Suzanne Maguire

• BSc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences
• Is a preference for sons skewing the sex ratio in India?

The aim of our research was to see if son preference could be correlated with the sex ratio skew in India. It is thought that the abnormally higher number of males at birth in certain Indian states could be due to a family’s desire to have a son, and thus their willingness to have a sex selective abortion or carry out infanticide. We also looked at how women’s education varied in these states and subsequently correlated this with sex ratio. It is thought that states with a higher percentage of educated women would have a more balanced sex ratio due to education broadening women’s viewpoints.

Funding source: Newcastle University