Abstract
Gender inequality in higher education is not one homogeneous phenomenon, but a collection of disparate and interlinked problems in our society. It exist because of discrimination in the family and societal institutions and social, cultural, and religious norms that perpetuate stereotypes, practices and beliefs that are detrimental to women. Based on the responses to four semi-structured interview schedules and one check list of 400 post-graduate students in Vidyasagar University in West Bengal, this article investigates the influence of gender stereotyping on women’s higher education. Several indicators are considered and investigated using non-parametric technique. Given the overall patriarchal structure of Indian society, the results indicate that gender stereotyping produces low self–esteem among female students in our society and higher education system is not sufficient itself for developing the necessary attitudes among today’s young adults that are needed to succeed in a democratic country-where human dignity is respected. Key words: Gender stereotypes, gendered division of labour, traits, self-concepts.
Highlights
Gender disparity in education is an age old phenomenon
The research instruments used for this study were four semistructured interview schedules and one check-list on the basis of gender discrimination questionnaire developed by National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE, 2003) under the aegis of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on the basis of gender discrimination questionnaire
Increases in women’s education have been associated with reductions in fertility (Subbarao and Raney, 1995; Kingdon, 2002; Osili and Long, 2008), decreases in infant mortality and increases in life expectancy (Behrman and Deolalikar, 1988; Schutlz, 1993 ; Dancer et al, 2008), beneficial effects on children’s health and nutritional status (Thomas, 1990; Mehrotra, 2006), likely to participate in political meetings (UNESCO, 2000) and greater impact of children’s schooling (Filmer, 2006)
Summary
Gender disparity in education is an age old phenomenon. Traditionally, girls have been at a disadvantage in most parts of the globe and they continue to be so even today (Jha and Kelleher, 2006). The Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targeting to “eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and in all levels of education no later than 2015” is echoed by the United Nations and the World Bank (Ganguli et al, 2011). Need for equality of educational opportunities between men and women on the basis of merit has been acknowledged in the Universal Declaration of Human rights (UNESCO, 2001). It has been suggested in the literature that educating girls and achieving the MDG goal on gender equity will lead to a range of improved outcomes for developing countries (Schultz, 2002), including higher economic growth (Abu-Ghaida and Klasen, 2004)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
