Vol: 3, Issue: 2 2013

Page: 17-28

Gender Differentials in Consumption Pattern: An Empirical Investigation

Dr. Anju Sharma

Consumption is a harbinger of vivacious economy. Men and women are the real wealth of a nation. The purpose of over all human development is to create a conductive environment for people for enjoying long, healthy and creative lives. Consumption is the very effective factor for ensuring healthy life which depends on intake of nutrition, full of calorie and balanced diet. The consumption is multifaceted but the present study is confined to gender differential in consumption pattern especially in consumption of food and non-food items. Individual consumption level is an important indicator to examine the relationship between intra-household resources allocation and household food security. Women are active at every point in the food chain and are often responsible for protecting the integrity of food and ensuring its wholesomeness and safety. Women inadequate dietary intake and poor nutritional status are largely a result of the fact, established by anthropological observation, that women and girls eat last and least, a reflection of the inferior social status they are accorded in Indian society through their lives. This unequal status leaves considerable disparities between how much women contribute to consumption activities and low little they share in its benefits.