Declining Female Labour Force Participation Half of India’s Demographic Dividend needs a different strategy
By: Jaishri Rai
Tags: Workplace, Patriarchy, Gender Roles, Gender Socialization, Employment

Abstract

India is running out of time to capitalize on the demographic dividend. Declining female Labour Participation in the workforce is a cause of concern. As per data suggested by ILO and Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, India lags behind even South Asian countries in terms of female participation in the workforce. This essay tries to analyze various social and cultural factors that deter women from joining the workforce. While pointing out issues in the socialization process, lack of security at the workplace, and the paradox of modern offices and traditional homes, the essay asks for a women-centric strategy to increase her role in the market economy.

Introduction

India, the land of thousands of gods and goddesses, is full of paradoxes like many other societies in the world. People here worship their women, celebrates womenhoodness through various traditions, festivals, and cultural values.

Being a woman, one enjoys life as a daughter, sister, mother, and wife in different stages of life. Affection with loved ones becomes a powerful emotion, and family becomes an integral part of life. But as it is said, every decision has some impact on our life. Lost in expectations of family and society, often many of them modify their lifestyle and aspirations following what is needed and forgets what they want.

When a woman decides to give priority to domestic duties over her career, she makes a decision which from one perspective may benefit society socially and culturally. However, it has its repercussions on the socio-economic status of the country. IMF predicted that if the female labour force equally participates in the workforce, then India’s GDP will rise by 27%. That means in present our country suffers from her decision to leave the workforce.

As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey 2017–18, the Female Labour Force Participation Rate has shown a declining trend. It had declined by 7.8% from 33.1% in 2011–12 to 25.3% in 2017–18.

Today unemployment is a cause of concern for the whole country. India was supposed to unleash the potential of its demographic dividend. However, the social and cultural life of a woman is a lot different from a man. Therefore, to find the right strategy to utilize the potential of demographic dividend, one needs to dig deep into the reasons behind the low female labour force participation rate.

Today, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence are helping the world in knowing itself better. But cultural, sociological, and psychological aspects are some time ignored. Data aids in finding out factors. But perhaps finding the real cause behind low female labour force participation rate demands to look beyond data. This essay tries to analyze the possibility of the reasoning behind Low Female Labour Participation (LFLP), which is beyond numbers.

Status of female Labour Force Participation Rate(LFPR) in the workforce

As per ILO, India’s Labour Force Participation rate is 49%. The female Labour Force Participation Rate is quite low and is 21%. The World Bank’s World Development in indicators 2017–18, there are only nine countries that have lower Female Labour Force Participation Rate [LFPR] than India. Only Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Iran, Somalia, Morocco, and Egypt perform worse than India.

If we look at data for participation in the labour force, then about 54.9 % of the rural males, 18.2 % of the rural females, 57 % of the urban males, and 15.9 % of the urban females were in the labour force [in usual status, PLFS].

There is a stark difference between male and female participation in the workforce. If India wants to utilize the potential of its demography, then there is a requirement of emphasizing to the involvement of women.

However, to find reasons behind these trends, one needs to analyze the deeply ingrained mindset, usually referred to as Patriarchy. But for me, it is a lifestyle which has developed over a period of time.

Lack of recognition, a challenge

Women empowerment begins with the recognition of the contribution of women in families, offices, and markets. There are various responsibilities, activities, and managerial work done by women in many spaces, which often get neglected because of its obviousness, lack of observational skills, and because of the very nature of our socialization process. Some of the significant factors according to my observation are-

1)Care Work

Care work is of both kinds of settings, formal and informal. Some of the services are provided by the health services sector or public services sector, most of which are formal and recognized as economic activity. When one gets paid for child care, early childhood education, disabled and elderly care, then it comes within formal set up of the economy.

However, most of such chores are performed by a woman throughout the world. For Indians, it is a bit different because most woman changes their priorities after marriage. For most women, the family gets priority over her professional life. Although it is suitable for both families and societies, the problem is a lack of recognition and lack of due respect given for their work.

