The 'Women In Labour' Podcast: Journalist Namita Bhandare on why Indian women drop out of paid work
4 years, 9 months ago

The 'Women In Labour' Podcast: Journalist Namita Bhandare on why Indian women drop out of paid work

Firstpost  

In this episode of the Women In Labour podcast, we examine the big picture of what impacts women in the workforce, what’s changed, and why there’s a decline in the number of working Indian women. Since 2005, the percentage of Indian women in paid work has dropped from 35 percent to less than 24 percent come, but no one is talking about why. *** Episode 1 | ‘Seriously, what’s going on?’ It’s hard to believe fewer Indian women are working now than 15 years ago. If you’re left wondering what, how, or why — this episode will examine the big picture of what impacts women in the workforce, what’s changed, and why this decline is happening.

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History of this topic

Women’s Earnings in India Show Sharp Decline
1 month ago

Women’s Earnings in India Show Sharp Decline

Deccan Chronicle  

Chennai: Notwithstanding the GDP growth numbers, the employment levels and earnings of women in India remain pathetic. The average gross earnings of self-employed women has declined 9 per cent in the past seven years, whereas the average earnings of regular wage earning or salaried women has just gone up by 29 per cent. Average monthly gross earnings of women engaged …

Why the increase in farm worker population is a worry
1 month ago

Why the increase in farm worker population is a worry

Live Mint  

Between 2017-18 and 2023-24, the number of Indians working in agriculture rose by 68 million. In India, while farms’ share in gross domestic product declined steadily over decades, the pace of decline in the share of agricultural workers in the workforce was slower. Women in the fields While the estimated number of men employed in agriculture rose by just 1.4 …

Economic imperative of women’s leadership in India’s private sector
1 month, 1 week ago

Economic imperative of women’s leadership in India’s private sector

Hindustan Times  

This decade is widely regarded as India’s, with the country poised to realise its vision of becoming a global economic powerhouse. Central to this transformation is India’s private sector, which plays a pivotal role in driving growth, innovation, and competitiveness, setting the stage for a robust and sustainable economic future. Building a pipeline of women to reach leadership roles can …

Economic Value of Unpaid Household Work in India: A Comprehensive Analysis
2 months, 2 weeks ago

Economic Value of Unpaid Household Work in India: A Comprehensive Analysis

The Hindu  

The article explores the economic value of unpaid household activities in India through the lens of unpaid care work and parenting. Using data from the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS), the authors estimate that unpaid household work contributes approximately ₹22.7 lakh crore to India's GDP, highlighting the significant role of women in the economy. The study advocates for policy reforms …

67.5% districts empowered women in decision-making, mobility: IIM-A study
3 months, 3 weeks ago

67.5% districts empowered women in decision-making, mobility: IIM-A study

Hindustan Times  

The decision-making power and asset ownership of women have seen a significant rise in India, according to a new study. The report said that women respondent in just 32.25% of districts felt they were able to achieve work-life balance, highlighting ongoing challenges with unpaid domestic work. {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} {{^userSubscribed}} {{/userSubscribed}} The study titled “Women’s Empowerment at the Subnational Level: Towards …

Liberating Women: CJI DY Chandrachud says, 'breaking patriarchal barriers leads to achievement & innovation'
3 months, 4 weeks ago

Liberating Women: CJI DY Chandrachud says, 'breaking patriarchal barriers leads to achievement & innovation'

Firstpost  

Delivering a keynote address at CNN News18 SheShakti 2024, CJI DY Chandrachud said that talking about women’s rights is ’not a woman’s thing, but it’s about all of us to engage in serious conversation' “Once you liberate women from the network of patriarchal social attitudes and provide to them a level playing field on the basis of equality of opportunity, …

New Book Details the Suffering of Women Workers in Informal Sector During COVID
4 months, 3 weeks ago

