthy, productive
lives. They earn higher incomes, participate in the decisions that most affect them, and build
better futures for themselves and their families.
Girls’ education strengthens economies and reduces inequality. It contributes to more stable,
resilient societies that give all individuals – including boys and men – the opportunity to fulfil
their potential.
But education for girls is about more than access to school. It’s also about girls feeling safe in
classrooms and supported in the subjects and careers they choose to pursue – including those in
which they are often under-represented.
girls’ education, gender equality, awareness, impact, human rights, human capabilities,
sustainable development
Education provides relevant knowledge and skills for girls to better understand and deal with life
challenges. Education involves social interaction, which not only allows girls to feel that they are
not alone, but also to feel well-supported by their peers and teachers/educators. Educated girls
tend to marry at an appropriate age, eventually decreasing the number of child marriages and
health problems. With increased health education, they are able to take better care of their
families’ health and well-being. As expressed by a male expert, “If you educate a female who
becomes a mother, you educate an entire household, you lower the child mortality rates and you
raise the economic earning potential too with healthier and more (economically) productive
family members.” A female development professional said, “If they (girls) are educated, they
will have better understanding of nutrition, hygiene, and upbringing of their children. A child
born to an educated mother is much more likely to survive past the age of five.” Many parents
and teachers/educators claim that a mother is a child’s first teacher and that an educated mother
will be able to raise better educated children. If a girl is educated, she will transfer that
knowledge and values to all those around her resulting in a positive ripple effect. As described
by a male student, “Educating a girl is similar to educating an entire nation.” Educated girls tend
to become role models and inspire others to pursue education. Education gives them the ability to
positively influence their lives and the lives of their families and wider communities. Educated
women tend to take leadership roles, especially within the community and focus on societal
development. Education enables them to use sound judgement, empowers them, and strengthens
their voice in society. A female expert said, “As they grow in confidence they can become
community leaders and play an active role in the development of society.” In summary,
educating girls is critical for the development of communities and broadly for society as a whole.
Education is the most sustainable way to address global challenges like poverty, health issues,
ignorance, lack of tolerance and conflicts, among others. As a male expert summarized, “It is
absolutely important to educate girls. Eastern philosophy says—while with one hand a woman
will