Fallen Through the Cracks

Context: India’s female employment trends do not resonate with its high economic growth, low fertility, and rise in female schooling.

The year 2020 marks the anniversary of two major events: concerning the status of women:

• 50^th anniversary of the report ‘Towards Equality’: submitted by the Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI) to the United Nations, with focus on women-sensitive policymaking in India.
• 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action: A benchmark for analyzing the condition of women and State-led empowerment.

Economic Issues faced by women in India:

• Low female labour force participation: Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2018-19 shows a decline in (from 2011 to 2019) in rural areas from 35.8% to 26.4%, and stagnation in urban areas at 20.4%.
• Low economic participation and opportunity: The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report ranks India at 149 among 153 countries in terms of the parameter.
• High gender wage gap: The gender wage gap is the highest in Asia, with women 34% below men (for equal qualification and work)- 2019 Oxfam report; despite guarantees under Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
• High informalisation:
  • In agriculture: nearly 60% of women form a bulk of landless labourers(only 13% owned land in 2019) with no credit and subsidies.
  • In manufacturing: on 14% of the female labour force is employed, which is almost informal.
  • In the services sector: disproportionately involved in care work with low wages and overburdened.
    • According to the National Sample Survey (NSS) 2005, over 60% of the 4.75 million domestic workers are women.
    • According to the World Health Organization, 70% of the world’s healthcare and social workers are women.
  • Disproportionate Impact of COVID: 39% of women lost their jobs in April and May - The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). (Women (unpaid) spends 3 times more than men in household work!)
  • Inadequate provision under the laws:
    • The three labour codes have failed to acknowledge the gender wage gap: i.e. non-payment of wages and bonuses, and ignored informal workers in terms of social security and maternity benefits.
    • Maternity benefits remain unchanged since 2017: and exclude the mother adopting children older than 3 years of age, offering little incentives to adopt long-awaiting older children.

Conclusion: Gender cannot be wished away, since every policy and code affects a giant proportion of India’s workforce — both paid and unpaid, acknowledged and unacknowledged.