Covering Indices like “Gender Parity Index” for both prelims and Mains Preparation

Throughout the world, Gender parity gulf is on the rise thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has raised new barriers to building inclusive and prosperous economies and societies. Pre-existing gender gaps have amplified to many fold as the asymmetry between men and women has increased. Topics like gender Parity are the favourite core areas of UPSC to ask questions both in prelims and mains stage of civil services examination. UPSC will try to test knowledge of aspirants by directly asking question from “Gender parity Index” in prelims examination and analytical part can be asked in mains examination. So, aspirants should take any topic as preparation of all three segments of the examination.

Understand the Meaning:

Aspirants are advised to first understand the meaning the Gender equality, before understanding the gender parity issue. Like, Gender parity is a statistical measure that provides a numerical value of female-to-male or girl-to-boy ratio for indicators such as income or education.

Aspirants should focus special attention on issues like, women empowerment, gender inequality, and gender specific issues. UPSC tend to ask questions more often from these topics as these topics are the growing issues that attention of entire humanity.

Who Publish Indicator?

Ask Question, Why/What/How:

Aspirants should ask question by themselves like, why they need to prepare for certain Index and what are the importance of Indices like “Gender parity Index”. Students should explore the answers like, Gender parity is a useful tool for assessing:

1. Gender inequality in specific areas (for setting goals)
2. Assessing change and progress under specific indicators of gender equality

While reading any indexes, the first and foremost thing that any aspirants should look to do is it look for reasons. Like, in this case aspirants should look to find out the reason for rising gender inequality. There are lot of issues that are causing gender Inequality like;

1. Cultural institutions in India like patriarchal mind-set. e.g. Preference of son
2. The dowry system, is another institution that disempowers women.
3. Extreme poverty and lack of education are also some of the reasons for women’s low status in society.

Learn Art of Interlinking Topics:

Aspirants should learn the art of interlinking topics, only then clarity will come of the issues and the knowledge base can be utilised in answer writing. Aspirants should look to gather information from all-round perspective like, Gender Parity Index should not be analysed from prelims point of view but, it should be also looked into as mains angle as what could be the areas of subjects in which such Gender Parity Index can be used in answer writing or what should be the answer of the aspirant, when questions related to Gender issues asked in personality test stage of the examination. 

Find out the Steps Taken to Improve In-equality Issue:

Along with knowing about the gender parity index, Aspirants should also look to find out the steps taken in this regard to improve the gender inequality like; what all Constitutional Safeguards in India possess against Gender Inequality issue:

1. Our Preambleitself talks about goals of achieving social, economic and political justice to everyone and to provide equality of status and of opportunity to all its citizens.
2. India was one the country who granted, Women to have equal right to vote in our political system.
3. Article 15 of the Constitution provides for prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex, religion, caste and so on.
4. Article 15(3) authorizes the State to make any special provision for women and children.

Various report have established that status of women as such is not growing as much as being expected and this thing is pushing countries like India on the back foot. Aspirants should look to explore the new avenues of completing such sensitive topics with detail coverage as these topics will only push UPSC to ask questions more and more.