New Book Details the Suffering of Women Workers in Informal Sector During COVID

The Quint  

Within the realm of informal spaces in India, the profound impact of gender-differentiated exposure during the pandemic presented a complex web of challenges that women, especially those from marginalised backgrounds, navigate. Amidst the backdrop of the pandemic, the deeply entrenched socio-cultural and economic structures that have historically alienated women, placing them at a distinct disadvantage, became more apparent than ever. …

Women in Corporate Jobs Love Challenging Projects But Face Challenges After Maternity Leave: Aon
5 months, 2 weeks ago

Women in Corporate Jobs Love Challenging Projects But Face Challenges After Maternity Leave: Aon

Deccan Chronicle  

Mumbai: According to a survey by Aon India 90 per cent of women in corporate jobs in India were prepared to put in extra time, volunteer for challenging projects and upskill themselves to grow in their careers. However, 42 per cent of the women surveyed mentioned facing bias or potential bias at work and 37 per cent revealed they’ve experienced …

Hand rocking the cradle can change India
5 months, 3 weeks ago

Hand rocking the cradle can change India

New Indian Express  

There was a recent report that a multinational firm in Chennai had taken a policy decision against recruiting married women. With constitutional guarantees of equality in education and employment, women in India have achieved success in educational and professional fields and broken the glass ceiling when provided with opportunities. However, a large proportion of women do encounter subtle biases when …

Reshaping gender roles in India: Improving women’s economic outcomes
7 months ago

Reshaping gender roles in India: Improving women’s economic outcomes

Hindustan Times  

Women with children all across the globe face the daunting task of balancing career growth with caregiving responsibilities, which often leads to career stagnation and perpetuates several gender gaps in accessing decent jobs. Across G20 countries, without exception, women on average perform the majority of the daily time spent on unpaid care work, ranging from 90.5% in India to 60.2 …

‘Destruction of jobs’: India election turns spotlight on a dream gone sour
8 months, 1 week ago

‘Destruction of jobs’: India election turns spotlight on a dream gone sour

Al Jazeera  

India’s workforce is getting more informalised, and the quality of employment has suffered since the COVID-19 pandemic. Sahu’s experience is characteristic not only of India’s growing gig economy, but Even in the formal sector, about 18 percent of workers did not have work contracts that could protect them. ‘Slippage’ in job quality While India’s economy is pegged to grow at …

Lifting the burden keeping Indian women from work
8 months, 1 week ago

Lifting the burden keeping Indian women from work

New Indian Express  

Women’s work participation across the world has been low and its recovery from the post-pandemic period has been slow. The International Labour Organization’s World Employment and Social Outlook Report for 2023 reflects on this persistent gender gap and pegs women’s participation in the labour market at 47.4 percent, as compared to men’s at 72.3 percent. Apart from the ILO's highlight …

From women’s unpaid labour to ASHA wages, how are parties addressing the care work economy? | Explained
8 months, 2 weeks ago

From women’s unpaid labour to ASHA wages, how are parties addressing the care work economy? | Explained

The Hindu  

A rare sight was witnessed at an Amaravati rally— an Indian politician speaking about women’s unpaid labour at home and the cycle of caregiving. About unpaid labour of homemakers Research conducted by economists Ashwini Deshpande and Naila Kabeer in 2019 showed domestic and care work lowered the probability of paid work for women. Congress vows to “protect the rights and …

Rahul Gandhi talks about women’s unpaid domestic labour; netizens applaud: ‘Indian male politician has…’
8 months, 2 weeks ago

Rahul Gandhi talks about women’s unpaid domestic labour; netizens applaud: ‘Indian male politician has…’

Live Mint  

Lok Sabha Elections 2024: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has garnered netizens' attention, this time for all the right reasons. Magar har mahila, issh desh ki har mahila, 8 ghante ghar k bahar job karti hain aur, phir 8 ghante ghar mein job karti hain.” Rahul Gandhi is heard saying. Magar, 8 ghante ka aapko paisa milta hain; magar ghar mein …

Falling percentages, failing work conditions: A deeper look into women’s employment in India
8 months, 3 weeks ago

