ASSIGNMENT

WOMEN AND ECONOMY: PRODUCTIVE AND

NON-PRODUCTIVE WORK, WOMEN IN
ORGANISED AND UNORGANISED SECTOR,
WOMEN AND POLITICS: POLITICAL ROLE
AND PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN

SUBMITTED TO: MS. BINCY KF SUBMITTED BY: FATHIMA SANIYA

DEPT OF SOCIOLOGY 3rd MA INTEGRETED SOCIOLOGY

CARMEL COLLEGE MALA CARMEL COLLEGE MALA

SUBMITTED ON: 15/12/2022

 CONTENT

 INTRODUCTION
 ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
 PRODUCTIVE AND NON-PRODUCTIVE WORK
 WOMEN IN ORGANISED AND UN-ORGANISED SECTOR
 WOMEN AND POLITICS
 CONCLUSION
 REFERENCE
 INTRODUCTION
When Amartya Sen had taken up the issue of women’s welfare, he was accused in India of
voicing foreign concern. He was told, Indian women don’t think like that about equality. But
he argued saying that if they don’t think like that, they should be given an opportunity to
think like that.

The International Labour Organisation says that women represent:

The ILO’s goal is to promote equal opportunities for women and men to obtain Decent Work.
This is paid productive work carried out in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human
dignity. ILO considers gender equality a critical element in efforts to achieve its four strategic
objectives:

Promote and realize standards and fundamental principles and rights at work Create greater
opportunities for men and women to secure decent employment and income Enhance the
coverage and effectiveness of social protection for all Strengthen tripartism and social
dialogue

 50% of the population

 30% of the labour force
 Perform 60% of all working hours
 Receive 10% of the world’s income
 Own less than 1% of the world’s property

Women’s economic participation can be mentioned in the field of production of goods and
services accounted in the national income statistics. However, female work participation has
always been low at 26 per cent compared to 52 per cent of men. The problem is that women
have always been at work; only the definitions of work and work plan have never been
defined or realistic to include their contribution to the economy and the society. India
continues the struggle to provide its women with equal opportunity. In 2019, before the
Covid-19 pandemic, female labour force participation in India was 23.5 per cent, according to
ILO estimates.
The pandemic has made this situation worse. It has hit women disproportionately because
they work in sectors that have been the hardest hit; works more than men do in the informal
economy; or because they are the primary caregivers at home. As the recovery of the Indian
economy requires a concerted effort of both government and citizenry, women can become a
critical part of the economic recovery. Thus, there is a need to ameliorate long-standing
issues that hamper female labour force participation in India.

 Why do women work?

Women work mainly for economic independence, for economic necessity, as some women
are qualified enough to work, for a sense of achievement and to provide service to the
society. Most Indian women by and large undertake productive work only under economic
compulsion. This is the reason for high female participation rates in economically under
privileged communities. Usually, upper class women are limited to homes. Work
participation rate is found to be higher among rural women (27%) than the urban women
(10%). women usually go in for temporary and standby jobs because of the prevalent
hesitancy to employ women in regular jobs and providing them with good working
conditions. The main workers are those who work for the major part of the year. Female main
workers constitute 14.65% of the population and men- 50.54%. Female marginal workers
constitute 6.26% of the population, whereas males being only 0.98% Most of the women are
found to be employed in agricultural activities and in the unorganised sector. The
employment of women is high in the unorganised sector such as part time helpers in
households, construction centre, tanneries (setting, parting and drying), match and beedi
industries etc. An estimate by the World Bank shows that 90% of the women working in the
informal sector are not included in the official statistics and their work is undocumented and
considered as disguised wage work, unskilled, low paying and do not provide benefits to the
workers. Statistics show that vast majority of Indians work in Agriculture where 55% of the
population is female agricultural workers and 30% of the men are labourers and not
cultivators. The female labour force constitutes one third of the rural workers in India.
Women workers face serious problems and constraints related to work such as lack of
continuity, insecurity, wage discrimination, unhealthy job relationship, absence of medical
and accident care etc. The exploitation of female labourers in rural regions happens both
horizontally and vertically. It is time to address the issues and discuss the kind of policy
reforms and institutional changes required for the emancipation and empowerment of rural
female labour force.

ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
Benefits of Economic Empowerment

 Women’s economic empowerment is central to realizing women’s rights and

gender equality. Women’s economic empowerment includes women’s ability to
participate equally in existing markets; their access to and control over productive
resources, access to decent work, control over their own time, lives and bodies; and
increased voice, agency and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at
all levels from the household to international institutions.

 Empowering women in the economy and closing gender gaps in the world of
work are key to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 5, to achieve gender
equality, and Goal 8, to promote full and productive employment and decent work for
all; also Goal 1 on ending poverty, Goal 2 on food security, Goal 3 on ensuring health
and Goal 10 on reducing inequalities.

 When more women work, economies grow. Women’s economic empowerment

boosts productivity, increases economic diversification and income equality in
addition to other positive development outcomes. For example, increasing the female
employment rates in OECD countries to match that of Sweden, could boost GDP by
over USD 6 trillion, recognizing, however, that. growth does not automatically lead to
a reduction in gender-based inequality. Conversely, it is estimated that gender gaps
cost the economy some 15 percent of GDP.

 Increasing women’s and girls’ educational attainment contributes to women’s

economic empowerment and more inclusive economic growth. Education,
upskilling and re-skilling over the life course – specially to keep pace with rapid
technological and digital transformations affecting jobs—are critical for women’s and
girl’s health and wellbeing, as well as their income-generation opportunities and
 participation in the formal labour market. Increased educational attainment accounts
for about 50 per cent of the economic growth in OECD countries over the past 50
years. But, for the majority of women, significant gains in education have not
translated into better labour market outcomes.

 Women’s economic equality is good for business. Companies greatly benefit from
increasing employment and leadership opportunities for women, which is shown to
increase organizational effectiveness and growth. It is estimated that companies with
three or more women in senior management functions score higher in all dimensions
of organizational performance.
PRODUCTIVE AND
NON-PRODUCTIVE WORK

Productive work as anything that contributes to GDP which includes not only goods and
services, but rent and interest (but not on govt. bonds). Activities outside of these official
calculations are not counted, but probably should – black market activity, work done on one’s
own to be more productive, etc.

Useful is not always counted as productive, and activity productive. Productive Work means
productive work performed specifically for Triple-S or a Service Recipient, as appropriately
recorded under a labour tracking system or other systems acceptable to both Parties.
Productive labour is labour power within the sphere of production which is exchanged with
capital and which is the direct source of surplus value.

Productive labour helps to increase the existing goods and services produced in an economy
by the use of their knowledge and skill. Hence, GDP rises because of their efforts.

Non-productive time, including holidays, vacation time, sick leave or other personal time off,
education, training, travel, administrative, expense accounting, and management time (e.g.,
Supplier’s internal meetings, internal reporting, expense accounting), internal Supplier
process implementation work, and idle time between projects shall not be counted as
Productive Work. Further, except as agreed to as part of a Project, any time spent by
personnel in Supplier’s program management office or by any other personnel that perform
administrative or account level management functions shall not be considered Productive
Work.
Unproductive labour is labour power within the sphere of exchange (circulation) which is
exchanged with revenue, (i.e., wages and profits) and which is not a source of surplus value.
Unproductive labour does not produce any goods and services in an economy. Hence GDP
does not rise in this situation

 The economic empowerment of women for more productive and

inclusive societies

The lives of girls and women have changed dramatically over the past 50 years.
Today, more girls and women are literate than ever before. In OECD countries [ The
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) The Organization
for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is a unique forum where the
governments of 37 democracies with market-based economies collaborate to develop
policy standards to promote sustainable economic growth.] more women (40%) than
men (30%) obtain a tertiary degree and women now make up over 40% of the global
labour force. The pace of change has been astonishing, but progress has not come
easily.

Progress in closing gender gaps has been achieved in the areas of educational
enrolment, life expectancy and labour force participation. In contrast, change has
come slowly, or not at all, in many other dimensions: gender gaps in salaries, male-
female differences in the level of responsibility in house and care work, gaps in asset
ownership, and constraints on women’s agency in both the private and public spheres
all fall into this category.

