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Summary

Society Class 06

## THE CLASS STARTED WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS TOPICS (04:32 PM)

## WOMEN IN INDUSTRY AND SERVICE SECTOR (04:34 PM)

- According to the **Consulate General of Sweden** in India women in industries (3% to 12%)
- According to **General Electric** **and Avatar Research** it is around 12%.
- According to **ILO**, Women in services and industries are less than 20%.
- According to the **Global Gender Gap Report (2022)** Women in senior positions are around 14.6 %
- Women in managerial positions are around (8.9%)
- Women in technological and professional jobs (29.2%)
- According to a **Deloitte study**, 4.7% of CEOs.
- **Why women's participation is less:**
- Lack of technical skills.
- 'Lack of incentive to work'. For Example, The wage Gap dual burden social ridiculing, sexual harassment, etc.
- Lack of gender-friendly infrastructure, For Example, Creche facility or child care facility, separate functional toilets, CCTV Camera, Transportation, etc.
- There exists a stereotype hence women are confined to domestic space.
- Lack of role models, as a result, lack of awareness of opportunities in the field.
- Carrer break due to 'reproductive responsibilities'.
- According to **Indra Nooyi,** Women's 'biological clock' and 'career clock' often overlap.
- Due to the benefits of the maternity act, there is less desirability of women in the formal labour market.
- According to the **Gender Social Norm Index (UNDP),** after a survey of 75 countries, (80% of the global population), 40% of the sample size believes women are less efficient than men with respect to corporate executive positions.
- Stigmatization with respect to the corporate work.
- Career break due to marital responsibilities.

## WOMEN IN INFORMAL SECTOR (05:09 PM)

- According to **ILO**, Women in India (Informal sector + part-time jobs ) >> Men
- According to the '**e-Shram Portal'**, 53% of registered workers are women, hence Feminization of the informal sector is observed.
- Patriarchy -> Deprivation -> Limited Access to Education, Skills, Formal Jobs, -> Lead to joining Informal Sector -> Leads to minimum wages, lack of safe working conditions, etc.
- **Discuss the impact of the gig economy on women's empowerment in India (150 Words/10 Marks)**
- **Approach**:
- According to the **World Economic Forum**, the characteristic of the gig economy is focused on workforce participation and income generation via gigs.
- You can mention a **few positive impacts** like:
- It creates opportunities for women to re-enter the market post-career break.
- Development of self-identity, decision-making autonomy, and overall improvement in the status of women.
- You can highlight **a few Challenges** like:
- According to a report by **Teamlease**, an 8-10% wage gap is existent.
- Digital market creates more divide as there exist gaps with respect to availability and awareness regarding digital infrastructure.
- Only 21% of Women in India use Mobile internet.
- No security of jobs, Alienation of women workers due to lack of benefits (Maternity benefits, sick leave, child care facility, etc.)
- Occupational segregation for example often limited to beauty and wellness services, cleaning or care work.
- It has safety and security issues.
- COVID and associated uncertainty, women workers are more affected as the services were suspended.
- **Azim Premji Report** mentions that post-COVID 7% of men suffered work loss whereas 47% of women suffered work loss.
- 'Gig work' is largely an urban phenomenon.
- Many platforms require workers to own assets which again limits the opportunity for women.
- The gig economy can also be isolating with workers lacking a sense of community and support.
- The **'Ratings'** generate pressure which can be psychologically damaging, Gig work also disrupts work-life balance as workers have to make themselves available all the time.
- In Conclusion, the Gig economy has the potential to create gender parity in the labour market however, a secure gig economy is the need of the hour.
- For Example, The initiative of the Rajasthan government to pass a law to register and provide social security for gig workers is a welcome move.

## ISSUES FACED BY WOMEN IN THE LABOUR MARKET (05:48 PM)

- **Low Female labour force participation:**
- As per the **Global Gender Gap Report 2023**, India's rank is 127/146.
- As per the **Periodic Labour Force Participation Report 2023**, Female labour force participation is 37%.
- **Reasons for Low female labour force participation:**
- Increase in household income has led to the domestication of women
- Caste rigidities with respect to purity and pollution as we move higher in caste hierarchy the control
- Wage Gap
- Unpaid Work.