Falling percentages, failing work conditions: A deeper look into women’s employment in India

The Hindu  

It’s no secret that the number of women in the labour market is significantly lesser than that of men, but did you know that in India, when it comes to rural women in labour force, the number is not just low, but has been almost steadily declining over the years? And for rural women, it’s been steadily declining over time,” …

Employment scenario in India grim, says ILO report
9 months, 2 weeks ago

Employment scenario in India grim, says ILO report

The Hindu  

India’s youth account for almost 83% of the unemployed workforce and the share of youngsters with secondary or higher education in the total unemployed youth has almost doubled from 35.2% in 2000 to 65.7% in 2022, as per the India Employment Report 2024 released by the International Labour Organisation and the Institute of Human Development here on Tuesday. Paradoxical improvements …

The Influenchers: Powerful women shaping India
10 months ago

The Influenchers: Powerful women shaping India

New Indian Express  

Much before all it took to be an influencer was a cellphone, a selfie-stick and an Insta account to post saffron-painted nails or a whoopee dance on a moving train, there was—and is—the real deal. There are service innovators like Mehvish Mushtaq, the first Kashmiri woman to develop an Android application called ‘Dial Kashmir’ that provides addresses, contact numbers, and …

Fall and rise in women’s work participation
10 months, 1 week ago

Fall and rise in women’s work participation

The Hindu  

Arguably, the debate around trends in Indian women’s employment is only outclassed by a similar one regarding trends in poverty. The broad contours of the debate, mainly relying on data from the National Sample Surveys and Periodic Labour Force Surveys, are the following: the work participation rate for women ages 15 and above fluctuated around 42% between 1993-94 and 2004-05, …

The burden of women in construction
10 months, 1 week ago

The burden of women in construction

The Hindu  

March 08, 2024 01:14 am | Updated 12:00 pm IST Low female labour force participation remains a pressing concern in India. Analysing quantitative data from the TUS alongside qualitative primary data helps us scrutinise and understand not just how much time women spend on paid work but also the nature of their work in particular sectors. According to TUS data, …

The determinant in more women in the job market
10 months, 1 week ago

The determinant in more women in the job market

The Hindu  

There is growing demand from social scientists, governments and international organisations, such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, that women’s participation in the economy/labour market should increase to promote economic growth of India. Consequently, they overcrowd in stereotyped low productivity jobs and lag behind men in all average labour market outcomes such as participation, wages, and diversification …

Median salaries for women rises 28% in 2024; 2.8 crore out of 7 crore applicants are female: Report
11 months, 1 week ago

Median salaries for women rises 28% in 2024; 2.8 crore out of 7 crore applicants are female: Report

Live Mint  

New Delhi, Dec 24 Women accounted for an impressive 2.8 crore job applications, out of a total of seven crore in 2024, marking a 20 per cent increase from 2023, revealed a new report. The total of seven crore job applications, which itself is a "25 per cent year-on-year surge", according to the report, is primarily driven by heightened workforce …

Bond route to improving female presence in labour
11 months, 1 week ago

Bond route to improving female presence in labour

Hindustan Times  

American economist Claudia Goldin’s Nobel Prize win last year threw into focus the conversation on women and work. However, 2023 saw early signs of an upswing, with the Periodic Labour Force Survey reporting that 31.6% of women across urban and rural India are part of the workforce. Evidence from around the world shows that skilling is a sector well primed …

More women take to STEM at college. But can India Inc stem their exit from jobs?
11 months, 2 weeks ago

More women take to STEM at college. But can India Inc stem their exit from jobs?