Further, the care given to children, elderly, and other dependent members is not accounted as economic activity. I would like to take the example of a recent Bollywood movie ‘Thappad’ to explain what I am trying to say as movies somewhere are a reflection of society.

The movie depicts when a woman chooses to work as a housewife, it is her choice, and that does not mean that she can be undermined for the kind of work she does. The movie tries to capture the value of self-respect for a woman. It also captures the importance of the informal care economy.

Movie ‘Thappad’ very beautifully depicts the importance of work of a housewife and lack of recognition due to its obviousness in Indian set up.

NITI Aayog itself noticed that globally, women spend three times more time on unpaid care work than men. However, in India, it is 9.8 times more.

2) Social set up

Every society runs under some kind of social contract. In academia and principle, Indian communities accept that equality is a core principle. But if we see families from a market perspective, then in general, one member starts dominating the decision making. And in families usually, the decision making for important works is made by the eldest male member of the family. This attitude has so much ingrained into our psychic that when we look at work done by a family business, one generally assumes that the most active member of the family is responsible for the work performed. And the head of the family is usually accounted as self-employed or employed. However, in cases where a woman in a family helps in business, are ignored. Unfortunately, these women themselves sometimes do not recognize their work. Then how can organizations like the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) account for their work?

In recent times, awareness about the role of women is rising as concepts like feminization of the agricultural workforce highlight importance of their role. But still, we are far away from full recognition of that work.

Apart from the lack of recognition, the social and cultural reasons behind low female LFPR are written below.

Reasons behind low female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)

Only a few nations in the Middle East and North Africa perform worse than India. Given this, discussing India’s specific reasons can help us in finding an effective strategy to improve Female LFPR.

1)Socialization Process and enforcement of division of work

How we rear, our child decides what she/he can or cannot do. For example, if we make-believe our child that she/he is very strong, then she/he becomes that. In general, role in an Indian family have divided in a manner that man handles the work outside the home. It is usually the responsibility of male members to earn. And the responsibility of a female member is to perform domestic chores. However, there is no written contract or strict division, but still, even in modern families, similar roles are followed. I would like to explain this.

Please count the number of women riding motorcycles on the road. Or do you think bikes are apt for the physique of a woman? Or is it comfortable for a woman to ride a tractor? Perhaps you will get what I am trying to say. I would like to divide the reasons into the following topics.

Familial responsibility- a priority inherent to making of a woman

The child-rearing is done in such a way that a girl child automatically learns to fulfil her responsibility. For instance, among many reasons for the dropout of a girl child from school, one is to take care of younger siblings.

Women from the very beginning of childhood are indirectly taught to learn different skills. For instance, basic skills like decorating house, cooking, cleaning etc. However, complete generalization is not possible as with changing time, people are accepting and are redefining the role of woman/man in society. But despite changes, even most modern societies practice it to some extent in the form of language, dressing, manners or in choosing a profession. So, generally, familial responsibility is at a higher priority in the case of a woman in comparison to a man.

Cultural Practices

The burden of traditions and religious practices is more on a woman in comparison to a man. This issue is less discussed in academia, but the number of hours given to such activities is significant. For instance, there are many rituals and fasts performed by a woman in the family. To name some are Santan Saptami, Gangore, Rishi Panchami, Teeja, Karva Chauth, Maha Laxmi Pooja, and many more.

Imagine a woman working in a bank and is supposed to go to the office from 9 to 5. But on her pregnancy, her mother-in-law wants to do pooja. She forces her to take a leave for that. The husband can skip as he is not mandatory. Although I feel worshipping has many positive consequences on society. But isn’t it an extra burden on a woman in comparison to a man. Now, if she asks for leave, it also sets a negative precedent in the market that woman employees seek more leaves in contrast to men. And the small rituals become obligations for a female section of society.