Greater gender equality can boost economic growth, enhance productivity, improve
development outcomes for the next generation, and make institutions more
representative. Misallocating women’s skills and talent comes at a high economic
cost. The current level of gender-based discrimination is estimated to induce a loss of
up to US$12 trillion or 16% of the global income, and OECD research shows that
achieving parity in labour force participation rates between men and women in OECD
countries could boost global GDP by 12% over the next 20 years.

Countries have much to gain from increased female labour force participation in terms
of economic growth and welfare. But we must do it right: women should be fully
integrated in the labour force, not subjected to discriminatory gender wage gaps, nor
involuntarily confined to part-time employment and to low-paying, low productivity
and precarious jobs.

Empowering women in economic activities is a shared responsibility. We need all

countries, international organisations, and stakeholders on board. We need tailored
 policies for addressing our own national challenges, but we also need the support of
the international community to complement our efforts and, more generally, to
provide evidence-based advice on public action through better data, impact evaluation
and good practices.

WOMEN IN ORGANISED AND

UNORGANISED SECTOR

 ORGANIZED SECTOR
As the economy of India is expanding, the proportion of women working in the organised
sector is also increasing gradually. In the organised sector, we find two sub-sectors i.e. the
public sector and the private sector. In both these sectors women are involved in the
following types of activities:

(a) agriculture and allied occupations

(b) mining and quarry

(c) manufacturing

(d) electricity, gas and water

(e) construction

(f) wholesale, retail business and hotel and restaurants

(g) transport, storage and communication

(h) financial, insurance, real estate and business services

(i) community and social services.

It is important that in the wake of globalisation the patterns of women’s work participation in
these varieties of activities have changed. India is a vast country so there are diverse patterns
of women’s work participation in the organised sector.

Women’s work participation in the organised sector is qualitatively different from that in the
unorganised sector. You must have realised that in the organised sector, women workers are
employed following strict procedures of recruitment. They have specific educational and
training qualifications. They are entitled to several economic and social security benefits as
stipulated by the law of the land. However, women workers in general have been the victims
of the patriarchal social order. They are predominantly employed in the lower ranks of the
organisation as they are devoid of higher educational qualifications, expertise and skills due
to sustained pre-market discrimination that starts in the family, and with larger social
arrangements. Within the organised sector, women face several problems like inequality in
pay, inadequate benefits and problems of sexual harassment.

 UNORGANIZED SECTOR
The term 'unorganised' is often used in the Indian context to refer to the vast numbers of
women and men engaged in different forms of employment. These forms include home-based
work (e.g.rolling papads and beedis), self-employment (e.g., selling vegetables), employment
in household enterprises, small units, on land as agricultural workers, labour on construction
sites, domestic work, and many other forms of casual or temporary employment. The
unorganized sector is physically more visible in India. It is found in almost all the industrial
segments of the Indian economy, that is, in agriculture, industry, household and the services
sectors.In India, the formal sector which received signicantly large resources has failed to
provide employment to the growing labour force, resulting in the problem of labour force
explosion. It is estimated that the unorganised sector workers constitute 88% as per the 66th
round NSSO survey of 2011-12.

The World Bank believes that “gender equality is smart economics,” and there is no doubt
that women are central to broad-based economic and social development. According to
census 2011, women constitute 48.46 percent of the total population in India and about 25.67
percent of female population is designated as workers. Two National Labour Commissions,
along with several other international and national commissions, committees and conferences
in the last 50 years have documented the socio-economic conditions of workers in the
unorganized sector in India.
 WOMEN AND POLITICS
The term 'political participation' has a very wide meaning. It is not only related to 'Right to
Vote', but simultaneously relates to participation in: decision-making process, political
activism, political consciousness, etc. Women in India participate in voting, run for public
offices and political parties at lower levels more than men. Political activism and voting are
the strongest areas of women's political participation. To combat gender inequality in politics,
the Indian Government has instituted reservations for seats in local governments.

Women turnout during India's parliamentary general elections was 65.63%, compared to
67.09% turnout for men. India ranks 20th from the bottom in terms of representation of
women in Parliament.Women have held the posts of president and prime minister in India, as
well as chief ministers of various states. Indian voters have elected women to numerous state
legislative assemblies and national parliament for many decades. In the recent assembly
elections, 70 women made it to their state legislatures. But out of all winners, they made up
less than 9 per cent; their male colleagues will be an astounding 752 in number.

