In a city with the reputation of being one of world’s most gender-sensitive, the woman-to-man gender ratio is declining while women are frequently subjected to discrimination and sexual harassment at the workplace.

Across the working sector, men outnumber women. Only in two sub-sectors are there more women, in teaching and as domestic helps.

These are part of the findings of the first-ever Human Development Report for Mumbai, compiled with the help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. “The total empowerment of women is still elusive for her base itself is weak as evidenced by the adverse child sex ratio.”

Mumbai’s gender ratio, as of 2001, is 809 women for every 1,000 men. From a low of 663 in 1961, it had progressed to 716 in 1971, 772 in 1981 and 818 in 1991, then dropped. Men outnumber women in all age groups with the divide particularly sharp between ages 20 and 29. “In all probability, this is on account of high male in-migration,” the report says.

The sex ratio at birth has declined, possibly due to continuing sex selection and selective abortion despite laws prohibiting them. The report says rich and affluent areas of Mumbai have the most skewed ratios.

Ward-wise data reveal that Ward C, an area comprising old chawls and congested apartment complexes but no slums, has the worst sex ratio with 587 women to every 1000 men in 2001. The child sex ratio at birth in Mumbai was 919.5 girls for 1,000 boys in 2006.

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