public decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a disproINTRODUCTION:

“Nature gave women too much power. The law gives them too little”. - William Henry

Introduction:

India is a democratic and political country with a well streamlined administrative structure, and an already existing mixed economy, with a rich experience of private sector operations. Also available in India is a vast stock of skilled manpower and entrepreneurial class, a reasonably good basic infrastructure and a good track record of fulfilling past international obligations.

In this highly competitive world the development of a society is highly influenced by productive contribution from each member. Contributions from women in different walks of life can’t be neglected. But the experiences show that the benefits of development are not equally shared by all sections of the people.

The status of women in the Indian society:

From time immemorial women faced the challenges of coping with a male chauvinistic society. Even after several years of planned development in India, the status of women in our country is low and their socio-economic conditions are much more depressed than that of men. The most important factor that have affected non-participation of women in decision making and governance is the private – public divide associated with men and women. Women’s place is in the private domain is associated with household. Whereas, the public domain is associated with political authority, public decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a dispro

manpower and entrepreneurial class, a reasonably good basic infrastructure and a good track record of fulfilling past international obligations.

In this highly competitive world the development of a society is highly influenced by productive contribution from each member. Contributions from women in different walks of life can’t be neglected. But the experiences show that the benefits of development are not equally shared by all sections of the people.

The status of women in the Indian society:

From time immemorial women faced the challenges of coping with a male chauvinistic society. Even after several years of planned development in India, the status of women in our country is low and their socio-economic conditions are much more depressed than that of men. The most important factor that have affected non-participation of women in decision making and governance is the private – public divide associated with men and women. Women’s place is in the private domain is associated with household. Whereas, the public domain is associated with political authority, public decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a dispro

riences show that the benefits of development are not equally shared by all sections of the people.

The status of women in the Indian society:

From time immemorial women faced the challenges of coping with a male chauvinistic society. Even after several years of planned development in India, the status of women in our country is low and their socio-economic conditions are much more depressed than that of men. The most important factor that have affected non-participation of women in decision making and governance is the private – public divide associated with men and women. Women’s place is in the private domain is associated with household. Whereas, the public domain is associated with political authority, public decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a dispro

conomic conditions are much more depressed than that of men. The most important factor that have affected non-participation of women in decision making and governance is the private – public divide associated with men and women. Women’s place is in the private domain is associated with household. Whereas, the public domain is associated with political authority, public decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a dispropublic decision making, productive work and masculinity .Such assumptions have always hindered women to negotiate in the public domain and they find themselves either being criticized for their inadequacies or patronized by men. The recent experience of structured adjustment reveals that the women are the most marginalized sections. They are destined to a disproportionately larger share of the burden,iiliteracy and unemployment.

Challenges faced by women:
• Gender disparity in school enrolment and literacy rates
• Gender disparity in wage rates
• Women’s employment and livelihood opportunities
• Causes of gender-based poverty
• Infant and maternal mortality rates
• Restrictive fertility control practices
• Violence against women
• Vulnerability of women in crisis situations
• Depiction of women in the media

Grave Disappointment in some areas:

Marginalization of women as a particular species has put women on a footing with inherited handicaps. It is now generally accepted that unless women constitute a 'Critical Mass'of at least one third of those in decision making their presence makes little difference to the outcomes of governance. Experiences from different countries reveal that the struggle is on, but mainstreaming gender as an institution and cultural transformation process should continue to eliminate gender biases in development and governance frameworks.

Impact of education and technology:

The challenge of development in the broadest sense is to improve the quality of life which generally calls for better education, higher standards of health and nutrition, a cleaner environment, more equality of opportunity, greater individual freedom and a richer cultural life. Development, being a human centered