Gender Inequality in Higher Education Attainment Among Scheduled Caste in Uttar Pradesh (2001 – 2011)

Abstract

Educational development makes the individual better informed and improves their participation in the social, economic, and political development of the country. Gender inequality is the differential access to social, economic, and political resources. The main purpose of this paper is to study the regional variation in Scheduled Caste women's participation in higher education, gender disparities, and Scheduled Caste non-scheduled caste disparities in higher educational attainment. The present study is entirely based on secondary sources of data, such as the Census of 2001 and 2011. The higher educational attainment among SC females residing in rural areas remains lower than that of their urban counterparts. Though the overall higher education shares of Scheduled Caste females have increased, they are not on par with the non-scheduled caste population. Gender disparities have declined over the period in almost all the state districts. The study also found that females belonging to scheduled castes are more marginalised than non-scheduled caste females.

Keywords: Higher Education, Gender Inequality, Scheduled Castes, Uttar Pradesh