The value of unpaid work
Despite economic growth, decreased fertility rates, and increased higher education enrollments, women remain largely excluded from the workforce. What is behind this paradox?As per government estimates, women across different age groups spend exponentially more hours per day doing unpaid work like household chores or caregiving activities, than their male counterparts. An average Indian woman aged between 15 and 29 spends around 5.5 hours doing unpaid labor in a day whereas a man spends about 50 minutes on unpaid tasks. The value of unpaid labor of women across rural and urban areas in India was estimated to be over 22 trillion Indian rupees in 2019.
As the significance of care work gets recognized in multiple SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) goals, the demand for care facilities has soared across the globe but the investment in the care economy has lagged in India. Women’s entry and sustaining in the workforce necessitates greater investments in care infrastructure, policy intervention, and redistribution of care work at home.
Bridging the gap
Despite many challenges, women's representation and participation in various fields witnessed an increase in recent years. The current business landscape is undergoing a positive shift with an increasing number of women entering the field.Over 20 percent of MSMEs in India are owned by women. Although funding share has decreased in the last year, the thriving startup ecosystem has also given opportunities to numerous women entrepreneurs across sectors. The share of women in senior roles and positions has also been on the rise over the years. In rural areas, women's self-help groups (SHGs) have evolved from interest-based groups driven by savings to running profitable enterprises.
At the political level, the Women's Reservation Bill of 2023 which will ensure women occupy at least 33 percent of the seats in the state legislative assemblies and lower house of the Parliament is an optimistic move towards representation of women. At the time of the bill’s passage, about 14 percent of Lok Sabha Legislators were women.
To reap the benefits of its tremendous demographic dividend, India needs to harness the potential of its vast female population and bridge the gender gap to form a truly equal society spanning political, social, and economic spectrums.