Abandon prejudices for women's participation in workforce to rise
Summary
- IMF’s Gita Gopinath has highlighted the need for safety to raise women’s participation in the workforce. This is worth reiterating given the benefits it holds for the economy. But we need attitude changes so that women are able to work freely.
International Monetary Fund (IMF) deputy managing director Gita Gopinath recently observed that increasing workplace safety is an important factor in raising women’s participation in the labour force and the workforce (the former makes up for a broader cohort, of those looking for work, in addition to those who are at work and comprise the workforce).
This has particular resonance in India right now, given the shock and outrage across the country over the gruesome rape and murder of a medical intern at a Kolkata hospital earlier this month. IMF research shows that closing the gender gap in labour force participation rates (LFPR) can raise gross domestic product (GDP) in developing countries significantly.
If the gap between the LFPR of men and women is entirely closed, for instance, output could rise by more than a fifth, by IMF’s estimation. But even a smaller 6 percentage point-odd narrowing could drive a disproportionately larger 8% rise in economic output. So, it’s in an economy’s broader interest to have more women at work.
Also read: Workplace safety is not negotiable at any level
Unfortunately, even after counting the self-employed women in the workforce—no matter their earnings are only 38% of their male counterparts, and despite counting unpaid helpers as self-employed women—the female LFPR in India is only 37%, less than half the rate for men, and lower than Bangladesh’s 42%, and 47% for the world at large.
China’s figure for 2023 stood at 60%. This was down from the 70% level it had during its economy’s heydays of double-digit growth. Still, it’s clear there is plenty of scope for India to raise its female LFPR and also employ women in paid work.
Gopinath did not just call for a much larger presence of women at the workplace. She also called for sustained multidimensional reform to improve India’s growth rate.
Justice delivery needs to speed up, for instance, the quality of education must go up, the capital-intensity of growth must fall so as to create more jobs, import tariffs must come down, and land and labour reforms need to be pursued while the social security net is strengthened.
Also read: Married women and employment: Not a 'match made in heaven'?
All this is not, obviously enough, any blinding new insight. But since knowledge of what needs to be done has not automatically led to action, such advice is worth reiterating.
In any case, enhancing women’s participation at work does not get the policy attention that, for example, improving the ease of doing business receives.
So, what can be done to raise women’s LFPR, apart from improving safety at the workplace and on their way to and from the workplace? Societal prejudices inhibit women from working.
Also read: Safety first: Creepy cities are energy drains for half of us
There is the traditional notion that a woman’s place is at home where she needs to take care of the family and perform domestic chores so that the primary breadwinner, her husband, can go out and work. Many women also face restrictions on their movements.
For those fortunate enough to go out and work, they should be sheltered from night work as also hazardous jobs. Never mind if such restrictions prevent them from progressing in their career on par with men.
Such prejudices also colour the girl child’s progress right from infancy, disadvantaging her vis-à-vis her male siblings, be it on nutrition, medical attention, education, or an opportunity to build a career.
It is vital we break such prejudices to raise India’s female LFPR. That will entail changes ranging from a higher degree of urbanization to reform of societal attitudes, and division of labour within the family.
