How Pervasive Is Gender Discrimination in Childhood Care and Nutrition in India?

Vinod Mishra, East West Center
Tarun K. Roy, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Robert D. Retherford, East West Center

Strong preference for sons in India is well documented, but evidence on female disadvantage in childhood feeding and health care is inconclusive. This paper examines gender differentials in indicators of childhood feeding, immunization, health care, and nutritional status of young children (<3 years) by birth order and sex composition of previous living children. Data are from India?s 1992-93 and 1998-99 National Family Health Surveys. Separate analyses for north and south India compare the extent of gender discrimination in the two regions. Results indicate that discrimination against girls is not across the board and depends on the sex composition of previous living children. Moreover, for certain birth order and sex compositions, the discrimination appears to be more common against boys than against girls. For certain indicators of feeding and health care, the discrimination against girls is as widespread in south India as in the north, where son preference is much stronger.