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...)