For the duration of this course, I decided to research and write about India. My grandparents are from India and after hearing all of their stories about growing up in this country, I have always been intrigued by this part of my background. I have heard firsthand stories of what it was like to grow up with eleven siblings and barely having food for all of them. Moreover, my grandmother has told me about her education in India and why she decided to travel to America to make a better life for herself and her family. Therefore, I wanted to do more research on the wage gap problem in India and the education of women there as well.
Even with my extensive background on the country, I was still shocked to learn that 60% of India’s 1.3 billion people live on less than $3.10 a day (Basu). In the U.S., that would barely be able to buy a bushel of apples, much less an entire meal every night. Additionally, it sickens me to hear that richest 10% of people in India control 80% of the nation’s wealth, and that the amount of money that 600 million people have equals the amount of money that about 16 rich people have in India (Basu).
In addition to these poverty rates, education for women was not up to par when my grandmother was growing up. Therefore, about 55 years ago, she came a whole 8,000 miles to America to pursue a career in medicine; she was the first person in her family of 14 to do this and make a life for herself. This is because the opportunities for women in India back then were not even close to the ones they have now. This is shown in the increase in literacy rates for women and the increase in the amount of women pursuing higher levels of education. For example, it surprised me that the literacy rate for women in India aged 15-24 is now around 74% (UNGEI). Additionally, studies have shown that the fertility rates in India have dropped to 2.18 with the 34% increase in women enrolled for higher education (Financial Express). In fact, based on the numbers that we have right now, researchers have hypothesized that by 2030, women in India pursuing higher education may exceed the rate of men (Financial Express).
The information learned about the wage gap in India continues to disappoint me, but does not really surprise me. As such an overpopulated country, it is often difficult for the majority of people to find good paying jobs. However, the information on the education of women ended up pleasantly surprising me. While the education of women in India still has a long way to go before it is up to the standards of the education of the men, the continual growth of literacy rates and women in higher education is a huge step forward for the country.
Works Cited
Basu, M. (n.d.). This is what it means to be poor in India today. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2017/10/world/i-on-india-income-gap/
Financial Express. (2019, June 05). Improving women’s higher education key to India become $10-trillion economy. Retrieved from https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/improving-womens-higher-education-key-to-india-become-10-trillion-economy/1599063/
UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ungei.org/infobycountry/india_114.html