Lok Sabha Question No. 3158 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-15
Subject: Employment of Women
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Asaduddin Owaisi, Imtiaz Jaleel Syed

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3158

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 TH  MARCH, 2021

## EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN

3158.  SHRI ASADUDDIN OWAISI: SHRI SYED IMTIAZ JALEEL:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  impact  of  Covid-19  on  the employment of women in the country;
- (b) if  so,  whether  it  is  a  fact  that  near  about  17  million  women  have  lost employment whether formal or informal, skilled or unskilled during 2020;
- (c) whether  work  from  home  culture  has  put  more  burden  on  women  to
- attend household work which is invisible;
- (d) the extent to which India's GDP is likely to affect job loss of women in the country; and
- (e) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to increase employability of women in the country?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

(a)  to  (e):  As  per  the  results  of  Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS) conducted during 2017-18 and 2018-19 by National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the estimated Female Unemployment Rate (UR) on usual status (ps+ss) for 15 years and above in the country is 5.6% and 5.1% respectively.

According  to  Payroll  Reporting  in  India:  An  Employment  Perspective  December, 2020, released by Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation during April, 2020 - December, 2020, there is an addition of around 9.27 lakh  female subscribers under  Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme, 1.13 lakh female subscribers under the New Pension Scheme (NPS)

and around 2.03 lakh female subscribers under Employees' State Insurance Scheme.

Aatmanirbhar  Bharat  Rozgar  Yojana  (ABRY)  Scheme  has  been  launched  by the Government to incentivize creation of new employment along with social security  benefits  and  restoration  of  loss  of  employment  during  COVID-19 pandemic. This scheme being implemented through the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), reduces the financial burden of the employers of various  sectors/industries  including  MSMEs  and  encourages  them  to  hire more workers. Under ABRY, Government of India is crediting for a period of two years,   both the employees' share (12% of wages) and employers' share (12%  of  wages)  of  contribution  payable  or  only  the  employees'  share, depending on employment strength of the EPFO registered establishments.

Government has taken several initiatives to improve women's participation in the labour force. In order to encourage employment of women, a number of protective provisions have been incorporated in the labour laws for creating congenial work environment for women workers. These include enhancement in paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, provision for mandatory crèche facility in the establishments having 50 or more employees, permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures, etc. Government has taken a decision to allow the employment of women in the aboveground mines including opencast workings between 7 pm and 6 am and  in  below  ground  working  between  6  am  and  7  pm  in  technical, supervisory  and  managerial  work  where  continuous  presence  may  not  be required. The  Equal  Remuneration  Act,  1976  now  subsumed  in  the  Code  on  Wages, 2019 provides that there shall be no discrimination in an establishment or any unit thereof among employees on the ground of gender in matters relating to wages by the same employer, in respect of the same work or work of similar nature done by any employee. Further, no employer shall  make  any discrimination  on  the  ground  of  sex  while  recruiting  any  employee  for  the same work or work of similar nature in the conditions of employment, except where the employment of women in such work is prohibited or restricted by or under any law for the time being in force. Further,  in  order  to  enhance  the  employability  of  female  workers,  the Government  is  providing  training  to  them  through  a  network  of  Women Industrial  Training  institutes,  National  Vocational  Training  Institutes  and

Regional Vocational Training Institutes.

*****