Structure:

Introduction: Mention about the patriarchal mindset in the Indian society. 

Body: List out the problems faced by Indian women at workplace. Try to cover various dimensions of workplace and not just sexual harassment. List out the legal safeguards for working women.

Conclusion: Conclude that empowerment of 50% of population is a pre-requisite for development of a country.

Content:

The position of women has steadily improved in India over the last 25 years. Employment gender gap, especially, has improved over the last 25 years. Conducive environment for women to balance work along with household responsibilities is being created almost everywhere. Today, there is more ambition and confidence amongst women, perhaps also helped by greater participation of men in household responsibilities, as well as greater organizational focus.

• To the extent that education is an indicator of the increasing role of women in economic growth, we have seen improvement. The gross enrolment ratio (GER) of girls in elementary education has improved dramatically, from 66% in 1991 to 97% in 2014.
• The GER of girls in higher education has also increased from 7.5% in 2002–03 to close to 20% in 2012–13. Women account for 51% of all post-graduates in India today.

Concerns:

However, not everything is ok with the present state. There are few concerns which are yet to be addressed. India is still lagging behind in many areas compared to other developing and developed countries. Statistics reveal that improvement in education hasn’t completely chipped away at the gender disparity in employment.

1. The World Economic Forum Global Gender Gap Report 2015 ranked India at 139 out of 145 countries on the economic participation and opportunity gap. India’s overall female labour force participation (FLFP)rate remains low and has, in fact, dropped from 35% in 1991 to 27% in 2014. As per World Bank data, the world average is around 50% and South Asia is at 31%.
2. According to a 2015 International Monetary Fund (IMF) working paper, in urban India, the recent FLFP rate is even lower at less than 20%; within this, segments such as graduates are around 30%, which although higher than the national average, have seen a decline since the 1990s.
3. Another study notes that women account for only 24% of senior management roles globally. In India, women held 19% of senior manager roles, but only 14% did so at the executive level. India is ranked among the worst of 48 countries in terms of female leadership.

Major challenges:

1. The right to safety and to choose the life they want is the biggest challenge even today.
2. Women who get paid for their work earn less than their male colleagues, even when doing the same work, which economists call the gender wage gap.
3. Female unemployment has been on the rise in some states of India.
4. Lack of infrastructure, transportation, and child care facilities have also held women back.

Steps Taken By the Government

Several steps have been taken by the government to ensure that women are empowered across the country. Many laws and policies have been formulated in recent years to encourage women’s participation in the workforce. Some of those are:

• The Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017
  • The amendment provides for 26 weeks of paid maternity instead of 12 weeks.
  • The Bill introduces a provision wherein an employer may permit a woman to work from home after the period of paid leave.
  • The Bill introduces a provision that requires every establishment with 50 or more employees to provide crèche facilities within a prescribed distance.
  • The Bill has faced criticism for excluding paternity leave. There are also apprehensions that the act will disincentivise the corporates from hiring women.
• The labour ministry issued an advisory to the state pertaining to the safety of women under the Factories Act 1948, which clearly stated that the organisation will have to provide safe commuting facilities for women working at late hours.
  • Pickup and drop facilities for women working latewill help create a strong infrastructure to create an enabling environment for working women.
• Sexual Harassment Electronic-Box (SHe-box)
  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development (WCD) has launched an online platform to enable women employees working in both the public and private organisations to file complaints related to sexual harassment at the workplace.
  • It has been launched to ensure the effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013.
  • Once a complaint is submitted to the portal, it will be directly sent to the Internal Complaints Committee of the concerned Ministry or department.