BENGALURU: A national study to understand reasons behind the declining female labour force in India was released recently by the Public Affairs Centre titled, ‘Will women be a part of India’s future workforce? The quest for sustainable and inclusive development’. The study found that Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), a skill development initiative scheme of the government, was found to be ineffective for women. It said that 59 per cent of them were not even aware of it.
“Of the 2,503 women who were surveyed on their employment status, family situation, education, health, and other social factors, it was found that social biases, family dynamics and culture were a major cause for the declining labour force. 80 per cent were found to be unemployed and 66 per cent had never worked before. Marriage, childcare and increasing family income were found to be reasons for them dropping out of work,” said Aparna Sivaraman, one of the researchers.
Of all the districts in India, three were selected for the study to represent low, mid and best female labour force participation. Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh (low), Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu (medium) and Mandi in Himachal Pradesh (high) were selected and their urban and rural areas were surveyed through a questionnaire format. Additionally, a qualitative audit of PMKVY centres were done.
Explaining the problems found with the skilling centres, Aparna said, “Firstly, there is inherent gender bias with courses offered. For example, Tailoring and beautician courses are for women and electrician and carpenter courses are for men. That apart, women are not getting placed. There is a gap in what is taught and what skills are needed to be applied. For example, they were taught manual tailoring machines while what is used on the job is electrical machines, thereby making the skills learnt uselessly.”
Additionally, the materials received in books are all in English instead of vernacular languages and this is a challenge for women, several of whom do not study beyond 9th or 10th standard. Even caste discrimination affects women’s work, the report found.
The report also found that women spent nearly five hours a day doing unpaid domestic work.
“Even if the family agrees to let her work outside, they expect her to do unpaid domestic chores, all by herself. This is not reasonable to expect of a working woman, which is why several of them quit their jobs post-marriage,” she added.