{"id":69695,"date":"2020-11-17T18:18:21","date_gmt":"2020-11-17T12:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=69695"},"modified":"2021-05-17T11:14:30","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T05:44:30","slug":"women-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/women-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Women workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Context \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0Declining female labour force participation.<\/p>\n

Why in news-<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Year 2020 marked as-<\/strong><\/p>\n

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  1. The nearly fifty years since the\u00a0Committee on the Status of Women in India (CSWI)\u00a0submitted the report \u2018Towards Equality\u2019 to the United Nations (UN).\n
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    • It focused on\u00a0women-sensitive policymaking in India, providing a fresh perspective on gender equality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
    • The 25th anniversary of the\u00a0Beijing Platform for Action- A benchmark for analyzing the condition of women and State-led empowerment.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      What is the status of women\u2019s workforce in India?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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      1. Workforce participation<\/strong>: India demonstrates\u00a0one of the lowest labour participation rates for women, which have been consistently declining since 1950.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        • The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2018-19 indicates a fall in absolute employment for women.\n
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          • Women faced a decline in labour participation rates (from 2011 to 2019) in rural areas from 35.8% to 26.4%, and stagnation in urban areas at around 20.4%.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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            1. Poor worldwide Rankings<\/strong>:\n
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              • Global Gender Gap Index<\/strong>\u2013 India\u00a0has been ranked 149th<\/sup>\u00a0among 153 countries in terms of women\u2019s economic participation and opportunity published by World Economic Forum.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                • 2019 Oxfam report<\/strong>\u2013 Gender wage gap highest in Asia. Based on hourly wages,\u00a0women earn, on average, 65.5% of what their male colleagues earn\u00a0for performing the same work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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                  1. Women in agriculture:<\/strong>\n
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                    • Lack of ownership of land<\/strong>\u2013 As many as 87 per cent of women does not own their land, only 12.7 per cent of them do.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                      1. Status of women in other sectors of the economy:<\/strong>\n
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                        • Manufacturing\u00a0sector \u2013 around 14% of the female labour force.<\/li>\n
                        • Women account for only 19.9% of the total labor force in India<\/li>\n
                        • The service sector\u00a0sees women disproportionately involved in care-work,\u00a0over 60% of the 4.75 million domestic workers are women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                          1. The non-availability of white collar jobs, disproportionate long hours\u00a0and lesser job security\u00a0narrow downs the job opportunities for educated women in India.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
                            What are the impacts of COVID-19 pandemic and new labour codes on women workforce?<\/strong><\/h5>\n
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                            1. COVID-19 impact<\/strong>\u2013 Recent job stagnation and high unemployment rates for women, exacerbated by the Coronavirus pandemic, also keep women out of the labor force.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                              • Job lost in pandemic<\/strong>\u2013 The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data showed that 39% of women lost their jobs in April and May compared to 29% of men.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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                                1. New labour codes impact<\/strong>\u2013 The labour reforms disregard women\u2019s work conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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                                  • The codes acknowledge neither the gender wage gap nor non-payment of wages and bonuses<\/li>\n
                                  • Ignore informal mostly women workers in terms of social security, insurance, provident fund, maternity benefits, or gratuity.<\/li>\n
                                  • There is no protection against sexual harassment at workplace.<\/li>\n
                                  • Maternity benefits remain unchanged from the 2017 amendment<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                    Way forward-<\/strong><\/p>\n

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                                    • Addressing structural issues which keep women away from the workforce is a must.<\/li>\n
                                    • Policy decisions need to articulate gendered concerns during public health emergencies because gender-sensitive pandemic planning may substantially mitigate these concerns.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

                                      Income support to mitigate income losses<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n