Boost presence in workforce
INDIA, the world’s most populous country, is now also the fifth largest economy on the planet. And our GDP is expected to expand rather dramatically. Goldman Sachs Research (GSR) projects that India will become the second biggest economy by 2075. But for this lofty goal to be achieved, one of the key requirements is boosting the participation of the growing population in the labour force. This means not just getting more men to work but also boosting the participation rate of Indian women in the workforce. The GSR says what has been obvious to many: the main risk to the ambitious economic goal would be a stagnant labour force participation rate (LFPR) of women. Not only do far fewer women work at paid jobs in India compared to men, but GSR also says in its 2023 report that the LFPR for women has declined over the last 15 years. Government data, however, shows that the LFPR for women rose to 37 per cent by 2022-23, the highest in six years. That still means nearly two in three Indian girls/women above 15 years of age are not engaged in any economic activity.
The notoriously skewed sex ratio at birth in some of the most populous states of India remains a concern since millions of more boys than girls are born. Among persons younger than 25 years in 2023, there were 110 males per 100 females in India. So, more girls continue to die at birth than boys, and the number of women who work at paid jobs remains abysmally low.
Both these trends point to the need to prioritise women-centric government policies. The government has coined myriad slogans and launched policies promoting the wellbeing of women, but there is really little data to assess the efficacy of these schemes.
This year, the United Nations (UN) has put forth some actionable proposals for empowering and promoting women. One of the UN’s suggestions is investing in women. Over the years, India has laid out multiple programmes with fancy names to uplift women and invest in woman capital. The ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, for example, has helped in improving the all-India sex ratio at birth. In 2015-16, the number of girl children per 1,000 boys was 991, but by 2019-21, this had improved to 1,020 (as per data from the National Health & Family Survey-5). But many states continue to report a ratio much more skewed in favour of boys. Also, ensuring quality education for girls across all geographies/income strata within the country continues to remain a challenge. Another scheme, the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, has been a moderate success. It is a small deposit scheme for the girl child so that parents can save up to bear the cost of education and marriage of girls. As on December 31, 2023, only about 3.2 crore such bank accounts were operational. That’s a pittance, given our population size.
Gender-responsive financing is another UN ask this year. While presenting the Vote on Account in the Lok Sabha last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman spoke about mudra loans (for small businesses), female enrolment in higher education and other measures taken by the government. About 30 crore mudra loans have been given to women entrepreneurs; female enrolment in higher education is up by 28 per cent in 10 years; there is an ‘increasing participation of women in the workforce’; and at least two in three houses under a national scheme for rural housing have been given to either sole women owners or jointly with men. More than 83 lakh self-help groups with nine crore women are transforming the rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance, making nearly one crore women become ‘Lakhpati Didis’. While all these schemes indeed boost women’s access to finance and eventually their financial prowess, the numbers again indicate that their reach is rather limited. A significantly large number of women not only remain outside the workforce but also away from having any meaningful access to finances.
It is obvious that poverty can increase violence. Particular groups of women, including those living in poverty, face multiple forms of discrimination and increased risks of violence as a result. A UN report says poor girls are 2.5 times more likely to marry in childhood than those living in the wealthiest quintile. Women and girls living in poverty are more vulnerable to sexual exploitation, including trafficking. And those who experience domestic or intimate partner violence have fewer options to leave violent relationships due to their lack of income and resources. India has made significant strides in poverty reduction during the last few years, and multidimensional poverty has come down, with nearly 25 crore people escaping it in the decade up to 2022-23. Still, at least every 10th Indian is categorised as ‘poor’ in 2022-23, earning less than $2.5 (around Rs 205) a day. This, coupled with a lack of paid jobs and access to finances, makes for a pitiable situation for a large number of Indian women.
The UN has also emphasised the need for shifting to green economy and care society, supporting feminist change-makers. The impact of any crisis is rarely gender-neutral. Protracted conflicts and the accelerating effects of climate change have increased care demands on women and girls all over the world, including in India. Care work, a vital public good, underpins wellbeing and a thriving, sustainable economy. One of the sustainable development goals seeks to value unpaid care and domestic work and promote shared responsibilities within households. Yet, women and girls worldwide shoulder a disproportionate share of care work that is unpaid, unrecognised and undervalued. In these aspects, a fundamental shift in the mindset, especially among the deeply patriarchal Indian men, would likely generate better results than merely relying on government policies. India is on the cusp of major economic development. But unless women are encouraged to walk alongside men, lofty economic goals may remain a mere pipedream.
