Alleviation: An International Journal of Nutrition, Gender & Social Development, ISSN 2348-9340
Volume 6, Number 6 (2019), 1-9
© Arya PG College, Panipat & Business Press India Publication, Delhi
www.aryapgcollege.com
Status and Socio Economic Profile of Women Workers Especially in Unorganised Sectors of India
Vijay Kumar & Vidushi Sharma
Asstt. Planning Officer, Department of Economic and Statistical Analysis, Karnal (Haryana), India
Research Scholar, Singhania University
(Rajasthan), India
mail: v_jay1977@yahoo.com
Abstract
In India, there is a major role of women in working sector. Out of total population of females in India, 25.41per cent of the females are working in one or another sector. In India unorganized or informal sector constitutes a pivotal part of the Indian economy. A high proportion of socially and economically underprivileged sections of society are concentrated in the informal economic activities. India is a traditional country and there is diversity in religion, culture and customs. Role of the women in India mostly is limited to domestic issues. Informal employment is generally a larger source of employment for women than for men in the developing world. Many of these women workers are primary earners for their families. Their earnings are necessary for sheer survival. Majority of women work in unorganized sectors for low wages due to low level of skills, illiteracy, ignorance and surplus labour and thus face high level of exploitation. The social and economic profile of female workers is greatly affected by the nature of industrial sector where they work. In this paper, an attempt was made to know the status of female workers and their participation in working.
Keywords:Socio-Economic Profile, Status of Female Workers, Unorganized Sector.
Introduction
Women’s work most of the time goes unrecognized and the benefits hardly reach them. They enter into the labour market only when the economic compulsions force them to supplement the meagre family earnings. The concept to work as a supplementing or balancing force in the family has made them susceptible to all sorts of discriminatory treatment and exploitation (Physically, economically and socially) in the field of employment.
At the root of all malaise that women suffer in employment is mainly due to the absence or poor quality of education that they get in Indian society. Indian history reveals that so long as women are equally educated, they had equal rights. Gradually they are withdrawn from education and thereafter they become second grade citizen. Thus, for thousands of years, women have been made silent and invisible not only by pressure against them for playing any role outside the home but also by lack of education. Education is essential in the process of women gaining confidence, self-esteem and the skills to equip them in the struggle for equal rights. The present study was undertaken with the following objectives:
1) To study the status of women workers in India.
2) To study the socio-economic profile of women workers in unorganized sector.
Methodology
The study is a descriptive one. The secondary data were collected from different sources i.e. magazines, articles, journals, text books and websites.
Results and Discussions
Status of Workers in India
In India, the total population according to 2011 census, was 121,05,69,573 out of which 62,31,21,843 were males and 58,74,47,730 were females (Table 1). In rural India, the population was 83,34,63,448 out of which 42,76,32,643 were males and 40,58,30,805 were females. The population of urban areas was 37, 71,06,125, out of which 19,54,89,200 were males and 18,16,16,925 were females.
The percentage of female workers out of total population was 25.51 and for rural and urban, it was 30.02 and 15.44 respectively.
The Sex-Wise Distribution of Workers and Percentage of Cultivators, Agricultural Labourers, Workers in Household Industry and Other Workers
Out of total female workers of India, 24.01 per cent females were engaged as cultivators, 55.21 per cent as agricultural laborers, 5.71 per cent as household industry workers and 29.18 per cent as other workers (Table 2).
Table 2: Sex-Wise Distribution of Workers and Percentage of Cultivators, Agricultural Labourers, Workers in Household Industry and Other Workers (According to 2011 census)
Literacy Rate by Sex in India
In 1951, the literacy rate of females was 8.86 per cent only, out of total literacy rate of India i.e.18.33 per cent, it increased upto 65.46 per cent in 2011, however the literacy rate in total was 74.04 per cent (Table 3).
Work Participation Rate by Sex in India
The work participation of females among the total was 12.11 per cent in 1971 which increased upto 25.5 per cent in 2011 (Table 4).
Ranking of Female Participation Rate in India
In 2011, with the 44.8 per cent female participation, Himachal Pardesh ranked 1st and with 44.7 per cent and 39.7 per cent female participation, Nagaland and Chhatisgarh remained on 2nd and 3rd position in ranking (Table 5).
Literacy Rate in India by States
In total literacy rate, the Kerala State was number 1 with 93.9 per cent and Lakshadweep and Mizoram are predecessors with 92.3 per cent and 91.6 per cent respectively (Table 6). However in case of female literacy rates, Karala State is also at number 1 but Mizoram State stood 2nd with 89.4 per cent and Lakshadweep remains at 3rd position with 88.2 per cent of literacy rate.
Socio-Economic Profile of Women Workers in Unorganized Sector
A brief generalized account of the conditions of women workers is being given below:
Double Burden of Work
The problems of the women workers in the unorganized sector in particular deserve special emphasis because of their marginalized position within the class of workers. The double burden of work is even more arduous when they have to perform a reproductive role at home front as well as long hours to obtain a subsistence wage at the centre of employment. A reproductive role of women is less visible and less recognized by the society. They engage in multiple livelihood activities to fulfill their productive and reproductive role.
