Huge inequalities persist - in terms of pay, property, and political representation, but East Asia is becoming more gender equal; the same cannot be said for South Asia. Why?

Huge inequalities persist - in terms of pay, property, and political representation, but East Asia is becoming more gender equal; the same cannot be said for South Asia. Why? Alice Evans, Mar 13 2021. https://www.draliceevans.com/post/how-did-east-asia-overtake-south-asia

Circa 1900, women in East Asia and South Asia were equally oppressed and unfree. But over the course of the 20th century, gender equality in East Asia advanced far ahead of South Asia. What accounts for this divergence?

The first-order difference between East and South Asia is economic development. East Asian women left the countryside in droves to meet the huge demand for labour in the cities and escaped the patriarchal constraints of the village. They earned their own money, supported their parents, and gained independence. By contrast, the slower pace of structural transformation has kept South Asia a more agrarian and less urban society, with fewer opportunities for women to liberate themselves.

But growth is not the whole story. Cultural and religious norms have persisted in spite of growth. Even though women in South Asia are having fewer children and are better educated than ever before, they seldom work outside the family or collectively challenge their subordination. By global standards, gender equality indicators in South Asia remain low relative to regions at similar levels of development or even compared with many poorer countries. 

Below I set out evidence for four claims:

. East and South Asian women were once equally unfree and oppressed. Both societies were organised around tightly policing women’s sexuality. 

. But every patrilineal society also faced a trade-off between honour (achieved by restricting women’s freedoms) and income (earned by exploiting female labour). South Asia had a stronger preference for female seclusion, and East Asia a stronger preference for female exploitation. This implies South Asia ‘needed’ more income to be ‘compensated’ for the loss of honour than East Asia.

. In patriarchal societies, industrialisation and structural transformation are necessary preconditions for the emancipation of women. By seizing economic opportunities outside the family, women can gain economic autonomy, broaden their horizons, and collectively resist discrimination.

. But industrialisation is not sufficient. In societies with strong preferences for female seclusion, women may forfeit new economic opportunities so as to preserve family honour. Hence inequalities persist alongside growth.