Gender Disparity in Literacy Rate and Its Association with Work Participation: A Geographical Enquiry

Abstract

The gender disparity in literacy rate is a significant parameter in understanding the overall educational level and work participation rate. In this study, gender disparity in literacy rate has been computed for Purulia district, one of the backward districts of West Bengal, to portray the gender disparity in literacy rate (GDLR) in 2001 and 2011 and its spatial distribution across the district. The result shows that Purulia district stands second and last in terms of gender disparity index (GDI) in 2001 (0.417) and 2011 (0.276), respectively, in West Bengal. The paired t-test reveals a significant difference (p< 0.025) in the GDI of literacy rate between the 2001 and 2011 census years. The district experienced a higher rate of dependency ratio of population in 2001 (74.95%) and 2011 (65.98%), which was more than the state average. Moreover, the correlation value of the percentage of literacy and work participation rate of the female population is calculated to be – 0.62 in 2001 and – 0.37 in 2011. Most of the district's people are marginal workers and mainly engaged in the agricultural sector as low-wage labourers. The district needs more employment opportunities to enjoy a good quality of life.