Gender Development in Education and Health

Abstract

This article discusses gender development in Indian states particularly with respect to education and health. While literacy is taken as an indicator to education, life expectancy and infant survival rate (ISR) are considered the indicators to health. The study finds that gender development is substantially high in Kerala, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. But it is significantly low in Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam and Bihar. It also finds that the performance of poor states remains poor and rich states remains rich over the years. But no state is extremely good or bad in all the basic dimensions of gender development except Kerala. It finally suggests that there is need to stress on all dimensions of gender development simultaneously in order to maintain a high gender development in the economy. For this the government (both central as well as respective state governments) has to play a significant role.