Fact – ‘Indian women do 90% of the housework, the most in any large country. Men, on the other hand, spend as low as two hours a week doing work like putting kids to sleep or helping with the dishes. If this was balanced, then the GDP could rise considerably, as women would have more time to concentrate on organised work, ultimately giving a push to the Indian economy.’
Women employment within the Indian diaspora, is fast emerging as a topic of immense thought and debate. Reports, both by IMF and the World Bank, have hinted at the fact that Indian system has very less women workers.Astounding realities indicate that in India, women were less likely to work than in any other country in the G20, except for Saudi Arabia. Incase India was to improve its working women statistics, the following issues could be resolved.
Economic factors –
• Women in India contribute one-sixth of economic output, among the lowest in the world.
• On the world scale, it is half of the global average.
• One of the reasons for India’s poor economies is because of the unutilised potential of the women workforce.
• The female employment rate in India, counting both the formal and informal economy, has dipped down from an already-low 35% in 2005 to just 26% in 2018. Even though the economy has more than doubled in size and the number of working-age women has grown by a quarter, to 470 million. Yet nearly 10 million fewer women are in jobs.
• If women were properly utilised in working sectors, then India could have an extra 235 million workers, more than the European Union (across both genders) and enough to fill all the factories in the rest of Asia.
• This can lead to India being 27% richer with more people being able to achieve the middle-income group status.
Social factors –
Statistics and research also shows some more startling physiological benefits if more women worked in India.
• Likelier to invest more in their children’s upbringing and future decisions.
• Social frameworks have changed which means more girls are going to school. Hence, more are out of the unorganised labour force (though this is a sign of progress).
• One of the reasons for the downfall is also the mindsets. As households become richer, they prefer to have women not work. This is typical of a developing nation’s psyche and a common trend in India, especially the rural areas. If the need is not of a financial crisis, most women in villages stay at home. Applicable more for women with a degree anything less than a university degree.
• For an educated girl to begin work, she neds to go through layers of persuasion. First, her own parents and then the probable in-laws who might be wary about her stepping out of the house.
• Census data suggest that a third of stay-at-home women would work if jobs were available. Men have taken 90% of the 36 million additional jobs that have been created in Indian industries since 2005.
• Mechanisation is also taking away many women related jobs. Especially farming and other unorganised sectors.
• Absence of the mega factory concept in India. For example, countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, have the concept of big set ups for the organised garment industry, which has led to an increase in the number of women who work. India doesn’t have such a kind of industry bifurcation.
Probable solutions in the Indian scenario –
• Promoting female-friendly workplace policies, such as maternity leave, can be a pull factor for women to come back to systems.
• Reform India’s labour market so that women can be sucked into jobs en-masse. The larger the industry base where more women can be hired, it’ll hold good in the long run.
The reports were critical of the fact that the rise in Indian women education, is primarily to make them better prospects in the marriage market.
Beyond this, the need for a woman to be allowed to work, was not as high as it could otherwise have been.
A point which largely hints at our socio-economic set up. Till the time, it does not translate into a clear future path of vested plans for women workers, these facts would continue to haunt us and the Indian economy.