“When women do better Economies do better”.
– Christine Lagarde
Since independence, nearly half of India’s potentials have remained untapped which lead to unconvincing growth and development roadmap. However, India has seen a significant progress in terms of gender equality and women representation in economy. Yet the dream for equality in workplace seems quite distant. An Economy as whole cannot realize its full potential when half of the population do not get equal representation. It is evident that the contribution of women in Indian economy has remained lower than that of men. Even the unpaid labour and care work by them are not accounted for. The labour force participation rate for women is one of the lowest in the world. This gender discrimination against women can also be seen through the usual pay gap, unequal job opportunities and low female representation in senior and executive positions. According to the 2018, World Bank Report, the labour force participation rate among females in India in 2018 was 26.97%. This has continued to decline since 2005, when the rate was 36.78%.
The low LFPR can be due to various socio-cultural reasons. In rural areas,this can be due to the fact that number of girls drop out of school, post puberty. Also the lack of job opportunity for women in rural areas leads to the reduced participation. The low rate in urban areas is caused due to the stereotypedgender roles, the evident pay gap and unsafe workplace etc. Also sector wise bias and work place discrimination resulting from unwillingness of the companies to hire female employee despite their eligibility causes hindrance in creating equal job opportunities. Traditional industries like manufacturing industry remain reluctant in hiring females since the jobs are “physically demanding” , inspite of willing and competent female candidates the preference is always given to the male candidates.
Apart from this, the discrimination against women is still very prevalent in workspace. As per the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2018, India Ranked 108th out of 149 countries on the Gender Gap Index. The pay gap is also wide as women in country earn 19% less than men for the same job, according to the Monster Salary Index, 2019. This Gap varies in different industries, in IT services the pay gap is 26% and in manufacturing sector it is 24% less for women as compared to men. Even in unorganized sector women earn significantly less than men for the equal work performed by both. Also there has been 14% increase in reports of sexual harassment complaints in Financial year 2019, as per the data from BSE 100 companies. Though the reason for this can be the greater awareness at workplace about the legislation and rights nonetheless the troubling figure calls for quick handling of these cases and restructuring of the companies to make it safer for employees.
When there is equal participation of female labour, the entire economy benefits from it. Gender equality in labour market not only helps in achieving women empowerment but also helps in increasing the productivity and aggregate output and reducing poverty. Though various laws and acts ensures equality in pay and opportunities for participation yet the low female workforce is a matter of concern for a growing economy like India.
At this time of economic crisis, the call is to increase the inclusion of female in labour force which can lead to a better economic growth and human development. But this goal cannot be realized as long as the social injustice and gender discrimination towards women exists. The need is to bring a mental revolution in our society and to remove thr stigma and stereotypes related to a particular gender.
(Writer is a student of FoC, BHU and Member of Finance and Economics Think Council.)