MODULE 3: WOMEN IN THE WORKFORCE (10 HOURS)

1. Women in organized and unorganized sectors

2. Special problems and needs of women in work force
3. Gender division of work
4. NGOs and women development
5. Globalization and impact on women’s employment
6. Role of SHGs.

Introduction: Women represent about 48 percent of the total population in India. However, in
the employment market, women’s participation is much lower. National statistics show that out
of the 459 million employed population, women constitute only about 148 million.

History of Women and Work: Women are not new to the concept of work. The differences we
see today were prompted by the industrial age. However, work roles for men and women in vedic
age were more equitable than today.
Women and Work in Colonial India
Men and women had many shared activities, they worked as part of household economy, gender
roles were then more fluid. But tasks were generally assigned by age and sex. Women had
exclusive responsibility for management of the household economy. They typically had 7-9
children.
Colonial India: Roles were physically demanding – they made soap, candles, fabric, clothes,
chopped wood, prepared meals, cared for children. All women operated under constraints of
English legal and Patriarchal social systems – “women depended on men, this was necessary and
regarded as proper”.
Industrial Era: The Industrial Revolution of 1839 dramatically changed the relationship of
individuals to their work. Agriculture started becoming commercialized. Work and home roles
became more separate. Therefore, men increasingly worked outside home for paid wages.
While women’s domestic work was still exhausting and remained unpaid. Industrial Era. Women
became more involved in the socialization of children. Women also expected to attend to men’s
emotional as well as physical needs in the family. Gradual but perhaps the biggest change was
the absence of men from the household. It also reduced the social visibility of women’s domestic
work.
The (de-) value of Domestic Work: Women’s work at home was perceived to be in a leisurely
role. Men associated ‘home’ with rest, relaxation, and a place of seclusion from stress. Since
men didn’t associate home with work, they also failed to associate women with work.

1. Women in organized and unorganized sectors

I. Women in Organised Sector

The organised sector is defined as those economic establishments or enterprises which are
governed by sets of recognised rules and regulations. The organised sector of the Indian
economy comprises the following:
a) All public sector enterprises i.e., all services under the Central, State and local
governments and occupations in public undertakings in the fields of industry, credit
financing, public utilities etc.
b) All non-agricultural private sector establishments which employ 10 or more persons
(CSWI 1974). The organised sector plays a significant role in the economy of a country not
only by producing goods and services but also by providing employment to a vast number of
people. As this sector is governed by established rules and regulations pertaining to
recruitment, retirement, promotion, retrenchment, social security, maternity, child care
facilities etc., we can get accurate data about the status of the workers in this sector of the
economy. It is important that the organised sector is also very often known as the formal
sector as it is governed by formal rules and regulations of the state. It sets the standard for
labour employment, their quality, remuneration, output, social security etc. In the developing
countries there has been a steady growth of the organised sector of the economy in the last
few decades. Along with the steady growth of the organised sector in the Indian economy
women’s participation has also increased in this sector over the years. Over the years
women’s employment has been significantly higher in the private enterprises than in the
public enterprises in the organised sector.
• The highest increase of employment of women has been registered in the community,
personal and social services division in the public sector. In the private sector women get
more employment in manufacturing and agriculture. Significantly, financial, insurance, real
estate and transport, storage and communication have emerged as important areas of
women’s employment in the public sector. As the service economy is expanding, the scope of
women’s employment in these areas of activities has also increased. Significantly, in the
wake of globalisation and occupational diversifications, women’s work participation has been
conspicuous in most areas of economic activities especially in the service economy which is
characterised by careers in services as the tourism, hotel and restaurants, transports and
communication, finance, and insurance, community services.

Though in the organised sector women are employed following prescribed rules and
procedures, and their working conditions are governed by well established rules and norms,
they encounter several problems. Many of these problems remain unidentified and are
therefore not addressed. Research conducted in India on the working situation of women in
the organised sector reveals several dimensions of these problems. In the following section
we shall be discussing some of those problems which are general in nature.
Some of the findings of this study are as follows.
i) Concentration in Paid Unskilled Jobs: This study finds that in the industries women are
highly concentrated in the low paid unskilled jobs. This is mostly because of the fact that
women have low access to training and education and they are slotted into low paid jobs.
 ii) Inequality in Pay: The study highlighted that women have been the victims of unequal pay
for equal work. Women are appointed in unskilled jobs and for specific shifts where the
wages are low. However, women’s mean wages were highest in multinational companies,
followed by public sector firms, then by companies with foreign collaboration. Their wage is
the lowest in the private industry.
Inequity in pay, as this study highlights, are dependent on the following factors:
• Women are not deployed for overtime shifts where payments are higher.
• In general, men receive more promotions than women. Unlike women, the nature of
men’s jobs often changed with these promotions, while women keep on slogging in the
same position.
iii) Inadequate Access to Benefits and Facilities: Overall a larger proportion of men reported
having access to facilities at the workplace than did women. In general there was inadequate
provision for women workers such as rest rooms and childcare facilities. There is not much of
a difference in facilities for women even where there is a union. It is important that in spite of
mandatory statutory provisions, these facilities are not provided to the women employees in
these industries.
iv) Access to Training, Skills and Education: The study revealed that more than three fourths
of the men received training compared to less than half of the women while in employment.
Among those trained, a higher proportion of women reported getting basic training, while a
higher proportion of men reported getting higher skilled training. Here a discriminatory
attitude of the employer is reflected in providing opportunities of training to women.
As a large number of women worked on non-permanent basis, and they were not given the
opportunity for training, consequently they were easily removed from the jobs during the
period of restructuring.
v) Low Level of Awareness about Occupational Health and Safety: A very low level of
awareness exists among women workers and unions about occupational health hazards. A
large section of the workers were found to work in hazardous conditions. However, few
workers find any links between the nature of their work, the materials used, their posture
during work and the ailments they experience. However notwithstanding the lack of
awareness, several important problems raised by women related to their reproductive health.
At least a fifth of the women reported health problems such as white discharge, and these
women were also mostly confined to one particular position in their work situations. They
expressed the urgency for restrooms. However, provision for a rest room is rarely available.

vi) Sexual Harassment: As a large number of women are placed in unskilled and low paid
jobs, they have little power to voice their grievances. They mostly remain silent on all issues
of oppression including the issues of sexual harassment as power relations are involved. A
politics of silence around the issue of sexual harassment reflected itself in the fact that very
few women reported both the incidence of harassment as well as the incidence of complaints.
Management has been largely indifferent towards these issues as indicated by the virtual
absence of sexual harassment committees, lack of punitive action in cases reported and the
fact that at times women who voiced complaints were punished rather than the offenders.
Women too were unaware of the importance of appointing a committee to whom such
complaints could be addressed, or having a woman at the head of such committees.
Problems Raised by Women Women workers listed out several problems faced by them: a)
Sexual Harassment from the male clients or workers: This is clear in the following statements
made by women workers: • Men use vulgar language • Men write unpleasant remarks about
women in the toilets • Men pass comments • Sexual harassment from male patients is
common among women working in the health sector. • Nurses are facing a lot of problems
with patients, attendants and administration. Patients posed the maximum problems for
nurses as their work involved closer proximity to men than does other kinds of work.
b) Job Security: A second set of problems related to insecurity about being fired or
transferred as jobs get reorganised or eliminated. This is evident from the following
comments; • A sense of insecurity at loss of jobs • Uncertainty of the future and career
prospects of Medical transcription • Fear of transfer
c) Lack of Training: The lack of job security was compounded by the fact that women have
little or no access to training. Women stated their fears of staying in the same job forever or
being fired and not being able to get a new job.
The Government of India has initiated several legislative measures and has formed elaborate
policies to protect the interests of women workers in the organised sector. It has also been
made mandatory to have a sexual harassment committee in all the government recognised
bodies.

II. Women in Unorganized Sector:

The unorganised sector includes agriculture, cottage and tiny industry, the service sector of
domestic work, unregistered factories etc. These sectors are not found to implement laws and
legislation. Workers who are employed in small scale industries and after industries in which
electric power is not utilised in production are generally classified as unorganised workers.
In addition, workers in Hoiseries, Handloom and Powerloom sectors, beedi and construction
work etc., also come under unorganised category. Approximately, as per government
statistics, 28 crore workers are working in unorganised sectors. Apart from this, accessories
needed for big industries are being produced in home based industries in which 80 to 99
percent of the workers are women.

Characteristics of unorganised sector: The National Commission of Labour narrated the

following as the characteristics of unorganised sector:
a. Small size of establishment with low investment per employed person.
b. Casual nature of employment
c. Ignorance and illiteracy.
d. Scattered nature of establishments.
e. Superior strength of employers operating singly and in combination.

The International Labour Organisation-United Nations Development Programme

(ILO-UNDP) mission to Kenya (1972) mentioned the following characteristics of the
informal sector.
1. case of entry of new enterprise.
2. family ownership.
3. small size of operation.
 4. unregulated and competitive market.
5. Unregulated and competitive market
6. Informally acquired skills of workers through the job training
7. labour intensive technology.
8. deplorable working conditions and low wages.
9. No state support.
From the above description we can clearly define and interpret the term "unorganized sector”,

Most female workers are either illiterate or having lower education. Therefore, they have to
work in low paid and low skilled jobs.
1. There are inadequate employment opportunities for females. They get seasonal
employment. They do not get employment on all days of a season. Because of sectoral
farming and other processes, farming is becoming more a physical work. Male workers do
get more employment than female labour.
2. Female labourers are less paid. If wage rates are high and the number of employment days
are low they should not be affected economically, but situations are reversed. They have to
work at a very low wage rate.
3. Health standard of female labourers is weak. They have to perform different types of duties
at home. This affects their health. They do not get nutritious food and proper medical
attention in case of illness, which in turn deteriorates their health. After delivery they do not
have proper time for rest which affects their overall health.
4. Most of the workers live below the poverty line. They are not able to satisfy their basic
necessities and are not able to get nutritious food.
5. There are chances of accidents in the workplace. Female labourers have to work in adverse
conditions sometimes they are affected by fatigue.
6. At the workplace, some specific facilities like sanitation, a place for leisure and rest are
desired which are not provided by farmers.
7. Women here do suffer from many social and family problems. Situation of a widow
labourer is sometimes very serious. They have to work for most of their life but their social
status is still not considered to be very high.

Problems faced by Rural/Urban Women in Unorganised Sector: “The perfect Woman is

a higher type of humanity than the perfect man and also something much rarer"- Mahatma
Gandhi. The problems of women are many in number and mostly all the problems of society
are considered to be women's problems. In a patriarchal society like that of India, the society
is structured and made to function as man wants it to be and not as the female wishes it to be.
Women's psychology is not understood by society and hence, she is always required to adjust
to the needs of men. In this process women face many problems from their birth to death.

a) Exploitation of women in the unorganised sector is on the increase, irrespective of wages.

In the majority of the industries, the Equal Remuneration Act is not properly implemented.
Women workers are being paid a petty sum.
b) No job security for women workers is there in these industries. After marriage and
childbirth, a lot of them are compulsorily thrown out of their jobs. During job reduction due
to restructuring or modernisation etc. invariably women are the first target.
c) Women are being forced to work even late nights in some sectors. In some places, there is
no specified/stipulated working hours without any protection, women are asked to work in
night shifts in the most insecure conditions.
d) Young women are often being subjected to sexual exploitations in work sports.
e) Even the basic facilities like first aid, medical facilities are not provided to them. Provision
of separate toilet facilities for women is not treated as an important necessity. In addition,
quite a large number of women and children are working as contract labourers who have no
service regulation whatsoever and whose conditions are highly deplorable.
f) Another field in which lakhs of women are being exploited are for party incomes as
honorary workers' in ICDs/Anganwadis. They are also being subjected to sexual harassment.
Though serious struggles were launched during the past 10 years, there is not much
improvement in their working conditions; but due to continuous efforts, some increase in
their honorarium could be achieved.
g) Laws enacted after bitter struggles like Equal Remuneration Acts, Maternity Benefit Act,
Factory Act and Plantation Labour Act are not implemented properly. There are lacunas in
the legislation and implementation of these laws.

According to Shram Shakti - A Report of the National Commission on Self Employed

Women and Women in Informal Sectors- the women in the unorganised sectors are the
"weakest in labour statistics". The conventional classification of workers and their
contribution to the economy reduces the poor labouring women as marginal workers with
little recognition of their contribution to the national economy. The proportions of women in
the female work force engaged in the unorganised sector is estimated to be 90 per cent. The
workers in these occupations suffer from high incidence of marginalisation. "The incidence
of casual wages workers, agricultural and construction workers amongst females ranges from
75 per cent to 96 percent of the total female wage earners.

According to the ILO report, the informal sector comprises units producing in a small scale
yielding goods and involving little or no capital using a low level of productivity and
generally yielding very low and irregular incomes. These units are mostly unregistered and
the workers receive little or no legal protection. But the sector is continuously growing.
The big size firms are going to dominate the scene in the future. In this process, each firm
will try to cut the costs. The immediate response would be curtailment in the level of
employment. The process of restructuring is likely to result in closure of many industries.
The inkness is also likely to increase in unemployment in both the organised and
unorganised sector of industrial manufacturing. Reduced employment as a result of this will
affect women both directly and indirectly. The trade liberalisation and flow of foreign capital
is expected to push the rate of industrialization.

Ghosh echoes a gloomy scenario for the unorganised sector and that globalisation of the
Indian economy would mean cheaper imported substitutes for indigenously manufactured
goods. The unorganised sector is the biggest source of female employment. The threat found
by the foreign capital as well as trade liberalisation will affect the availability of employment
opportunities for women in the sector. The entry of Multinational corporations (MNC's) such
as Nestle, CocoCola, Pepsi Cola and Kellogs in agro processing industries is going to affect
women workers where numbers are quite substantial. The import of modern technology will
lead to current low skill jobs of women on the one hand and will push them into low wage
earners or undertake more strenuous jobs for the same pay.

Conclusion
In Spite of declaring 1975 as the committee set International Women's Year by UNO and the
general committee set up in India from time to time, women are in the same position where
they have the past. The taste of the next revolution is to bring about a situation where the
work performed at home is a responsibility for human being instead of a burden for women
Women working in the informal sector of the economy be it in the rural or in urban areas
operate in a vicious circle of subsistence, deprivation and survival. They do not own any
productive assets in relation to their work. Even when some of their assets are held by the
family, women's own access to and control over these assets have been largely marginal.
If we are serious about substantially improving the economic status of poor women working
in the informal sectors of the economy, we have to devise concrete strategies which can help
to enhance the ownership of the control and productive assets by these women. Perhaps, it
will be the single most important intervention towards both their empowerment and economic
well being. Some of the assets that women can be given are a plot of land, housing, free
pattas, joint ownership of all assets transferred by the state to the family; animals, credit to
start any income generation activity, membership of organizations and identity cards.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Yasodha Shanmugasundaram (1993) Women Employment in India, Delhi : Allied
Publishers
Limited for Institute for Advanced Studies & Research.
2 Chaurasia, B.P. (1992), Women Status in India, Allahabad Chugh Publications.
3. Roopa Vohra and Arun K. Sen (1986), Status of Education and Problems in India Women,
Delhi, Akshat Publications.
4. Poormima Mohan (2000), Encyclopaedia of Women.
5.Snaramshakti, Report of the National Commission on Self Employed Women & Women in
the
Informal Sector. Chairperson : Ela.R. Bhath- Report signed in June 1998, New Delhi.

GENERAL PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY RURAL AND URBAN WOMEN

The general problems faced by rural and urban women are as follows:
● lesser time for the house work
● lesser attention towards child care
● no proper care of elders possible
 ● improper behaviour of the people outside their homes
● physical and mental exertion
● derogatory attitude by members of the society
● remaining away from their homes for the whole day lesser time for visiting friends
and relatives
● transport problems
● no leisure
● jealousy among other family members and relatives
● condemnation of working women for violating social and religious taboos
● non-cooperation of other women workers of their families
● tension and strain in their workplaces
● eve-teasing on the roads

GOVERNMENT AND NON-GOVERNMENT PROGRAMMES FOR THE

UPLIFTMENT AND EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN
Introduction
About half the population in the developing world comprises women. Any developmental
process in which women do not actively participate and fruits which are not shared equitably,
is neither sustainable nor desirable. Development if not engendered is indeed endangered. In
the past half- century, Indian women have moved from being the recipients of welfare, to the
targets of basic needs programmes, to actors in the development process. The shift from the
welfare approach to empowerment of women resulted in a recognition of women as social
and economic actors in control of their personal destiny.
The Government of India has undertaken a series of initiatives to actualise the vision of the
platform for action in the direction of upliftment and empowerment of the women. A
parliament committee on empowerment of women monitors the efforts of the Government of
India.
Today, the Government of India directs more than 47 schemes to address the myriad concerns
of women. These are in addition to the scheme of the model agency, the Department of
Women and Child Development.
Schemes have allocated specific funds for women, such as the wage empowerment and
income generating schemes targeted at poverty eradication. Self-Help Groups are now
accepted as the best means to enable women to collectively articulate needs and devise
strategies to meet those needs. In agriculture, health, science and technology, urban
development, environment, Women’s groups have proved effective in channelising demands
for specific services.
Various non government organisations also aim at safeguarding women’s rights and
privileges. Since independence, non-governmental organisations have worked with state
agencies to define policy, design and implement programmes. In addition, they have played
the role of watchdog, monitoring the work of state agencies and helping individuals and
groups overcome barriers set up by society.
 I. Self Employment Programme
Most of the work women do is unpaid. This reflects the invisibility of much of women's
work. Though their work enhances the income of the household, it remains undocumented
and unrecognised by the family and the community. With the aim to provide opportunities for
women, a number ol programmes were introduced.

Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS)

The Employment Guarantee Scheme of Maharashtra started during 1972. It was found that in
the EGS households, women contributed more than half the wage income.
Based on the experiences of EGS, the national level employment programmes namely The
National Rural Employment Programme and The National Rural Landless Employment
Guarantee Programme were issued, which were later amalgamated into Jawahar Rozgar
Yojana.
To improve the targeting of poverty eradication efforts in 1999, all the self employment
schemes for rural areas were consolidated into Swarnajayanthi Gram Swarozgar Yojana in
April 1997-98 to reach benefits to poor in urban areas. This is now operational in all rural
blocks, providing women with wage earning opportunities in times of need.

The Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP) and its sub-component DWCRA
i.e., Development of Women and Children in Rural areas merged under SGSY. IRDP was
introduced in the mid 70s for the self employment generation in 2300 blocks- with effect
from 2nd October 1980.
Objective: To enable the identified rural poor families to cross the poverty line by
providing them with protective assets and inputs in primary, secondary and tertiary sectors
with a view to creating self-employment.

DWCRA was launched in 1982 in 50 districts with UNICEF corporation to strengthen the
women's component of poverty alleviation programmes. Now it covers nearly 400 districts.
Objective: To raise the income levels of women belonging to poor households so as to
enable organised participation in social development towards economic self-reliance.

Rashtriya Mahila Kosh (RMK)- Set up in 1992 -93

Objective: Meeting the credit needs of the poor women particularly in the informal sector
through NGO's. Self Help Groups (SHG's) have been created by partner NGO's with the
objective of organising women around savings and credits. RMK has set a goal of reaching
approximately two million women with credit support by the year 2005.

Women's Development Corporations (WDC) - set up in states from 1986 - 87.

Objective: To play a catalytic role in identifying women entrepreneurs, providing technical
consultancy, facilitating availability of credit, promoting the marketing of goods,
strengthening the women's cooperatives and arranging the training facilities. As of date there
are 19 Women's Development Corporation in India.

Other Schemes
Support of Training and Employment Programme (STEP)
Provides training to improve the knowledge and skills of poor and asset less women in
traditional sectors such as agriculture, animal husbandry and handicrafts.

NORAD- Launched in 1982 83.

Aims to improve the lives of poor women by giving financial assistance and training in
traditional and non-traditional trades to ensure their employment in these areas. (Some of the
trades are - electronic, watch assembling, computer programming, garment making,
community health work, embroidery, weaving, sectorial practices etc). Since 82-'83, 1477
projects benefiting 2.28 lakh women have been approved.

Indira Aawas Yojana (IAY)- Party of SWSY- Aim: To provide housing to poor women.
The houses are allotted to the female members of the household to enable women to own
assets.

Indira MahilaYojana (IMY)- Launched on August 20, 1995; the vision being anchored on
Self-Help Group. Through groups women are empowered to exercise control over material,
social and political resources, partake in the decision making process within private and
public spheres and network for community action. More than 40,000 small homogeneous
women's groups have been formed.

II. Education and Training of Women: Provision of educational opportunities for girls
and women has been a part of the national endeavour since independence. The supreme court
has given the right to education as a fundamental right.

National Policy on Education (NPE)- Reformulated in 19922

Objective: To ensure that girls in the education system grow up as empowered women.
To reduce gender disparities in enrolment, selection and learner achievements to less than
5%.
As a follow-up to NPE all the educational programmes and schemes have prioritised the
needs of girls and women.

Mahila Samakhya- Launched in 1989

Objective: To create an environment for women to seek knowledge and information with a
view to bringing about a change in their perception about themselves and that of the society.
MS is being implemented in about 6897 village in 51 districts of 8 states namely Ur AP,
Bihar, Assam, MP and Kerala, Gujarat, Karnataka,

Total Literacy Campaign (TLC)

Started in the late 1980's, as a part of the National Literacy Mission.
Objective: To help women learn about their rights and the services they could demand.
This campaign gave women the confidence to set agendas
At present there are 212 TLC projects and 225 Post Literacy Campaign projects. These are in
addition to the 30 rural functional literacy projects and the continuing education projects in
77 districts.

Operation Black Board: Under this 147 teachers appointed of whom 47% are women.

VECs: Village Education Committees, control school improvement grants and in some
states like MP, the VECs and the Panchayat appoint teachers.

DPEP: District Primary Education Programme initiated in November 1994.

Objectives: To reduce gender and social disparities and to universalize access, retention and
achievement.

III. Women & Health: The information of health service planning in India was laid by the
Bhore Committee report in 1946, which had prioritised the needs of women and children.
India was the first country to launch a National Family Planning Programme in 1951.

The Reproductive and Child Health Programme (RCH)- Launched in 1997

Objective: To improve the health status of the most neglected sections of the Indian
population, women and girls of socially disadvantaged groups, particularly those living in
remote, rural settlements.

The National Maternity Benefits Scheme- The Ministry of Rural Areas and Employment
provides financial assistance to poor pregnant women for meeting the special needs during
pregnancy.

NACO - The National AIDS Control Organisation.- Set up in 1992 under the ministry
of health and family welfare.
Objective: A nation-wide sentinel surveillance data collected in February 1998 revealed
that 25 percent of reported AIDS cases were women. To detect and manage STD/RIT in
women.

IV. Violence Against Women

Indian society has come a long way from simply defining violence of towards Women in tem
of rape, to any act resulting in physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such acts, whether occurring in public or private life is an act of violence
against women. The government and the more articulate sections of society have been
moving for change and positive action in cases of violence against women. The Department
of Women and Child Development, in collaboration with UNIFOEM initiated a pilot project
in 1998 in Delhi.
Objective: To dry out the efficacy of community - based on strategy involving setting up of
Mohalla Committees (Neighbourhood Committee) to create zero-violence zones.
This project is being implemented with the involvement of NGOs and other local service
Agencies.
National Commission for Women (NCE)- Setup on 31 January 1992.
Objective: To cover almost all facts of issues related to safeguarding women's right and
promotion in specific, individual complaints of atrocities and remedial actions.
Parivarik Mahila Lok Adalats (Family Women's Courts) have organised with the help of
NGOs and the Legal Aid Boards at state and district levels to facilitate access to law
enforcement systems and foster justice delivery for poor women in cases of family disputes,
dowry harassment etc.
Uptill 2000, 130 such courts have been held in which 7500 cases were taken up:
Dahej Mukti. Abhiyan (Freedom from Dowry Campaign) in 1998-99 the country was
launched so that the country marches into the 21 century without the stigma of dowry.
Research studies were carried launched so out on Sexual harassment of women at the
workplace in 1998

Plan of Action on Combat Sexual Exploitation of women and children- The supreme
court in a case Children passed an order on 9 July 1977.
Objectives: To make in depth study of the problem of prostitution, to evolve suitable
schemes for their resume and rehabilitation.

Programme on Education Work for Prevention of Atrocities against women- Started in

1982.
Objective: To extend financial assistance to research and academic institutions like
universities, colleges, women's study centres etc and voluntary organisations working for the
social upliftment of women and research studies on particular aspects of violence against
women.

Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA) Launched in 1998

Objective: To provide for greater penalties and for decriminalizing the sex worker.
Nearly 25 state governments have set up an official advisory committee, comprising NGOs
and social workers to advise on the implementation of the act.
India has also actively participated in the drafting of the SAARC Convention on prevention
and combating trafficking in women and children cross border trafficking through proper
intergovernmental coordination.

V. Women and Economy

Labour-ministry statistics show that, as per the census date 1991, there are 224 million men
in the total workforce. This is nearly two and a half times the number of women workers (90
million million).

The low female participation rate is due to combination of factors like : Statistical invisibility
of much of women's work like tending cattle, house-keeping, fetching water, working on own
farm;
Discrimination against women workers in many sectors (women are often the last to
employed and the first to be retrenched).
A large number of banks have come out with specific women - oriented schemes which are
aimed to improve the access of women to formal credit.

Abhilasha: A scheme launched by Indian Overseas Bank, for working women.

Stree Shakti Yojana: Launched by State Bank of India, which aims at development of
entrepreneurship among women.

Rural Women Self Employment Training institute: By Canara Bank.

Swavalamban Grameen Daru Yojana: By the Bank of Baroda, to extend revolving cash
credit facilities to rural women entrepreneurs.

Sree Chakra Scheme : By Andhra Bank to extend financial help to working women for
purchase of the wheelers.

SIDBI: The Small Industries Development Bank of India: has formulated many special
schemes for women entrepreneurs.
It extends soft loans and quasi equity to women entrepreneurs under Mahila Udaay" Nidhi
Scheme (MUN). The total amount disbursed under MUN amounted to Rs.114 million

The Swa-Shakti Project : Administered through NGOs and Women's Development

Corporations. It is operational in six states. SHG's which will give poor women increased
control over income generation and spending opportunities are being set up in 35 districts.

NABARD, RMK & STEP : Also extend this service in terms of providing training and
credit support to women.

Mahila Samriddhi Yojana (MSY) : Launched on 2 October 1993, through the network of
1.32 lakh rural post offices.
Objective : To encourage adult rural women to have an account of her own in the post office
into which she may deposit whatever amount she can save. For an amount of up to Rs.300
with a lock-in period of 1 year, the government contributes 25 per cent as incentive.

Conclusion : From the above programmes one must be clear about the efforts taken by the
government for the upliftment of women who are the integral part of the society. So, the
development of Women envelopes, creating awareness about the programmes conducted by
the Government and NGO and being benefited by them.

2. Special Problems and Needs of Women in Workforce

Even of this, only about 50.16 Lakhs or 5 million women are in organized sectors and 120
million are in unorganized sectors. The societal value of women’s work and the non-conducive
work environment in unorganized sector are critical issues to women’s participation in
employment.
Women juggle with the double burden – i) managing household work and ii) complement family
income. The complication and ‘invisibility’ of women’s productive work and ‘poor’ conditions
of work are now debated widely. More appropriately, the ‘triple burden on women – i) paid
work, ii) housework, and iii) child/elder care – influence to a great extent on the type of work
and the availability of work for women in society. Moreover, the existing socio-cultural norms
define ‘acceptable’ work and delimit women’s participation and force them to engage in
unorganized rather than organized sectors. In fact, prime age group women (b/w 15-59 years)
engage themselves in principal duties of home/domestic responsibilities. However, most
vulnerable to economic exploitation are the poor, illiterate and women and girl children from
rural areas.
Moreover, discrimination of women at the workplace is ever present in both unorganized and
organized sectors. These are the poor working conditions and environment, long duration and
short durability of work, lower earnings and higher wage gaps, lack of labour rights and welfare,
and lack of safety and security conditions at work for women in both sectors.
Widespread unregulated conditions at work lead to exploitation that are manifested in different
ways, from gender-based harassment to sexual harassment. Gender discrimination, job-typing,
and occupational segregation are not always explicit but exist implicitly, directly or indirectly, at
home/work/community/society.
Gender based discrimination in employment is profound and evident in the recruitment process:
Nature of work, Opportunity of training and capacity building, Evaluation of work performance,
Fixing of wages and incentives, Denial to take-up rewarding work, Denial of promotion, Glass-
ceiling to leadership position, Sexual favours, and so on.

3. Gender division of work

Women and Work during 19th Century: Very few women worked in the paid labour force
(estimated to be less than 5%). Most women worked in textile factories because of the demand of
the manufacturing sector. Those women who remained in the home often took on laundry,
sewing, and piecework for others.
Expansion of Work Roles: By the end of the 19th Century, large corporations began to form,
the Government started expanding, migration, transportation, and communication increased.
These changes led to gradual increase in work opportunities for women. Women therefore
entered in caring jobs, clerical and sales jobs and also moved into teaching jobs.
During World Wars I and II mass media campaigns triggered women’s participation into
traditional male related jobs. On the contrary, the 1950s mass media campaign urged women to
be back into the home. 1950s and 1960s social pressure on women was to stay at home and
increase childbirths for a stronger nation.
Women in Economy of Today
Census 2011: Workforce Participation Rate is 25.51% for Females against 53.26% for Males. In
Rural Sector it is better (30.02% Females against 53.03% Males) while in Urban Sector it is
(15.44% Females against 53.76% Males). Women Employment in the Organized Sector is only
20.5% with 18.1% working in the Public Sector and 24.3% in the Private Sector.
Unemployment Rate in Rural Areas is less (2.9 for Females against 2.1 for Males), while in
Urban Areas it is more (6.6 for Females against 3.2 for Males). Average Wage/Salary in Rural
Areas is Rs. 428.66/day for Females against Rs. 550.23/day for Males. Whereas in Urban Areas
it is Rs. 609.70/day for Females against Rs. 805.22/day for Males.

Factors that Affect Women in Workplace

● Stereotypes
● Token employees
● Queen bees- for procreation alone
● Lack of Access due to gender Discrimination
● Evaluation & Promotion influenced by Bias / Glass Ceiling
● Difficulty or lack of Leaves (Unpaid)
● Sexual Harassment
● Occupational Segregation
● Salary Differentials / Pay Gap- Gender based
Why do these factors occur? In large part because of our social construction of gender!!
2 primary causes of Wage Gap
1. Job Segregation - few jobs are held by 50% men, 50% women. Those held by women
usually not valued nor paid as highly.
2. Entitlement - individual’s sense of what s/he is entitled to receive as pay due to his/her
position at work.
Sex-Segregated Occupations
● Over 80% Female Secretaries, Stenographer 98%, Health Care 85%, Financial
Recordkeeping 91%, Household Maids 90%, Child care workers 83%
● Over 80% Male Mechanics & Repairs 97%, Construction labours 97%, Engineers 92%,
Health Diagnosing 83%, Managers 85%, Farm Operators 85%
Have women broken the glass ceiling yet? Glass Ceiling refers to the seen, yet unreachable
barrier that keeps women and minorities from rising to the upper rungs of the organizational
ladder, regardless of their qualifications or achievements. 6.6% executives are general category
women, 2.6% are minority women.