Live Mint  

The country has seen a remarkable rise in women joining colleges, and many of them are studying science and technology courses, but that has failed to significantly improve the diversity quotient at corporate India. Yet, the high number of women graduates will take a while before they boost gender diversity in India Inc. During and after the pandemic, a large …

India starts survey to assess women participation in workforce
11 months, 2 weeks ago

India starts survey to assess women participation in workforce

The Hindu  

The Union Ministries of Labour & Employment and Women & Child Development have started a joint survey on increasing women participation in the workforce. The survey was announced by Union Minister Smriti Irani in New Delhi at a function “Women in the Workforce for Viksit Bharat” on Tuesday. Latest PLFS data The latest results of the Periodic Labour Force Survey, …

Women are losing out to men in India’s jobless growth
1 year, 1 month ago

Women are losing out to men in India’s jobless growth

Live Mint  

The share of women in regular salaried jobs in urban India dropped from 54% in the first quarter to 52.8% in the second quarter, according to quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey data, Business Standard reported. Since salaried workers receive regular wages, that type of work is preferred to casual work or self-employment, which also includes working as unpaid household help …

How women's participation in business influences the economy | Explained
1 year, 1 month ago

How women's participation in business influences the economy | Explained

India Today  

Women around the world play a pivotal role in maintaining the stability and prosperity of their families. However, when it comes to entrepreneurship, business endeavours have, for years, been associated with men, thereby limiting women's opportunities to showcase their abilities. Nishtha Yogesh, Founder and CEO, Hunar online course, has shared how, despite facing numerous challenges, such as poor access to …

The big threat to India’s demographic dividend
1 year, 1 month ago

The big threat to India’s demographic dividend

Live Mint  

Bengaluru: In a short press release, dated 13 October, the Ministry of Women and Child Development announced that the Female Labour Force Participation Rate for 2022-23 had improved significantly over the previous year by 4.2 percentage points to 37%. Non-obvious insights View Full Image One of the most under-reported trends is that agriculture, which is the least productive undertaking, is …

The challenges of American and Indian women from a Goldin lens
1 year, 2 months ago

The challenges of American and Indian women from a Goldin lens

Live Mint  

Recognition for Claudia Goldin’s work may have come late but for several reasons it might be all the sweeter. Goldin’s body of work has already had a major impact on several key gender equality issues, such as women’s education, participation in the labour force, gender wage gaps and discrimination in hiring. Goldin’s U-shaped curve made eminent sense in the Indian …

Burden of care work: Gender's impact on the wage gap
1 year, 2 months ago

Burden of care work: Gender's impact on the wage gap

Hindustan Times  

In 1989, Claudia Goldin became the first woman to be given tenure in the economics department at Harvard University. According to the International Labor Organization, unpaid care work is estimated to be one of the major barriers to women’s entry into the labour force. In India, conversations about recognising unpaid care work have been in the public sphere for many …

Closing the gender pay gap: Strategies for equality in the workplace
1 year, 4 months ago

Closing the gender pay gap: Strategies for equality in the workplace

Hindustan Times  

The gender pay parity discussion has been at the centre stage for decades. Some of the oft-articulated reasons include the discrimination women face throughout their employee life cycle; the tendency of women to concentrate on lower-paying occupations like administration; the likelihood of women taking more frequent career breaks due to family responsibilities; and limitations around irregular work hours and flexibility …

DC Edit | Women's employment a steep challenge
1 year, 4 months ago

DC Edit | Women's employment a steep challenge

Deccan Chronicle  

India is the most populous nation on earth and more than half of its people, 52 per cent to be precise, are aged below 30. Given that India’s sex ratio is almost evenly poised, about 35 crore women, a number almost equal to the whole population of the United States, belong to this group. Pit this against the current data …

Women domestic workers of Bengaluru demand fair wages and social security
1 year, 5 months ago

Women domestic workers of Bengaluru demand fair wages and social security

The Hindu  

Chenamma, who once worked as a domestic worker, is struggling to find work. Organised by the Domestic Workers Rights Union and spearheaded by activist Geeta Menon, the event sought to address hardships faced by these workers in the city, including poor working conditions and denial of wages. Venkatesh, social-political activist Akkai Padmashali, environmental activist and ex-MLA Sowmya Reddy, retired IAS …

Are women paying the price as work shifts back to office space?
1 year, 6 months ago

Are women paying the price as work shifts back to office space?

