Demographic Profile of Women in India | Indian Society for UPSC CSE PDF Download

As per World economic forum survey, India’s Global Gender Gap Index 2011 ranking is 113 out of 134 countries with neighbours like Bangladesh at 69 & China at 60.

• Sex Ratio – Sex ratio is used to describe the number of females per 1000 of males. As per census 2011 sex ratio for India is 940 females per 1000 of males, e. females form a meager 47% of the total population. The State of Haryana has the lowest sex ratio in India and the figure shows a number of 877 of females to that of 1000 males while Kerala has the highest of 1084 females per 1000 males
• Health – Studies on hospital admissions and records have shown that males get more medical care compared to girls. 2% of the female population is absolute anaemic. 12% of the female population of the country suffers from repeated pregnancy (80% of their productive life is spent in pregnancy) & lack of nutrition.
• Literacy – The female literacy levels according to the Literacy Rate 2011 census are 65.46% where the male literacy rate is over 80%. While Kerala has the highest female literacy rate of 100% , Bihar is at the lowest with only 46.40%
• Employment – Of the total female population 21.9% are a part of Indian workforce. Majority of women are employed in the rural areas and in agriculture. Amongst rural women workers 87% are employed in agriculture as laborers, cultivators, self-employed like hawkers etc i.e in the unorganized sector which almost always remains invisible. Despite the equal remuneration Act 1976, women are paid lower wages, occupy lower skilled jobs, have less access to skill training and promotion.
• Political Status – Though India had a women Prime Minister Late Ms Indira Gandhi, women are not fairly represented in the Parliament & other State & Local bodies. With only around 9 per cent women in upper house and around 11 per cent in the lower house of parliament, India ranks 99^th in the world in terms of female representation among However 73^rd & 74^th amendments to the constitution have ensured the participation of women in PRIs with a reservation of 1/3rd for women. Today more than 30 million women are actively participating in the political decision-making process at the grass root.