Womens Employment

1
Womens Employment

• The Indian Scenario

2
Poverty has a womans face

• The International Labour Organisation says
• Women represent
• 50 of the population
• 30 of the labour force
• Perform 60 of all working hours
• Receive 10 of the worlds income
• Own less than 1 of the worlds property

3
Per Capita Income and Distribution of Labour
Force
Source Human Development Report 1994
4
Composition of GDP and Labour Force
Source World Development Report 1997
5
Womens Employment

• Women undertaking productive work where there is
  economic participation of women in the labour
  market.
• Adult females in a given population that work for
  pay, and the conditions under which they work

6
Economic participation?

• Production of goods and services accounted in the
  national income statistics
• Female work participation rate low (26 for women
  vs. 52 for men)
• Women have always been at work, only the
  definitions of work and work plan have not been
  realistic to include their contribution to the
  economy and society.

7
Some Definitions

• Work Force Participation Rate is the proportion
  of working population to total population.
• Labour force excludes children below the age of
  15 and old people above the age of 60.
• Worker is one gainfully employed or one working
  for a livelihood excluding unpaid family
  workers.

8
Why do women work?

• Economic necessity
• Economic independence
• Qualified to work
• Sense of achievement

• Pastime
• Service to society
• Status symbol
• Power and prestige

9
Economic Need to work

• Indian women by and large undertake productive
  work only under economic compulsion. This is
  the reason for high female participation rates
  for economically under privileged communities.
  Upper class women usually were limited to their
  homes.

10
Rural vs. Urban

• Work participation rate is higher among
• rural women (27) than the
• urban women (10)
• Female Workers 9010 in favour of rural areas
  (male - 8020)

11
Main vs. Marginal Workers

• Women go in for temporary and stand-by jobs
  because of hesitancy to employ women in regular
  jobs and providing them with good working
  conditions. The main workers are those who
  work for major part of the year.
• Female main workers constitute 14.65 of the
  population (males - 50.54).
• Female marginal workers constitute 6.26 of the
  population (males - 0.98).

12
Organised vs. Unorganised Sector

• Most of the women are also found to be employed
  in agricultural activities and in the unorganised
  sector i.e. The organised sector like banks,
  offices, educational institutions show low levels
  of female participation in the workforce. The
  employment of women is high in unorganised sector
  such as part time helpers in households,
  construction sector, tanneries (setting, parting
  drying), match and beedi industries.

13
Informal Sector an important source of work for
women

• 90 of the working women are involved in the
  informal sector and not included in the official
  statistics. (The World Bank, 1991 an estimate)
• Undocumented, disguised wage work unskilled,
  low paying and do not provide benefits to the
  worker

14
Some points to consider

• Difficulties in making generalisations in the
  Indian society diversity in regions/religions/so
  cial and economic setup
• Hierarchical Society caste or caste-like group
• Patriarchal double-standards
• Sexual discrimination/harassment
• Womens unemployment rates similar to mens 2
  in rural areas and 5 in urban areas (NSSO, 1994)

15
Age

• Female workers relatively young
• As age increases, the ratio of female to male
  workers decreases

16
Agricultural Sector

• Vast majority of Indians work in Agriculture
• 55 of the female agricultural workers (vs. 30
  of the men) are labourers - not cultivators.

17
Service Sector

• Occupations such as government, teaching,
  religious activities, entertainment, social work
  involve 8 of all female main workers.

18
Percent Distribution of Main Workers by Category
1991
19
Technology

• Negative Impact on womens employment
  opportunities especially in rural areas
• Harvesting
• Wheat grinding
• Small scale industries match industry
• Weaving

20
Employment Economic Independence

• Even if a woman is employed, she may not have
  control over the money she earns.
• Women are expected to devote all their time,
  energy and earnings to the family.
• Many Indian women seek their husbands permission
  when they wish to purchase something for
  themselves.

21
Education and Work

• Only 40 of the women (men 64) are literate,
  majority having only a primary education or less.
• Higher levels of education for women do not
  directly translate into higher proportions of
  main workers.

22
Distinct Work Experiences in Different Areas of
the Country

• Larger rural populations have larger female
  employment rates
• Exceptions Punjab and Haryana (richer/cultural
  practices)

23
Conclusion

• The place of women in the workforce varies
  according to societal
• Structure
• Needs
• Customs
• Attitudes