Gender Parity of Doctoral Level LIS Research in India: A Chronological and Chorological Study

The present paper aims to examine the chronology (temporal) and chorology (spatial) dimension of doctoral-level research in Library and Information Science (LIS) in India from a gender perspective. 3643 doctoral dissertations awarded in different university departments offering LIS research in India from 1969 to 2020 have been studied from a gender perspective. The relevant data on 3643 doctoral dissertations have been accessed from the website of Shodhganga (UGC-INFLIBNET), a repository of doctoral dissertations. The gender parity is examined through the calculation of the Gender Disparity Index (GDI) using Kundu-Rao’s method, which is a modified form of Sopher’s Disparity Index. For the depiction of temporal trends and regional patterns, different cartographic techniques such as choropleth mapping and other cartograms, such as line and bar diagrams, have been used. The study result depicts large-scale gender disparity regionally, with higher disparity existing in the eastern region, moderate in the central, south, and western regions, and low disparity in the north, and north-eastern regions. It is further revealed, in this study, that the gender disparity has lessened over a period; however, the pace of decrease disparity has been steeper during the period 2005-2023 with a steeper surge in the number of Ph.D. dissertations. The scenario of high disparity during the initial years (1975-1995) and moderate during the period 1995-2005 may, however, be linked to the proliferation of Ph. D. and progressive societal change.