ENGENDERMENT LABOUR FORCE SURVEYS: INDIAN EXPERIENCE Dr' S'K'Nath CSOINDIA

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ENGENDERMENT LABOUR FORCE SURVEYSINDIAN
EXPERIENCEDr. S.K.NathCSO-INDIA
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MEN AND WOMEN OLD THEORY

• WOMEN WOMEN
• LADY LADY
• MADAM MADAM
• DO WE BELIVE THIS THEORY THAT WOMEN HAS TO
  DEPEND ON MAN ?
• NO MORE MEN AND WOMEN SAY
• WOMEN AND MEN

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• It is important to walk a mile in another
  persons shoes. As it possible to grow up in the
  same family, neighbourhood, school And yet have
  totally different experiences depending on
  whether you are a man or a woman
• - Retd. Supreme Court of
  Canada

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WHY ENGENDERING STATISTICS

• What is the opinion of Statisticians
• What is the opinion of Gender specialists
• What is the opinion of Civil Societies
• What is the opinion of Policy makers

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HOW TO ENGENDER

• Re-engineering of Surveys
• Use of effective tools
• Study the societal needs
• Positive outlook in developing Data Tabulation
  Policy
• Look at Gender Blind data and make their
  effective use through appropriate Data Analysis

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PROBLEM OF ENGENDERING

• Lack of understanding
• Lack of Vision
• Deliberate avoidance
• Misleading arguments

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HOW TO OVERCOME PROBLEM

• Evidences
• Appropriate advocacy
• Marketing Ideas
• Taking appropriate assistance ( from whom ?)
• Let us see how India overcome this problem

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LABOUR FORCE SURVEYS IN INDIA

• THE FIRST LFS WAS CONDUCTED IN 1955 (May
  September)
• QUINQUENNIAL SURVEYS STARTED IN 1972-73
• LAST SUCH SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN 2004-05
• EMPLOYMENT STATUS USUAL STATUS, WEEKLY STATUS
  AND CURRECT STATUS

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Survey Design

• Multistage Sampling with area frame
• Villages / Urban blocks ( with various town
  classes) are FSU
• Households are the SSU
• About 0.14 million households selected and
  surveys in four subrounds with two sub samples
  each.

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SYSTEM FOLLOWED CONSULTATION

• DECISION MAKING PROCESS GOVERNING COUNCIL ( now
  called Steering Group )
• REPRESENTATION OF NONOFFICIAL MEMBERS- professors
  and civil societies
• DETAILED CONSULTATION PROCESS THROUGH
  BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS
• WORKING GROUP ON LFS WORKS ON METHODOLOGY AND
  SCHEDULE OF ENQUIRY AND TABULATION POLICY
• WORKING GROUPS ARE ALSO REPRESENTED BY OFFICIAL
  AND NON-OFFICIAL EXPERTS

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DATA SYSTEM SINCE INCEPTION

• SEX-SEGGREAGTED DATA ARE AVAILABLE ACCORDING
  TO
• A) STATES / UTs PLUS URBAN/RURAL
• MPCE CLASSES
• AGE-GROUPS
• SOCIAL CLASSIFICATORY VARIABLES
• JOB STATUS ETC.
• ISIC / ISCO CLASSIFICATION
• LAND POSSESSED
• ETC.

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SENSATISATION OF GENDER ISSUES RECENT
DEVELOPMENTS

• ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON GENDER STATISTICS
  NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
• IMPORTANCE OF INFORMAL SECTOR
• BEIJING PLATFORM OF ACTION
• IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION AS PER FOLLOW UP
  OF NATIONAL ACTION PLAN (NPA)
• IMPORTANCE OF UNPAID WORK
• KATHMANDU DECLARATION

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MAJOR ENGENDERMENT PROCESS

• COLLECTION OF DATA ON DOMESTIC DUTIES PERFORMED
  WITHIN HOUSEHOLD
• CONDUCT OF TIME USE STATISTICS
• COLLECTION OF DATA ON PLACE OF WORK
• CONDUCT OF INFORMAL SECTOR SURVEY IN
  NON-AGRICULTURE SECTOR

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Data on Economic Activity

• All the market activities performed for pay or
  profit which resulted in production of goods and
  services for exchange
• Non-market activities not covered under WPR

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Non-market Primary Sector

• All activities relating to the primary
  sector (Div 01 to 14 of ISIC 3.1) which resulted
  in production ( including free collection of
  uncultivated crops, forestry, firewood, hunting,
  fishing, mining, quarrying etc.) of primary goods
  for own consumption

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Non-market Own Account Production of fixed
Assets

• Activities relating to the own-account
  production of fixed asset (Own-account production
  of fixed assets included construction of own
  houses, roads, wells etc., and of machinery,
  tools etc., for household enterprise and also
  construction of any private or community
  facilities free of charge. A person may have been
  engaged in own-account construction in the
  capacity of either a labourer or a supervisor.)

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KATHMANDU DECLARATION

• Resolution of the South Asian Meeting on Women
  Workers in the Informal Economy Sector 18-20
  October 2000
• There are at least 50 million home based
  workers in South Asia out of whom around 80 are
  women. They include own account or self employed
  workers as well as those who do work for
  contractors at piece rate. 

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Discussions of Home Worker

• POLITICAL WILL PLAYED AN IMPORTANT ROLE
• Issue was discussed at length with non-official
  experts and observed that Indian data system do
  not make Home Based Worker fully visible
• Visibility of Home Worker in the data system does
  not necessarily engender system since home
  workers are outworkers which are not
  necessarily gender sensitive

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India initiatives

• SAARC Gender data-shop with UNIFEM
• CSO formed of Independent Group with UNIFEM
• Involving a number of non-official members
  including women groups.
• ( SEWA and Other Civil Societies )

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Key issues for defining HBWs

• Debated on three consecutive meetings
• Should we adopt extended definition of HW ?
• Will it be Gender responsive ?
• Worked on existing data on self employment
• CSO views
• Involved in the production of goods and
  services, in their home for the market and
• Work in their home for remuneration, resulting
  in a product or service as specified by the
  employer(s)

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Outcome

• Conceived an agreed upon definition pending
  its testing in the field by re-engineering the
  LFS schedule of enquiry
• This initiative may bring a sea change in
  engendering the Labour Force Survey .
• Gender responsive Labour Force data on
  informal sector will help in making policy
  decision regarding several pro-informal sector,
  having 90 employment ) measures like social
  security for which a High Power Commission is
  looking into the problem.

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DATA DISSEMINATION

• Women and Men in India
• Micro-data are put on public domain immediately
  after release of data

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• Thanks