The intention is not to disapprove of any ritual. But I urge to share the burden of extra obligations between both genders. The purpose is to tell about extra chores performed as part of domestic duties so that one can have a better understanding of this.

In short, our traditions and practices are designed in such a manner that woman devotes more number of hours which puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to participating in economic activities.

Caste and religion

In some communities, notably upper caste Hindus and Muslims, there is a stigma attached to women working outside the home. Especially if work involves ‘menial’ work, it is discouraged by the community. This behaviour increases family and societal pressures to drop out if the men in the household are earning enough[9,10].

2)Sexual Harassment- Pride and Prejudices!!

Sexual harassment is a common phenomenon throughout the world. According to the report of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB)- ‘Crime in India,2017’, there was 3.59 lakh registered cases of crimes against women in 2017.

Such an unsafe environment for women deters many families from sending their women for school and offices. This notion is a well-accepted fact even in researches done by the government of India.

For a family in rural India, girls are the pride of families. For the matter of pride, sometimes career becomes secondary. Further, as safety is integral to development, lack of safety deters women from participating in the workforce.

3) 15–29 years of age- woman are getting more educated

Women in 15–29 years of age group are now involved in education more than before. The LFPR for women aged 15–29 fell by eight percentage points between 2011–12 and 2017–18 to 16.4%. Therefore, one can see that a small part of the downfall in the workforce is a consequence of more and more number of women are getting enrolled for higher education.

4) U shape relationship between education and employment

Data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) and the Indian Human Development Survey (IHDS) show that education and employment have a U-shaped relationship. Illiterate women are most likely to participate in the workforce. As they are ready to perform domestic work or casual labour work. However, work participation drops for women with primary and secondary education and rises only with a college education.

5) As the family gets richer, the woman start leaving the workforce

A study done by World Bank based on data of NSSO suggests that stability in family income, as indicated by the increasing share of regular wage earners and declining share of casual labour in the composition of family labour supply, has led female family members to choose to drop out of, rather than joining, the labour force.

The study also endorsed the U shape relationship between the level of educational attainments and the female labour force participation rate.

6) Migration

Migration is a common phenomenon as people are migrating in search of employment and education. However, most decisions of migration in the family are based on the movement of the head of families who is usually a male member of society. Especially in the case of India, marriage is one of the significant reasons behind the migration of women. And when marriage is the reason, it puts women at a disadvantage. There are two trends observed.

Trend1: Migration takes place for better education opportunities for children

This trend is often observed in tier 2, 3, and 4 cities where families migrate from village to town or village to cities for better educational opportunities for children. In most cases, the mother in the family is given the responsibility of taking care of children. Care and supervision become important, especially in this set up as a child sees a transition in the social and cultural environment along with an increased burden of studies.

For instance, Kiwali is a village in Raisen district of Madhya Pradesh. Most people migrated from Kiwali to Bareli and Badi (Nagar Panchayats) in search of better educational opportunities. Those who were residing in Badi and Bareli migrate to Bhopal and Indore in search of better educational opportunities. People already living in Bhopal and Indore are going to cities like Kota and Delhi.

In this case, searching opportunities have twin challenges for a woman- lack of availability of job and scarcity of time.

Trend 2: Migration due to transfer of husband’s job

Women face similar restrictions again. Even if she wants to migrate for her job, constraints posed by family responsibility are huge. Further, more often, her life is centred on family. And it’s not the other way round as is the case for a male member of society.

However, as more and more women are getting a higher education and are employable for well-paid jobs, the mobility of women and decision-making power are getting enhanced.

7) Stereotyping roles performed by women.

One crucial factor behind low female LFPR is a restriction of the field for women as society accepts women willingly in some specific fields only. For instance, in urban areas, the role of teacher and nurses are apt women but not of plumber or electrician.

The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) published by NSSO highlights that among urban women who do work, domestic cleaning work is the second most common profession after textile-related jobs.

