The Gender Sensitivity of Well-being Indicators Ruhi Saith and Barbara Harriss-White ABSTRACT This article assesses the gender sensitivity of indicators of health, nutrition, education, and composite indices which are relevant to developing countries, using the analytical framework of `functionings'. It ®nds that a disaggregated under-10 female±male ratio (0±4 years and 5±9 years) appears to be a suitable indicator for health. Diculties with data collection and interpretation reduce the reliability of indicators of morbidity and nutrition intake. Nutrition out- come indicators like anthropometric measures are potentially useful, if genetic dierences between population groups as well as between males and females are controlled for. In assessing gender gaps in education, enrolment and drop- out ratios are more useful than adult literacy or mean years of schooling, but micro-level research is required to decide which of these two is better. Composite indices like the Physical Quality of Life Index and Gender-related Development Index are potentially useful, given some alterations to increase their relevance to developing countries. INTRODUCTION The Fourth World Conference on Women built upon the anti-poverty momentum of the World Summit for Social Development. High on the United Nations agenda is a ®ght against poverty based not only on economic growth but also on the achievement of social goals Ð including gender equity. To translate such commitments into eective policies, indicators capable of reliably identifying gender dierences in well-being are necessary tools. William Petty's statement `To measure is the ®rst step to improve', succinctly expresses their importance (Morris, 1979). Despite the prolifera- tion of indicators, their sensitivity to gender dierences has not been com- paratively reviewed before. This is the object of this paper, with particular relevance to developing countries. The paper is organized as follows. First, the `functionings' framework within which well-being will be assessed is outlined. The following four sections then focus on indicators of the basic `functionings' of being healthy, being nourished, and being educated, and on some composite indices which assess a combination of functionings; these are critically analysed with respect to their sensitivity to gender dierences. Finally, we summarize the ®ndings and outline some implications for policy and future research. Development and Change Vol. 30 (1999), 465±497. # Institute of Social Studies 1999. Published by Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 108 Cowley Rd, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK.