1 EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN INDIA – AN OVER VIEW ON PROBLEMS & LEGAL PROVISIONS By Dr. L. Ramakrishna,* N.M.Dhanya,** & R.Lakshmi Aishwarya*** ABSTRACT The employment of women in the male dominated Indian setup is a complex in nature. The challenges in the employment of the women is mainly based on the issues such as gender bias, lack of exposure to higher studies and inequality in the pay structures. It is observed that rural women population are limited to the school level education only in comparison to that of urban women. Hence, the urban women with higher qualifications are being employed in the organised sector (both Government and Private). The rural women with lesser qualifications are utilized in local construction, service and household domestic jobs. Whereas, the women participation in agricultural, farming and other rural activities are on the higher side with biased pay practices and lower security system in their employment. Since, the Indian social system is a male dominated one, the women employees both in urban and rural areas are being subjected to one or more types of exploitations at workplace by their employers and the co-workers. The women at workplace are facing the problems such as discrimination in the name of Gender , Discrimination in the name of Caste, Discrimination in payment of Wages, Sexual Exploitation at Work Place, Sexual Exploitation on Personal Factors, Sexual Exploitation on Economical Status, Employment on the basis of Beauty and Physical factors, Employment of underage or minor girls, Employment of old age women, Racial Discrimination, Bullying, Exploitation of Social Weakness of a Women, Pay Gap on Gender basis, Diversity bases on Religion, Caste and Language, Lack of Educational Avenues and Promotions, Child Pornography, Trafficking, Cyber Crimes, etc. Hence, here it is aimed to study on the welfare measures by the Government for the working women and on the available legal remedies against their problems. Key words: Woman Employment, Workplace, Gender Difference, Harassment, Welfare & Legal Provisions, ................................................................................................................................... * Research Scholar, Department of Social Work, Annamalai University, Chidambaram. (Phone : 6303097347 / 9010621504 / [email protected]) ** Research Scholar, Department of Earth Science, Annamalai University, Chidambaram. *** Student, Department of Science, BMS Women’s College, Bengaluru.
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EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN INDIA –
AN OVER VIEW ON PROBLEMS & LEGAL PROVISIONS
By
Dr. L. Ramakrishna,* N.M.Dhanya,** & R.Lakshmi Aishwarya***
ABSTRACT
The employment of women in the male dominated Indian setup is a complex in nature. The challenges in the employment of the women is mainly based on the issues such as gender bias, lack of exposure to higher studies and inequality in the pay structures. It is observed that rural women population are limited to the school level education only in comparison to that of urban women. Hence, the urban women with higher qualifications are being employed in the organised sector (both Government and Private). The rural women with lesser qualifications are utilized in local construction, service and household domestic jobs. Whereas, the women participation in agricultural, farming and other rural activities are on the higher side with biased pay practices and lower security system in their employment. Since, the Indian social system is a male dominated one, the women employees both in urban and rural areas are being subjected to one or more types of exploitations at workplace by their employers and the co-workers. The women at workplace are facing the problems such as discrimination in the name of Gender , Discrimination in the name of Caste, Discrimination in payment of Wages, Sexual Exploitation at Work Place, Sexual Exploitation on Personal Factors, Sexual Exploitation on Economical Status, Employment on the basis of Beauty and Physical factors, Employment of underage or minor girls, Employment of old age women, Racial Discrimination, Bullying, Exploitation of Social Weakness of a Women, Pay Gap on Gender basis, Diversity bases on Religion, Caste and Language, Lack of Educational Avenues and Promotions, Child Pornography, Trafficking, Cyber Crimes, etc. Hence, here it is aimed to study on the welfare measures by the Government for the working women and on the available legal remedies against their problems.
................................................................................................................................... * Research Scholar, Department of Social Work, Annamalai University, Chidambaram.
(Phone : 6303097347 / 9010621504 / [email protected]) ** Research Scholar, Department of Earth Science, Annamalai University, Chidambaram.
*** Student, Department of Science, BMS Women’s College, Bengaluru.
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INTRODUCTION:
In India, the employment of women forms an integral part of the labour workforce. As per the
available data published by the Catalyst, by 2050 the India will become the most populous country
in the world with a projected population of 167 crores. The women population constitute 48.1% of
the total population with a gender population gap at birth is that of 93 girls per every 100 boys born
in India. There exist fewer women than men in India while projecting the gender gap ratios. Almost
one third of population in India is younger than 15 years of age, while the older population more
than 65 years is about 7%. The employment of women in India shows that its complex culture
making employment diversity based on the religions and languages, in addition to the caste systems
in practice for years. The report on Census 2011, the women population in India is 149.8 million
with 149.8 million employed both in rural and urban areas. Whereas, 52.2 million women are being
engaged for household and other works. It is observed that there is a marginal reduction in the
women employments during the period 2001 to 2011. But, it is observed that there is an
improvement in the employment women in the rural areas compared to urban areas. The
Employment Review Report by Director General of Employment & Training (DGE&T) shows that
about 6 million women are employed in the organised sector (Public & Private Sector) and 3.2
million in community, social and personal service sectors. The Economic Survey for 2017-18
shows that proportion of women employment is reduced over time from 36% to 24% in a decade
(from 2015-16).
Fig 1: The Female Labour Force Participation Rates in India for 12 years according to International
Labour Organisation (ILO)
Source: ILOSTAT database, 2017.
The women workers constitute the most vulnerable of the workforce since their employment is least
secure, informal, unskilled jobs, engaged in low-productivity and low-paying work. The report,
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while referring to the gender equality, met-preference to the male children and empowering women
with education and economic agency are critical challenges for the Indian economy. Neglect of the
born girl child leading to adverse health and education outcomes, which in turn, affects their
economic productivity and capacity to contribute or earn an income, impacting adult women’s
mobility, decision-making power and social and eventual economic emancipation. The reasons for
the low women employment in India are the variations in nature of population composition and
status of women (both economic and social) across different states. The factors which are affecting
the women employment in India are (1) Gender Differences, (2) Access to education leading to
higher aspirations and (3) Lack of quality employment opportunities. Rural and Young women in
India are being moving into non-traditional professional jobs such as software and communication
industry. But the rate of hiring of women during 2018 is only 26% in the top roles. It is expected
that increasing women labour force participation by 10% points could increase the Indian GDP in
the coming years. Hence, there is need for creation of more avenues for jobs by way of fitting the
women into the higher responsibilities and improving the skills. The projections show that by 2027,
the working age population in India will be almost 20% of the entire global labour force.
Table 2: Labour participation rates by gender and by age group, India, 2000 and 2008
Source : International Labour Organisation, Laborsta (EAPEP simulations)
The Gender Difference and consequently preference for the male child and adult has an impact on
the economic capacities of women from birth. Male preference and consequently low regard for
females leads to inadequate health and education opportunities, from a very young age. Improper
nutrition and lack of education deters women from being healthy contributing members of the work
force. Similarly, while access to education for females has increased, many economists have
theorized that as education empowers women, employment choices for them become more
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stringent. Both social norms and lack of quality employment opportunities have an impact on the
employment options for women with secondary and tertiary education. This phenomenon is higher
in urban population, whereas significantly larger portion of women in the rural population are part
of the work force. Lack of quality employment opportunities is common in rural regions comparing
with that of urban regions. The report, shows that unemployment rate (UR) for women in rural
areas are 47/1000 compared to 21/1000 in urban areas. The female being the more vulnerable
gender, they are tending to migrate to the urban areas for the want of employment and are being
employed as contractual and temporary labourers in house hold, service based and domestic
helpers.
Table 1 : Labour Force participation rate and Unemployment Rate (per 1000) for persons aged 15
years and above according to Usual Principal Status Approach (ps) for each State in India
Source: Report on 5th Annual Employment – Unemployment Survey 2015-16, Ministry of Labour.
Report by World Economic Forum states that India’s low labour force participation rate for women
is due in part to an increase in women continuing their education, the availability of flexible
scheduling and the proximity of work locations. Rural women are leaving India’s workforce at a
faster rate than urban women. Young women are moving into non-traditional professional jobs, for
example in communications. However, in 2018 only 26% of surveyed companies had hired women
in the top-five job roles in the past five years. Increasing women’s labour force participation by 10
percentage points could add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025. Reaching gender parity would
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have a bigger impact in India than in any other region in the world. India’s youthful demographic
will add 234 million workers to the labour force by 2027. India’s Labour Force Will Soon Become
the Largest in the World. By 2027 the working-age population in India will be almost 20% (18.6%)
of the entire global labour force.
The Women are employed in the form of Regular / Permanent employees, Contractual and
Outsoured employments. The Women workers in general are subjected to various types of problems
and harassments at workplace. The employment is also in the form of Organised and Unorganised
Sectors. The Organised Sectors includes the Government and Private jobs, whereas the
Unorganised employments include the casual and temporary jobs by individuals, support services,
household and domestic works. The Government has framed different protective provisions in the
form of Acts, Rules, Regulations, Constitutional provisions, Codes, Implementation Agencies, etc.,
in support of the working women in India.
LAWS AFFECTING WOMEN AND LEGISLATIVE MEASURES:
The Sexual Harassment of Women at workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) Act
& Rules, 2013
The Building and Other Constructions (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of
Service) Act, 1996
The Factories Act, 1948.
The Inter State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Act, 1979.
The Plantations Labour Act, 1951.
The Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966.
The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961
Indian Penal Code (IPC)
The Mines Act, 1952
Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.