India's sex ratio improves, govt unveils gender-disaggregated data to boost policy outcome

India's sex ratio improves, govt unveils gender-disaggregated data to boost policy outcome

New Delhi, April 29 (IANS) India's sex ratio at birth has increased at the all-India level, indicating improved survival of females reaching from 904 in 2017-19 to 917 in 2021-23, the government said on Wednesday.

The government released the “Women and Men in India 2025: Selected Indicators and Data” publication in Bhubaneswar, Odisha to provide gender-disaggregated data across a wide range of themes to "enable a deeper understanding of evolving gender disparities and development trends," an official statement said.

Infant mortality rate for both female and male infants has recorded a pronounced and sustained decline between 2008 and 2023, the publication said.

Gross Enrolment Ratio at Higher Education has improved from 28.5 to 30.2 for females and 28.3 to 28.9 for males between 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Labour force participation for those aged 15 and above rose for both sexes, with rural females seeing the highest increase, going from 37.5 per cent to 45.9 per cent during the period 2022 to 2025.

Men engaged in managerial positions between 2017 and 2025 rose 73.80 per cent, while women engaged in managerial positions rose 102.54 per cent during the same time period.

The statement from Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation said the publication compiles gender‑disaggregated indicators across population, education, health, economic participation, decision‑making and violence against women and other gender-related issues, drawing upon inputs from various Ministries, Departments and organisations.

By presenting an analysis of key socio-economic indicators and highlighting emerging trends, the publication equips policymakers, researchers and other stakeholders with valuable evidence to inform the formulation of gender-responsive policies and programs for inclusive and sustainable development.

Further, it adds metadata for 50 key indicators to clarify concepts, definitions, sources and methodology. The publication is available on the official website of MoSPI.

—IANS

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