4. NGOs and women development

5. Globalization and impact on women’s employment

Globalization & Women’s Work: Marked feature of neo-liberal policy of globalization is
enlightened self-interest activated through market forces. It impacted on urban, rural and
dalit/tribal poor women as paid, underpaid and unpaid workers of the Indian economy. During
the 1990s, employment of middle-aged men and women decreased and employment of
adolescent girls and child labour increased. Women were and are given less skilled and
underpaid jobs of lower pay. Central Government’s social sector budgetary cuts especially for
balwadis and crèches enhanced the burden of poor working women. Economy thrived on young
women’s super-exploitation, whereby employers overlook occupational health hazards and pay
lower wages.
Dual Economy: Globalization led to Dual economy, whereby individuals with similar levels of
education and skills get differential wages due to casualization and subcontracting of the
workforce.
Introduction of the contract system in the public sector has institutionalised the dual
economy model. Differential Wage Policies in public as well as private sectors are-
1. Permanent workers/employees
2. Adhoc/Consolidated salaried workers
3. Daily wagers
4. Hourly based workers
Menial chores in railways, banks, teachers in educational institutions are the best examples of
dual economy.
Job & Wage Discrimination: Migrants face job discrimination in pre-entry phase and wage
discrimination in post entry phase.
Migrant workers remain the first to be fired and the last to be hired. Dualistic Models promote
differentiation based on language, caste, religion, gender, age, migration status, ethnic
background and exclusion from informal networks (like- trade unions, worker’s associations,
cooperative societies, social clubs, cultural organizations) for upward economic mobility.
Segmentation in the Labour Market: Segmentation begins in the rural areas between asset
rich against poor who migrate to urban areas for jobs.
1. Income differs widely between these two segments.
2. Mobility between them is limited. The asset-less poor women are most adversely
affected by globalisation as traditional support systems of kinship and extended family networks
have been eroded. Displacement due to mega development projects renders poor women
homeless and unemployed.
3. Workers in the casual sector are predominantly young and single men and women, while
workers in the regular sector are older and married.

Global Connections of Poverty

Although women are 50% of the population, they own only 1% of the world's property and 10%
of the world's income. Conditions of women’s lives provide markers of poverty and hunger.
Women comprise two-thirds of the world’s illiterate with no economic opportunity. Even a little
education for women pays dividends in every index of social progress and development.
Effects of Work on Women’s Marriage, Household Tasks, Children, Personal Adjustment
Marriage: Employment leads to delayed marriage for many. Sure, it’s getting better but still the
predominant ideology is that man’s job comes first - i.eJob transfers. Women are more likely to
choose a job to fit family needs. Resultant 3 kinds of marriage evolved: traditional, modern,
egalitarian
Marital Bliss: In general, marriage is not as satisfying for women. Jesse Bernard studied mental
and physical health of single and married men and women found
that:
 ● Married men are healthier, likelier to get better-paying jobs & higher pay than unm men.
● Married men commit fewer crimes and live longer than unmarried men.
● Married women are 2 to 3 times more likely to report physical and emotional problems.

Household Tasks: Household chores generally not fun for most men and women.
Dissatisfaction with gender inequity in household tasks is one of the greatest barriers to national
economic growth. Women are therefore in the double/ treble disadvantage or burdened. Women
who work outside home are the most dissatisfied with household task division. Housework is
generally not seen, and therefore not a valued task. J. Birnbaum found that homemakers have:
Social isolation, Lack of reward for job well done, Financial dependence creating feelings of
frustration, Little/no control on family decision.
Children: Much stress, guilt, and stress among working mothers in both organized and
unorganized sectors. There is a lack of quality child care available for mother’s support.
Non-implementation of Maternity Act Benefit for women employees in the organized sector
leads to drop-out from jobs.
Personal Psychological Adjustment: There are 2 opposite hypotheses on women in work:
I) Scarcity - work makes one feel tired, overwhelmed, unable to do all household tasks.
II) Enhancement - work gives one more energy.
Certainly many women experience - role strain, but that can be minimized by healthy physical
habits.
Physical Health: Role strain could lead to poor health, but some studies show that employed
women are healthier. According to Hochschild in his book ‘The Second Shift’, ‘mentioned that
for many women, work is mentally stimulating, work encourages social interaction between
people with similar interests, and increases self-esteem of women.