The Hindu  

In May this year, Susheela Pavate, 41, quit her high-paying tech job after a disagreement with her line manager about mandatorily reporting to the office four days a week. “After three years of working from home, I found the switch tough, along with the long commute to work,” says the mother of two. “There might be other reasons, but intuitively, …

A call to action: How Indian men can support working women’s progress
1 year, 9 months ago

A call to action: How Indian men can support working women’s progress

Live Mint  

In a standard economic model, agents maximize utility across goods, services and leisure. My analysis reveals that working women spend significantly less time on leisurely activities than working men and also compared to women who do not spend any time on employment-related activities. The TUS was a national representative sample that measured, in 30-minute intervals from 4am onwards, the time …

As India’s population soars above all other nations, fewer women have jobs
1 year, 9 months ago

As India’s population soars above all other nations, fewer women have jobs

LA Times  

Sheela Singh cried the day she handed in her resignation. The women’s employment rate peaked at 35% in 2004 and fell to about 25% in 2022, according to calculations based on official data, said Rosa Abraham, an economist at Azim Premji University. A national jobs crisis is one reason for the gap, experts say, but entrenched cultural beliefs that see …

As India’s population soars above all, fewer women have jobs
1 year, 9 months ago

As India’s population soars above all, fewer women have jobs

Associated Press  

MUMBAI, India — Sheela Singh cried the day she handed in her resignation. It’s not only a problem for women like Singh, but a growing challenge for India’s own economic ambitions if its estimated 670 million women are left behind as its population expands. ___ The women’s employment rate peaked at 35% in 2004 and fell to around 25% in …

Analysis | As India's population booms, where are its working women?
1 year, 9 months ago

Analysis | As India's population booms, where are its working women?

The Hindu  

Pinky Negi, an Indian teacher with two master's degrees, loved her old job at a public school in the Himalayan foothills. Less than a third of Indian women are working or actively seeking work, data shows, despite progress such as better educational attainment, improved health, falling fertility rates and more women-friendly labour policies. Policy changes that could rectify these problems …

Women’s work is not valued properly: Indian development economist Jayati Ghosh
1 year, 10 months ago

Women’s work is not valued properly: Indian development economist Jayati Ghosh

The Hindu  

In her 2022 book, The Making of a Catastrophe, on the disastrous economic fallout of COVID-19, Indian development economist Jayati Ghosh writes that job losses and food insecurity were significantly higher for women. India is among one of the few countries that did not even achieve the MDGs for maternal health, and since then the pandemic has dramatically worsened the …

International Women's Day | SHE makes remarkable contributions in North East India amid challenges and opportunities
1 year, 10 months ago

International Women's Day | SHE makes remarkable contributions in North East India amid challenges and opportunities

Firstpost  

While women make up 48 per cent of India’s population, their contribution to the country’s GDP is a mere 17 per cent. Therefore, it is crucial to promote the concept of women’s equal rights and empowerment in politics, economics, and socio-cultural development North East India is a region that is home to many remarkable women who have made significant contributions …

Why women get fewer jobs and earn lesser wages than men in India
1 year, 10 months ago

Why women get fewer jobs and earn lesser wages than men in India

The Hindu  

Published : Feb 27, 2023 12:39 IST Following the announcement by the Board of Control for Cricket in India in October last year of equal pay for all men and women Team India cricketers, the highest bid received by a cricketer in the inaugural Women’s Premier League is being celebrated as a watershed moment, not just in India but globally. …

Addressing gender inequalities: India needs bold steps
1 year, 11 months ago

Addressing gender inequalities: India needs bold steps

Hindustan Times  

India, which assumed presidency of G20 this year, has stated that it will prioritise inclusive growth and development, with women empowerment and representation at the forefront of its G20 discussions. This indeed is a desirable objective, given the large gender inequalities that exist in several G20 member countries, especially in India, which also gets reflected in its overall human development …

Measuring women’s work participation: why it is important to get it right
1 year, 11 months ago

