A Girl and a Boy, Are a Bundle of Joy: A Rise in Gender‐Equitable Fertility Preferences in India

Bhatnagar, Isha

doi:10.1111/sifp.12236

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 69 publications

(215 reference statements)

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“…In fact, another study from Bangladesh and India found that having daughters improved mother’s decision-making power and freedom of mobility compared to having sons [ 53 ]. Between 1990 and 2021, son preference in India declined from 40% to 18% likely due to increase in female education and exposure to television that have been associated with greater gender-equitable attitudes [ 54 ]. Furthermore, another recent study from Bangladesh also noted a greater desire for gender balance between children due to increased female education, female employment, and decline in joint family living situations [ 55 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of marriage, motherhood, son preference on adolescent girls’ and young women’s empowerment: Evidence from a panel study in India

Gopalakrishnan,

Bertozzi,

Rabe-Hesketh

2023

PLoS ONE

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Background Marriage is a key determinant of health and well-being of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in India. It is a key life event in which girls move to their marital households, often co-residing with their in-laws and begin childbearing. The change in the normative environment in conjunction with cultural norms surrounding son preference influences women’s overall life course. However, there is scant research about the association between these life transitions and changes in empowerment among AGYW in India. Methods Using two waves of data from prospective cohort panel dataset that followed unmarried (6,065 observations in each wave) and married AGYW (3,941 observations from each wave) over a three-year period from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, we examined how marriage, childbearing, and having a son is associated with changes in AGYW’s empowerment, especially considering whether AGYW marry into patrilocal households (household with in-laws) as an effect modifier. Empowerment indicators included freedom of movement or mobility, decision-making power, access to economic using Kabeer’s framework as our theoretical approach. Results Marriage was associated with lower freedom of movement with a pronounced effect on those who co-resided with their in-laws. Marriage was associated with greater decision-making power for AGYW who did not co-reside with the in-laws. Motherhood was positively correlated with greater freedom of movement, marginally higher intrahousehold decision-making power, and better access to economic resources. No statistically significant evidence that having at least one son compared to having daughters only (or no daughters) conferred additional changes in girls’ freedom of movement, intrahousehold decision-making power, and access to economic resources. Conclusion Findings highlight the importance of understanding the vulnerabilities of being newly married in adolescence and emphasize the need for having interventions that target newly married AGYW along with mothers-in-law to empower them.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Role of marriage, motherhood, son preference on adolescent girls’ and young women’s empowerment: Evidence from a panel study in India

Gopalakrishnan,

Bertozzi,

Rabe-Hesketh

2023

PLoS ONE

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Deconstructing the sex gap in child undernutrition in India: Are Indian boys at elevated risk of anthropometric failure than the girls?

Ghosh

2024

American J Hum Biol

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Backgrounds & ObjectivesThe privileging of boys in immunization coverage, breastfeeding, and other child care practices in Indian patriarchal society raises questions about whether there are sex differences in the prevalence of undernutrition among children. This study evaluates the sex gap in the prevalence of Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) among Indian children from 2015–16 to 2019–21. Additionally, it seeks to identify the sex‐specific determinants and persistent sex gap at national and subnational levels (social, economic, religious, and geopolitical regions) in anthropometric failure among the children from 2015–16 to 2019–21.Materials and MethodsThe study utilizes the 4th (2015–16) and 5th (2019–21) rounds of the National Family Health Survey data. Logistic regression models and the Fairlie decomposition technique were employed to explore the persistent and significant sex gap in the prevalence of CIAF, as well as the sex‐specific determinants of CIAF among children in 2015–16 and 2019–21.ResultsThe study reveals a significant sex gap (approximately 4%‐points), with boy's disadvantage in the prevalence of CIAF from 2015–16 to 2019–21 at both the national and subnational levels (social, religious, socioeconomic groups, and geopolitical regions). The gap is more pronounced in the first year of life and decreases in later stages. A comparatively faster CIAF decline among girls from 2016 to 2021 has widened the sex gap in final year than the previous. Child, mother, household, community, and geographic backgrounds explains about 5%–6% of the sex gap in the prevalence of CIAF from 2015–16 to 2019–21. The remaining 94%–95% of the unexplained sex gap may be attributed to biological factors or other factors. Currently, a heightened boy's disadvantage in CIAF risk is observed in ST community, wealthiest families, and the northern India.ConclusionThe findings suggest a special attention for boys under 3 years to offset biological disadvantages like greater disease sensitivity and fragility compared to girls early on.

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Gender composition of children and desires for the next child in “son preference” countries

Kazenin

2024

Genus

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This paper studies the role of gender preferences for children in formation of desires for the next child in nine countries of the Middle East and North Africa, South and Central Asia, the Caucasus and Balkans. For all countries selected for the study, effects of son preference have been detected in actual fertility during recent decades, but gender preferences in desires for the next child have been studied much less systematically. Using Demographic and Health Surveys conducted in these countries in 2010–2021, desires to stop fertility and to have a child within 2 years are considered separately for women with one and two living children. For women with one living child, the gender of that child has a significant effect on these desires only in South-Asian countries, where women who only have a daughter are more likely to want to have another child within 2 years and less likely to want to stop childbearing compared to women who only have a son. For women with two living children, in most of the considered countries, the desire to have another child within 2 years only shows a preference for having at least one son, whereas the desire to stop fertility shows effects of balanced gender preference in six out of the nine countries. The preference for a balanced gender composition of children observed for the desire to stop fertility actualizes the question of whether a son preference will remain unchallenged in actual fertility in these countries in the near future. In the final section, possible social correlates of son preference and balanced gender preference are discussed on the example of two countries, Bangladesh and Nepal.

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A Girl and a Boy, Are a Bundle of Joy: A Rise in Gender‐Equitable Fertility Preferences in India

Cited by 3 publications

References 69 publications

Role of marriage, motherhood, son preference on adolescent girls’ and young women’s empowerment: Evidence from a panel study in India

Role of marriage, motherhood, son preference on adolescent girls’ and young women’s empowerment: Evidence from a panel study in India

Deconstructing the sex gap in child undernutrition in India: Are Indian boys at elevated risk of anthropometric failure than the girls?

Gender composition of children and desires for the next child in “son preference” countries

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