Valuing Work Time as a Measure

Devaki Jain There are many inadequacies in the composition of indices especially the gender development index and the gender empowerment measure presented in the Human Development Report, 1995. This paper addresses the issue of valuation of work, a crucial element in the presentation of evaluative indices. On the basis of a field study of the time use of individuals in rural households, it raises^he question whether time itself may not be a more appropriate measure for evaluating work, especially in the context of assetless women workers.