Economic Perspective of Women Empowerment: A Study on Working Class & Gender Disparity in Western Himalayan States of India

Background: The Western Himalayas in India constitutes hilly terrains where agriculture is the main occupation of society. In this part of country, women empowerment can play a vital role in the overall growth and development of society. In this paper, the researcher examined the working class of Western Himalayan states of North India on the basis of gender, background and caste.

Method: Data was collected from the Census of India (2011) and Odds ratio was calculated for males in all work categories.

Findings: The Findings of present study revealed a huge gender disparity in all work categories. Irrespective of the caste and background, the women are far behind men in economic aspect. The urban women have less workable ratio than the rural women in all western Himalayan states. The problem of seasonal unemployment occurs in rural areas and women are the center of this problem. The Numbers of female non-workers are more than male non- workers. These outcomes are questioning the credibility of women empowerment schemes running at different levels. The state of Jammu&Kashmir is far behind in women empowerment status than the other two states.

Applications: This paper will provide evidence to the future researchers for exploring the ischolar_main causes of problem deeply embedded in the social web.