## MATERNITY BENEFIT ACT (06:15 PM)

- **Premise:** To arrest the decline in FLFP due to the motherhood penalty.
- **Provisions:**26 weeks of paid leave (for 1st two children)
- Provided In the Formal Sector only.
- 12 Weeks of paid leave if more than 2 children, of adopted child (<3 months), If commissioning mother
- Leave can be availed 8 weeks before the due date.
- If (>50  Employees) there should be a Creche facility.
- Women can visit the creche facility (4 times a day)
- Provision for '**Work from home'** if possible.
- Employers need to inform women workers with respect to the Maternity Benefit Act.
- **Analysis:**
- |  |  |
  | --- | --- |
  | **Pros:** | **Cons:** |
  | It benefits around 10 lakh women workers in the formal sector. | The desirability of women in the labour market has declined. |
  | It provides income security. | It is only for the formal sector whereas there is feminization of the informal sector. |
  | It ensures early childhood care. | Gender stereotypes about the childcare role, as there is no provision for paternal leave. |
  | Prevents women from taking a career break. | This creates ground for postpartum depression among new mothers. |
  |  | The long leave of 26 weeks might create challenges for the reintegration of women in the workplace. |
  |  | It reduces the cost competitiveness of small companies as they have to bear the entire financial burden. |
  |  | It will further reinforce the feminization of the informal sector. |
- **Way Forward:**
- We can follow the international models related to maternity leave for better implementation.
- For Example, In the context of Singapore, 16 weeks of paid leave and financial burden are equally shared between the government and the company.
- Similarly, the Sweden 480 days of paid leave to be shared between both parents with each taking 90 days of leave.
- Extending the provisions to the informal sector by encouraging a hybrid model of working wherever possible.
- Introduce the concept of **'Paternity leave'.**
- Provide incentives to the company to enhance the desirability of women in the company.

## WAGE GAP (06:40 PM)

- **Concept**: Lack of equal pay for work of equal value is referred to as the wage gap.
- **Online Salary Index 'MONSTER'** highlights the wage gap in India of 20%.
- As per,  **PLFS** said because of COVID, the wage gap further increased by 7%.
- According to the **OECD**, there are two reasons for the Wage gap:
- a) Low bargaining power of the women
- b) Undervaluation of the care work.
- According to **ILO,** the Wage gap exists due to the following reasons:
- a) Patriarchy
- b) Limited access to education, skill and training.
- c) Motherhood penalty.
- d) Prevalence and undervaluation of feminized occupation.

## UNPAID WORK (06:49 PM)

- It is referred to as 'the work for which the person is not renumerated, for Example, household work, or care work within the household'
- Globally 75% of women perform unpaid work.
- According to **Times Use Survey**, 92% of Indian women (15-59 years) perform unpaid work.
- According to **ILO**, If we globally monetize the unpaid work done by Women is equal to 9% of the global GDP. (11 Trillion dollar)
- It is referred to as the **'Hidden Engine'** because it led to the continued running of businesses, economies and societies.
- According to **ILO**, Irrespective of educational attainment concentration of women in unpaid work remains unaffected.
- Although unpaid work is still not monetized, some state-level governments are providing financial assistance to homemakers.
- For Example, **Goa's Grih Adhar Scheme**, and **Assam's** **Orunodoi Scheme**.
- **Causes of Feminization of Unpaid Work:**
- Gender stereotyping which believes women are best suited for expressive roles.
- Domestication of women due to the notion of purity and pollution.
- Gender-specific socialization.
- Pitfalls of women working in the labour market
- Culture of toxic masculinity due to which men don't participate in unpaid work.
- Sexual division of labour consolidates family as an institution.
- Lack of role models due to which women have limited aspirations.
- Glorification of women as homemakers as it is perceived to be the feature of ideal womanhood.
- The patrilineal nature of families, which assumes that the prime responsibility of women is to give birth to the male child.
- **Implications of the Unpaid Work:**
- It has a considerable opportunity cost (Economic, social, psychological, etc)
- Barrier to female FLFP.
- Occupational downgrading and segregation.
- Women choose employment below their skill levels and in sectors that are traditionally associated with gender roles.
- It further aggravates gender inequality.
- It deteriorates the quality of life.
- For Example, Sleep deprivation, anxiety, social isolation, etc.
- Detrimental to women's empowerment.
- It increases the vulnerability of women to economic social, and environmental shocks and disasters.
- **Challenges in monetizing the unpaid work done by women:**
- It is difficult to capture the whole spectrum of unpaid work as women are multitasking. For example, Women look after children while cooking or engaging in farm work.
- Challenges with respect to the implementation like, who will be paying the amount.
- Commoditization of care work reduces the emotional and sentimental components of care work.
- It will further stereotype the work done by women and she will be further confined to domestic space.
- **Positives of Monetizing Unpaid Work:**
- It will make the contribution of unpaid workers visible.
- It will help women claim better status within the patriarchal household.
- Allround development of women for Example, Health, nutrition, confident personality, etc.
- It will generate confidence which in turn will ensure better bargaining power both in households and society.
- It may increase efficiency in policymaking, especially in areas of gender inequality.
- For Example, According to an **Oxfam report,**with **Jal Jeevan Mission**, Women will spend 22 minutes less on unpaid work and 60 more minutes on paid work.
- **Way Forward:**
- **3 R's** (Recognize, Reduce, Redistribute unpaid work between men and women) Approach can be followed.
- **Recognize:**The first step is to recognize the value of unpaid work.
- **Reduce:** Reduce unpaid work by investing in physical infrastructure. For Example With **Ujjwala Yojana.**
- **Redistribute:**Defeminisation of unpaid work. For Example, Introducing paternity leave, quality infrastructure for childcare, and old age care facilities.

## TOPIC FOR THE NEXT CLASS: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN (To be Continued...)