We can also conclude that the quality of jobs performed by women is lesser in comparison to men. Thus the problem is not only the low participation of women in the workforce but also the more inferior quality of jobs available for women in the market.

Secondary factors

Despite these challenges, many have worked to build the capacities of women in their families. Often referred as ‘New Women’ in academia, they are playing a significant role in improving the market economy. In this section, I would like to focus upon the secondary level factor, which discourages their participation in the market. In the previous section, we discussed the challenges faced by women before joining the workforce. In this essay, secondary factors are those factors that come when a woman enters the workforce.

Once a woman enters the highly competitive market, she needs to prove herself at many stages. She not only fights with the challenges of a job but also the barriers present for women in the market.

Glass Ceiling Effect

Investopedia defines the glass ceiling effect as-

‘The glass ceiling is a metaphor referring to an artificial barrier that prevents women and minorities from being promoted to managerial- and executive-level positions within an organization. The phrase “glass ceiling” is used to describe the difficulties faced by women when trying to move to higher roles in a male-dominated hierarchy. The barriers are most often unwritten, meaning that women are more likely to be restricted from advancing through accepted norms and implicit biases rather than defined corporate policies.’

Sexual harassment at the workplace

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has started collecting data regarding sexual harassment at the workplace under the category of insult to the modesty of women (section 509 of IPC) at office premises since 2014. A total number of 57, 119, and 142 cases were registered during 2014, 2015, and 2016 respectively under this.

The data indicating several such complaints registered during the last three years is given below:

Challenges related to reproduction cycle faced by women

It is a well-known fact that due to the different biology of females, there are some extra challenges faced by women in public places and offices. I would like to discuss a few of them in brief-

-Reproduction cycle

Conceiving a baby and having the child is perhaps the most beautiful moment in one’s life. Both men and women, cherish this moment of life. However, in this competitive world, taking a break puts a woman at a disadvantage. So what is the happiest moment for her is perhaps psychologically and economically unaffordable.

Need is to recognize the issue and empathies with the emotional fight from which she goes through. Need is to implement the provision of the Maternity Benefit Act in letter and spirit.

-Menstruation cycles

Researches by organizations like the United Nations say that menstruation does not make any difference in terms of what a woman can do. She can perform daily routine as usual.

However, the challenge is straightforward- having access to a clean and separate toilet. Even in most sophisticated places having a separate toilet is a luxury. Further ensuring 24 by7 availability of water, dustbin, and sanitizer is necessary to maintain hygiene.

Conclusion

“There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of the woman is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on only one wing.”- Swami Vivekananda

There is a need to liberate women from clutches of duties of familial responsibility by sharing the burden of it. In my view, this is a prerequisite before she contributes equally in the workforce and economic development of a nation. We must understand, recognize, and spread awareness about the importance of higher participation of women in the workforce.

That is, we need to find coherence between our modern offices and traditional homes. Modern offices want women to participate in the market with equal competence. Traditional homes wish to her to take care of domestic responsibilities as a housewife. But can these things get together? Perhaps there is only one way- the other half should also take responsibility for managing traditional homes. And after bringing both genders on an equal platform, we will see fruits of strategy to increase labour force participation as planned by the Ministry of Skill Development and Enterprises.

Here I would like to acknowledge the fact that it is not only about men sharing the responsibility of women. But as a consequence of equal participation in the workforce, women will also reduce the burden of bread earners of the families. This, in turn, will lift out millions out of poverty, will boost the confidence of billions, and will help nations in earning trillions of dollars.

It’s time to utilize the full potential of the demographic dividend. It’s time to open up the chains of not-yet shared responsibility. And more than that, it’s time to share the responsibility of man outside the homes so that they also get little fresh air like the ‘future new women.’

It’s time to utilize the full potential of the demographic dividend. It’s time to open up the chains of not-yet shared responsibility. And more than that, it’s time to share the responsibility of man outside the homes so that they also get little fresh air like the ‘future new women.’