Social Science Spectrum ISSN 2454-2806 Vol. 3, No. 3, September 2017, pp. 154-166 Social, Cultural and Developmental Context of Gender Balance in Gujarat Aalok Ranjan Chaurasia * & Chandan Kumar ** Abstract Gender equality is now universally regarded as an important aspect of inclusive development. This paper analyses gender balance in Gujarat through a micro perspective by analysing gender balance across districts, social class, literacy and work participation. It reveals that gender balance in the State is highly unfavourable to females, especially in main workers, in the urban areas and in the developed districts like Surat, Ahmedabad and Rajkot. The analysis reflects limited work opportunities available for the participation of females in productive activities. However, an opposite scenario is observed in terms of opportunities available for education, i.e., the gender balance is unfavourable to females in the least developed districts and in the rural areas. Gender balance in the whole population is also unfavourable to females, and the variation in the proportionate share of females in different population sub-groups is also substantial. Gender balance is also unfavourable to females in children aged 0-6 years which indicates impending problem of further skewed sex ratio. Keywords: Development, gender, Gujarat I. Introduction Gender-based analysis of the society and economy may be defined as a process that analyses the differential impact of different development programmes on women and men. Gender-based analysis facilitates appreciation and recognition of the nature of relationships between women and men in the society and of their different social realities, life expectations and economic circumstances in development planning (UNESCO, 2005). The importance of such analyses is increasingly being recognised as it provides the empirical evidence that development policies and programmes affect women and men differentially. Therefore, women and men may require different approaches to achieve similar results due to different life conditions or to compensate for the past discrimination (Status of Women Canada, 2004). In the absence of gender-based analysis, potentially differential effects of development policies and programmes on women and men may be masked or obscured. On the other hand, when gender is explicitly considered in the development policy and in development planning and programming, these effects are revealed and previously hidden implications come to light thereby making development planning and programming sensitive to women’s specific development and welfare needs (Status of Women Canada, 1996). Gender analysis helps in understanding how biological differences acquire social and cultural meaning and produce identities, differences and inequalities (UNFPA, 2014). Integrating gender-based analysis into development planning and programming, therefore, ensures that development policies and programmes are inclusive and consistent for informed policy-making and for good governance. Integration essentially implies analysing different forms that gender differences take and the way they intersect with social markets - residence, social class, etc. Gender analysis, therefore, aims at transforming discriminatory social institutions, recognising that discrimination can be embedded in laws, cultural norms and community practices that, for example, may limit women’s access to property rights or restrict their access to public space. Such progressive changes rely on access to data, gender expertise, sound analysis, supportive cultures, budgets and the mobilisation of social forces (UN Women, 2014). * Aalok Ranjan Chaurasia, MLC Foundation and ‘Shyam’ Institute, Bhopal, 61 MLA, Riviera Towne, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh – 462003. Email: aranjan@shyaminstitute.in ** Chandan Kumar, Ph.D. Scholar, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Gen. A.K. Vaidya Marg, Goregaon, Mumbai – 400 065. Email: chandan.co.in@gmail.com