Gender Balance in Villages of Gujarat, India

Abstract

This paper analyses the variation in the gender balance in villages of Gujarat by using a decomposition approach. The gender balance is measured in terms of the proportion of females in the village population which is the weighted average of the gender balance in different population sub-groups with weights equal to the relative share of the population of the sub-group. The analysis reveals that there are distinct regional patterns in village level gender balance in the state. The gender balance in villages is also influenced by the size of the population of the village, and the relative importance of different population sub-groups in explaining the variation in gender balance across villages is also different. The analysis suggests that an analysis of village society and economy through gender perspective is necessary for gender mainstreaming village development planning.