Gender Discrimination
Gender discrimination at the workplace is subtle and is reflected in the nature of work performed, valuation of the skills and the technology used by men and women. Generally lower wage rate jobs are assigned to women and higher wage rate jobs are assigned to men. Singh et al (2002) reported that women workers suffered from vital disadvantages comparative to men in their search for employment opportunities, lower real wages, increased uncertainties and irregularities of employment. They did not possess much of skill, training and education for the type of work they perform. Thus, women in the unorganized sector are oppressed sections of the society as they live under subdued conditions with family and children, devoid of proper living and working conditions, even they receive humiliating treatment from the contractors.
Occupational Profile
In the unorganized sector, women are engaged in almost all kinds of activities such as livestock, forestry, fishing, plantation, construction, retailing, beedi making, bangle making, pottery, embroidery, stitching etc. Most of the women work as casual labourers in agriculture, construction, brick-making, coir, or as own account workers in handloom weaving, basket weaving and vending fish/ vegetables. Some of the newer activities are floriculture, poultry and livestock rearing, garment making, food processing and fish processing etc.
A large proportion of food processing in the unorganized sector is carried out by women using the traditional skills in many primary food processing areas. The informal or unorganized service sector is expanding too, generating large scale openings of opportunities for women. The largest increase in employment opportunities come from domestic service, education including home tuition, childcare and health services. Unfortunately, these women workers have received little attention with the result that their earnings remain low and their employment insecure.
Wages and Earnings
Krishnamoorthy (1999) observed that agarbatti rollers whether home or factory based were paid on a piece-rate basis. Earnings varied across states with workers in Karnataka appearing to be somewhat better placed in contrast to their counterparts in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh, the other two states for which estimates were available. Workers here were paid at a rate of Rs. 9 per 1000 sticks and at an average productivity of 4000 sticks per full working day resulted in an effective wage rate of Rs. 36 per day. The average worker managed to earn about Rs. 1000 per month. In Gujarat, the rate was much lower at Rs. 5 per 1000 sticks and combined with lower productivity rates yielded the incomes in the range of Rs. 325 per month. Payment in both these states was reported to be on a monthly basis. In Andhra Pradesh, a rate of Rs. 6 per kilo of masala processed was reported. Earnings for a family of six were reported in the range of Rs. 400 to 800 for a six day week implying an effective wage of Rs. 12 to 20 per day. Further, if the product was rejected for quality reasons, the loss had to be borne by the workers lowering earnings further.
Working Conditions
The working conditions are another important aspect of the unorganized sector and are of particular importance to the women workers. The duration of working hours, nature of work, terms and conditions of payment and overtime payment are not satisfactory. Women in the informal sector are not getting service benefits as and when they quit the field. The facility of provident fund and insurance is also not provided.
Health Conditions
Due to diversified nature of the work in various kinds of unorganized activities, the health problems become a constraint for women workers. Nath (2009) highlighted the poor access to health services for women wage labourers in the informal sector in selected districts and blocks of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Chattisgarh. In all these three states, a large population of female workers was found to be engaged in agriculture, forestry and stone quarrying. These women started working as early as 18 years or even earlier and continued until past 55 years. Working in extreme conditions had led to a number of health risks both due to the heavy work burden and nature of their work. Sufferings from muscular aches and pains, injuries, exhaustion, weakness, fever and swelling of feet were quite common and went untreated.
Sexual Harassment
According to Paul and Agarwal (1997), sexual harassment includes physical contact and advances and verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature that is unwelcome or humiliating to the women. Incidences of sexual harassment are more in informal sector. Mines, Minerals and People (2003) pointed out that in Orissa, women are exposed to the exploitation in various forms.
Social Security Provisions for Women Workers
The basic idea of social security is to use social means to prevent deprivation and vulnerability to deprivation. Dreze and Sen (2002) distinguish between two aspects of social security: ‘protection’ and ‘promotion’. The former is concerned with preventing a decline in living standards in general and in the basic conditions of living in particular. The later has the objective of enhancing normal living conditions and helping people overcome regular and persistent deprivation.
Thus, the position of women workers in unorganized sector today remains as it was in the past, in spite of increasing number of legislations, committees and commissions and study groups for their benefits, there seems to be no impact of the constitutional provisions regarding equality on the social and economic life of women in our country. Legislations enacted during the last three decades are out of reach for most of women workers because by and large, they have neither the mental awareness nor financial resources to take advantage of these provisions.
Conclusion
As the ratio of female workers showed increased trends from 1971 to 2011. It is quite good for Indian economy but the socio-economic conditions of the female workers are very miserable. The status of women in the country should be good. As Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru has said, “You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women”. Unorganized sector work is characterized by low wages that are often insufficient to meet minimum living standards including nutrition, long working hours and hazardous working conditions, lack of basic services such as first aid, drinking water and sanitation at the work sites. In order to improve the economy of nation, the conditions of women in the unorganized should be improved
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