Recently 5 states have witnessed state assembly election in which women participation of
Bengal in election were the most. West Bengal, the best among the five states, will have just
14 per cent women, while Puducherry will have an assembly with only one woman as
member. Kerala with a marginal increase, the numbers have either remained consistent, or
have actually worsened as compared to the 2016 election. Despite the dismal numbers, or
rather because of them, the victory of each of these 70 women is remarkable, whether they
make exceptional leaders or not. The numbers are eventually a symptom of a political culture
that is deeply patriarchal, and often outright sexist, and for women to make it thus far can
often mean surviving a thousand battle cuts.

 Constitutional rights of women

The Constitution of India establishes a parliamentary system of government, and guarantees
its citizens the right to be elected, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble and form
associations, and vote. The Constitution of India attempts to remove gender inequalities by
banning discrimination based on sex and class, prohibiting human trafficking and forced
labour, and reserving elected positions for women.

The Government of India directed state and local governments to promote equality by class
and gender including equal pay and free legal aid, humane working conditions and maternity
relief, rights to work and education, and raising the standard of living. Women were
substantially involved in the Indian independence movement in the early 20th century and
advocated for independence from Britain. Independence brought gender equality in the form
of constitutional rights, but historically women's political participation has remained low.
 Women's participation in Politics

 The Constitution of India guarantees equality for both men and women
 Their participation is crucial in the policy formulation and regulation as they represent
nearly half of total population.
 They could act as role model for women empowerment and could bring behavioural
change in the society towards the women.
 More focused policies relating to women safety, education, child care, MMR, child
marriage, Domestic violence etc. if women are involved in decision making owing to
their emotional quotient towards these issues.
 For building a nation where women thrive and feel safe and respected Places with
women representatives have seen less corruption and improved efficiency.
 Various studies on panchayat have shown the positive effect of reservation on
empowerment of women
 RadhaDevi, sarpanch of village in Rajasthan who tried to focus on education of
children especially girl child.
 SushmaBhadu, sarpanch of Haryana village is popular for the "unveiling" of her
'ghunghat' in a largely patriarchal state is an excellent example
 In the absence of gender equality and women empowerment, human rights remain in
an inaccessible realm.

 Need for political participation of women

UNICEF cites the following reasons for the political participation of women:

 Political participation of women has the potential to change societies.

 It can have impact on outcomes for women and children especially in the distribution
of community resources.
 Their participation in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction is important
to ensure the safety and protection of children and vulnerable sections of populations
 CONCLUSION
Woman in contemporary society is the one of the most widely discussed topic nowadays. The
development level of society and its potential possibility depend on many factors, and the one
factor it is a woman, her position in society. This is mean that woman status serves as an
indicator of the general social atmosphere in society. In turn, the changes taking place in
society are reflected in women’s value system and their social value orientations.

Thus, defining the place and role of women in society is one of the most pressing issues of our
time. The growth of women’s economic activity and employment is one of the main trends
characterizing changes in the structure and directions of realization of labor potential in the
second half of the twentieth century in most developed countries of the world. However, it is
impossible to define the role and place in society without understanding what views of modern
women are in our society. Also, it is undeniable that the female image in the modern world has
undergone significant changes. And if vision of an ideal women is, in our opinion, related with
vision of mother. It is no coincidence that 3,75% of answers were: “The perfect woman is
woman like my mother”. But when we asked about modern women, the first answers were
independent and self-sufficient. So, as we can see in contemporary society women got more
freedom to do whatever she wanted to do. She began demand equality and dictate your own
rules (15%). She started to pay more attention to her desires and her needs. And, despite that
she has acquired negative qualities, but she has retained those positive qualities of an ideal
woman and also has add some new ones to the list. In our study, we found that the
contradictory views on women in today’s world most fully reflect the fact that women today
have a huge number of opportunities to do everything and to became whatever she wants.
 REFERENCE
 https://en.wikipedia.org/political_participation_in_India
 Women in Political and Public Life - OHCHRhttps://www.ohchr.org ›
women › WG_Global
 Women and Politics: Beyond Quotas - Madhu Kishwar