Measuring women’s work participation: why it is important to get it right

The Hindu  

February 11, 2023 12:44 pm | Updated 09:38 pm IST The 2022-23 Economic Survey should be credited for acknowledging that official statistics may have inadequately captured the true nature of women’s work in India. The Economic Survey has listed three sources of measurement error: using very broad categories that club productive economic activity with domestic unpaid work ; asking single-shot …

What women need to participate in the changing world of work
1 year, 11 months ago

What women need to participate in the changing world of work

Hindustan Times  

The world of work is changing rapidly - technology, innovation, the climate crisis, and demographic shifts are some of the important drivers for the future of work. Thus, providing universal social protection, upskilling women, supporting their shift from informal to formal work and promoting entrepreneurship are essential to reduce their vulnerability and ensure decent working conditions. Tech-enabled emerging sectors that …

Women workers in informal sector earn 30-40 pc less than their male counterparts: Report
2 years ago

Women workers in informal sector earn 30-40 pc less than their male counterparts: Report

India TV News  

According to a report that highlights gender inequality in the informal sector, women workers in the Indian construction and real estate sector earn 30-40 per cent less than their male counterparts Consulting firm Primus Partners and World Trade Center on Monday released a report 'Pink Collar Skilling: Unleashing the Women's Power in the Real Estate Sector' highlighted several concerning points …

Many Can Learn from India's Health Systems; Put Women in Positions of Power: Melinda Gates to News18 - News18
2 years, 1 month ago

Many Can Learn from India's Health Systems; Put Women in Positions of Power: Melinda Gates to News18 - News18

News 18  

Melinda French Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is on a visit to India. In an exclusive interview with CNN-News18 on Tuesday, she spoke at length about India’s Covid vaccination model, its digital strides, hosting G20, putting women in positions of power, and areas that need improvement. All talked about how people around them see them differently …

Why India can’t afford women staying out of labour market
2 years, 1 month ago

Why India can’t afford women staying out of labour market

Live Mint  

Separately, Oxfam India’s India Discrimination Report 2022 revealed that wages are lower for women overwhelmingly because of discriminatory practices and only slightly due to lack of education and work experience. Besides, a significant number of qualified women were found unwilling to join the labour market due to ‘family responsibilities’, said the report. A recent Bloomberg Economics analysis estimated that though …

Women in tech: Strategies that are followed by HR that break down the barriers for women
2 years, 2 months ago

Women in tech: Strategies that are followed by HR that break down the barriers for women

India Today  

The Indian technology sector is long known for gender biases as it has always been dominated by males. Though the number of women entering the IT sector is almost equal to that of men, their ratio in the industry certainly decreases while working at managerial levels. To win the race of gender diversity, women must be adept at using the …

Women fail to get due recognition as farmers
2 years, 4 months ago

Women fail to get due recognition as farmers

Deccan Chronicle  

Adilabad: When the founding fathers of the Indian republic sat down to write the Constitution, the feature that they gave utmost importance was equality. There is a strong notion among the people that men take up “hard work” that women can’t perform and therefore women’s work is quite easy. Despite the work that women undertake require unique skills, women won’t …

How Crimes Against Women Deter Female Workforce From Stepping Out For Work
2 years, 4 months ago

How Crimes Against Women Deter Female Workforce From Stepping Out For Work

News 18  

Recently, PM Narendra Modi exhorted the importance of having a flexible, work-from-home ecosystem that would immensely boost women’s participation in India’s labor force. This, is despite recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau, reporting a steady decline in India’s total crime rate, which fell by 7.6% to 61 lakhs last year. This means that the crime rate per lakh …

For women’s incomes, flexible work is no magic bullet
2 years, 4 months ago

For women’s incomes, flexible work is no magic bullet

Live Mint  

As India reimagines its growth trajectory for the next 25 years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made a call for putting “women power" to good use by adopting flexible work policies. View Full Image Women do seek flexible, hybrid work policies, but very few get it Unintended consequences Even as women seek flexibility, one must realize that such well-meaning workplace …

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