With the onset of every October, Indian streets are ablaze with the vibrancy of the festivities. One such widely celebrated festival is Durga Pooja. Durga is one of the many ‘devis’ in Hindu mythology whose iconic pictorial representation is her several arms, each hand equipped with a weapon. This is not very far from a typical Indian woman, who by the virtue of their gender is forced to juggle several facets of their life- work, child-rearing, and household chores. While the uncomplaining woman is praised for their ability to multitask, which without a doubt is commendable, but society fails to realise the ingrained patriarchy of having only women bear the sole responsibility of child-rearing and household chores. The irony lies in the fact that the country which celebrates this goddess fails to recognise the burden and the skepticism that women face, despite being the so-called multi-armed ‘devis’.
During January-April 2022, the male labour force participation rate was 66% whereas the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) was a bleak 9%. (Vyas, 2022). The following World Bank Data also shows a declining trend in FLFPR. (Labor Force Participation Rate, Female (% of Female Population Ages 15+) (Modeled ILO Estimate)-India, 2022)
India, a booming economy, clearly faces a flagrant gender inequality in employment with COVID-19 adding fuel to the fire.
The reasons for this declining trend trace roots to workplace discrimination, sexual violence, lack of educational opportunities, and most importantly the ‘motherhood penalty’. The motherhood penalty is when mothers leave their jobs and on returning to the labour market face lower pay than their male counterparts. This manifests differently in India than in other developed countries wherein women exit the labour force in expectation of childbirth rather than exiting after childbirth (Banerjee, 2022; Deshpande & Singh, 2021). It is also observed that a rise in the income of other household members is accompanied by a greater probability of female exit from the workforce, suggesting that females can’t work for their own fulfillment. (Deshpande & Singh, 2021) Besides, there exists a gross undervaluation of female statistics where the sticky definition of productive work discounts the household work performed by women which is excluded in GDP valuation. While household chore is difficult to measure, inspiration from valuation measures developed by United Nations Economic Commissions for Europe can be taken (“Guide on Valuing Unpaid Household Service Work,” 2017).
The above supply-side factors do affect FLFPR but Ashwini Deshpande’s paper analysing pre-pandemic data concentrates on understanding demand-side factors with the rationale that female labour fluctuations can’t just be related to social norms because they don’t oscillate frequently. The research hence emphasised the lack of availability of continuous and steady employment due to the informality of labour markets which can be a major contributing factor in this declining trend of female labour force participation rate. (Deshpande & Singh, 2021).
Narrowing the gender-based employment gap can add 58% points to the GDP (Mazumdar & Chaudhary, 2022). This very economic rationale calls for quick policy action. Greater formalisation of jobs, appropriate demand-induced skilling for women, encouragement of female entrepreneurship, robust availability of gender data, and destigmatization of females will allow India to realise the true essence of the Indian Devi.
References:
Banerjee, T. (2022, May 8). The motherhood penalty: It’s not fair to punish women professionals for having a baby. The Economic TImes. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/the-motherhood-penalty-its-not-fair-to-punish-women-professionals-for-having-a-baby/articleshow/91412350.cms
Deshpande, A., & Singh, J. (2021, August). Dropping Out, Being Pushed Out or Can’t Get in? Decoding Declining Labour Force Participation of Indian Women. IZA Institute of Labour Economics. https://docs.iza.org/dp14639.pdf
Guide on Valuing Unpaid Household Service Work. (2017). In UNECE. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://unece.org/DAM/stats/publications/2018/ECECESSTAT20173.pdf
Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (modeled ILO estimate- India). (2022, June). The World Bank. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.TLF.CACT.FE.ZS?end=2021&locations=IN&start=1990&view=chart.
Mazumdar, R., & Chaudhary, A. (2022, June 2). Trillions at stake as women disappear from India’s workforce. The Economic Times. Retrieved October 14, 2022, from https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/trillions-at-stake-in-india-as-women-disappear-from-workforce/articleshow/91951655.cms?from=mdr
Vyas, M. (2022, July 18). Retreat of female labour participation. CMIE. Retrieved October 13, 2022, from https://www.cmie.com/kommon/bin/sr.php?kall=warticle&dt=20220718144307&msec=886#:~:text=Female%20labour%20participation%20rate%20is,LPR%20was%209%20per%20cent.
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