6. Role of SHGs.
Self Help Groups -What are SHGs?: Self-help Groups (SHGs) are informal associations of
people who come together to find ways to improve their living conditions. They are generally
self-governed and peer-controlled. People of similar economic and social backgrounds associate
generally with the help of any NGO or government agency and try to resolve their issues, and
improve their living conditions.
The Emergence of Self Help Groups – Origin and Development in India: The origin of SHGs
in India can be traced back to the establishment of the Self-Employed Women’s Association
(SEWA) in 1972. Even before, there were small efforts at self-organising. For example, in 1954,
the Textile Labour Association (TLA) of Ahmedabad formed its women’s wing in order to train
the women belonging to families of mill workers in skills such as sewing, knitting, etc.
Ela Bhatt, who formed SEWA, organised poor and self-employed women workers such as
weavers, potters, hawkers, and others in the unorganised sector, with the objective of enhancing
their incomes.
NABARD, in 1992, formed the SHG Bank Linkage Project, which is today the world’s largest
microfinance project. From 1993 onwards, NABARD, along with the Reserve Bank of India,
allowed SHGs to open savings bank accounts in banks.
The Swarn Jayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana was introduced in 1999 by GOI with the intention of
promoting self-employment in rural areas through formation and skilling of such groups. This
evolved into the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM) in 2011.

Evolution Stages of Self Help Groups in India : Every Self-help group usually goes through
3 stages of evolution stated below:
1. Formation of group
2. Funding or Formation of Capital
3. Development of required skills to boost income generation for the group

Many self-help groups are formed with the assistance of Self- help to promote agencies. The
various types of Self-help promoting agencies are stated below:
1. Non-governmental agencies
2. Government
3. Poverty management programmes
4. State & commercial banks
5. Microfinance institutions
6. SHG Federations
7. SHG leaders/Entrepreneurs

Functions of Self Help Groups

● They try to build the functional capacity of poor and marginalised sections of society
in the domain of employment and income-generating activities.
● They offer collateral-free loans to sections of people that generally find it hard to get
loans from banks.
● They also resolve conflicts via mutual discussions and collective leadership.
● They are an important source of microfinance services to the poor.
● They act as a go-through for formal banking services to reach the poor, especially in
rural areas.
● They also encourage the habit of saving among the poor.

Need for Self Help Groups

● One of the chief reasons for rural poverty is the lack of access or limited access to
credit and financial services.
● The Rangarajan Committee Report highlighted four major reasons for lack of
financial inclusion in India. They are:
● Inability to give collateral security
● Weak credit absorption capacity
● The insufficient reach of institutions
● Weak community network
● It is being recognised that one of the most important elements of credit linkage in
rural areas is the prevalence of sound community networks in Indian villages.
● SHGs play a vital role in giving credit access to the poor and this is extremely crucial
in poverty alleviation.
● They also play a great role in empowering women because SHGs help women from
economically weaker sections build social capital.
 ● Financial independence through self-employment opportunities also helps improve
other development factors such as literacy levels, improved healthcare and better
family planning.

Advantages of Self Help Groups

● Financial Inclusion – SHGs incentivise banks to lend to poor and marginalised

sections of society because of the assurance of returns.
● Voice to marginalised – SHGs have given a voice to the otherwise underrepresented
and voiceless sections of society.
● Social Integrity – SHGs help eradicate many social ills such as dowry, alcoholism,
early marriage, etc.
● Gender Equality – By empowering women SHGs help steer the nation towards true
gender equality.
● Pressure Groups – SHGs act as pressure groups through which pressure can be
mounted on the government to act on important issues.
● Enhancing the efficiency of government schemes – SHGs help implement and
improve the efficiency of government schemes. They also help reduce corruption
through social audits.
● Alternate source of livelihood/employment – SHGa help people earn their livelihood
by providing vocational training, and also help improve their existing source of
livelihood by offering tools, etc. They also help ease the dependency on agriculture.
● Impact on healthcare and housing – Financial inclusion due to SHGs has led to better
family planning, reduced rates of child mortality, enhanced maternal health and also
helped people fight diseases better by way of better nutrition, healthcare facilities and
housing.
● Banking literacy – SHGs encourage people to save and promote banking literacy
among the rural segment.

Effective Self-Help Groups

1. The Government should create a supportive environment for the growth and
development of the SHG movement. It should play the role of a facilitator and
promoter.
2. SHG Movement should be expanded to Credit Deficient Areas of the Country – such
as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, States of the North-East.
3. Financial infrastructure should be expanded (including that of NABARD) by adopting
extensive IT-enabled communication and capacity building measures in these States.
4. Extension of Self-Help Groups to Urban/Peri-Urban Areas – efforts should be made
to increase income generation abilities of the urban poor as there has been a rapid rise
in urbanization and many people remain financially excluded.
5. Government functionaries should treat the poor and marginalized as viable and
responsible customers and as possible entrepreneurs.
6. SHG monitoring cell should be established in every state. The cell should have direct
links with district and block level monitoring systems. The cell should collect both
quantitative and qualitative information.
7. Commercial Banks and NABARD in collaboration with the State Government need to
continuously innovate and design new financial products for these groups to meet
their needs.
 Self Help Groups in India
● Kudumbashree in Kerala: The Kudumbashree project was started in Kerala in
1998, as a community action to eradicate poverty. It has become the largest
women-empowering project in India. There are 3 components namely, microcredit,
entrepreneurship and empowerment. Kudumbashree is a government agency.
● Mahila Aarthik Vikas Mahamandal (MAVIM) in Maharashtra: SHGs in
Maharashtra were unable to cope with the growing volume and financial transactions
and needed professional help. Community managed resource centre (CMRC) under
MAVIM was launched to provide financial and livelihood services to SHGs. CMRC
is self-sustaining and provides need-based services.

Author- Women’s Development and Empowerment- Women’s Employment Sayani Das