Women’S Empowerment: a Conceptual Analysis

Exploring the Intersection of Gender Inequality and Occupational Segregation

by Avanish Pandey*,

- Published in Journal of Advances and Scholarly Researches in Allied Education, E-ISSN: 2230-7540

Volume 8, Issue No. 16, Oct 2014, Pages 0 - 0 (0)

Published by: Ignited Minds Journals

ABSTRACT

Women’s Empowerment educates and empowers women, who are homeless, withthe skills and confidence necessary to secure a job, create a healthylifestyle, and regain a home for themselves and their children. The entry of women into a specific trade signaled a downgrading of thetrade. With industrialization, women still earned one-third to one-half ofmen's wages. New occupations were added for women over time, but these for themost part were ones previously filled by males, but downgraded in status andpay for women. These jobs included secretaries and typists in businesses, storeclerks in the new department stores, and teaching. Increased demarcation in theindustrial economy was the strict delineation between men's and women's work.

KEYWORD

Women's empowerment, homelessness, job skills, confidence, healthy lifestyle, gender wage gap, industrialization, occupational segregation, secretaries, typists

INTRODUCTION

Women’s socio-economic empowerment is related to gender equality, the decrease of all kinds of violence against women [Abdin, 2008:1], their access to adequate income as a way to achieve long term bargaining capacity at home, in community and at the work place [Mosedale, 2005: 247]. Absar [2002], in her article titled Women Garment workers in Bangladesh, showed that female workers do not receive job contract papers during their recruitment process. Ahmed [2004] in her article The Rise of the Bangladesh Garment Industry: Globalization, Women Workers, and Voice, shows to what extent female garment workers have been able to express their voices at home and at work. Her study found that women workers have very limited voices at home because of patriarchy. Female workers have limited voices at the work place because they are not unionized through labor organizations [Ahmed, 2004].

The pattern of employment of women is very different among different countries: In developed countries, most of the women are employed in white collar jobs or as semiskilled operatives in manufacturing industries. In USA in 1975, there were 37 million women workers [46.3% of all women] and in 1995 this figure is around 60%. In India on the other hand, according to 1981 census, workforce participation by females was barely 15% [main workers] as against 51.6% amongst males. According to the 1991 census, the participation of female workers has increased to 16.03 % [main workers] In addition, 6.24% of females have been shown as marginal workers and the remaining women [305.2 million] are shown as a non-working population [Indian Labor Statistics, 1994, Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour, Shimla [1996]. The 1991 census also shows that of these 16.03% main women workers, 80.8% are employed in agriculture, 3.5 % in house hold industries, 4% in other industries, 0.3% in mining and quarrying, 0.6 % as construction workers and only 10.8% in other services.

REVIEW OF LITERATURE;

India today is at the cusp of a paradigm change in its growth and its position in the world. We (both men and women) must act decisively to capture this opportunity. We need to think big and scale up rapidly in each and every area, be it education, infrastructure, industry, financial services or equality of both genders. For around two centuries, social reformers and missionaries in India have endeavored to bring women out of confines in which centuries of traditions had kept them. According to the 2001 Census, the percentage of female literacy in the country is 54% up from 9% 1951 [7]. The changes are beneficial which come gradually. Our country is changing politically, economically and socially, at a swift speed. The condition of woman is also gradually changing. They have begun to take their due place in free India as is evident from the following facts [8].

Social and economic factors can contribute to women's empowerment: review of Tamil Nadu Women's Development Project in India [5-6]

The completion evaluation of the IFAD-supported Tamil Nadu Women's Development Project in India took place in late 1999. The project had aimed to bring about the social and economic betterment of women. The core mechanism was the women's self- groups had been formed, almost double the established target The evaluation noted that, at least in the latter phases, the project acted not as just "a credit-cum-subsidy project, but as a genuine process of empowerment." The evaluation concluded that such empowerment lay in the interaction between the social and economic aspects of the project. Four of the main processes that could lead to women's empowerment, as defined by the IFAD evaluation, were:

  • Changes in women's mobility and social interaction;
  • Changes in women's labour patterns;
  • Changes in women's access to and control over resources; and
  • Changes in women's control over decision-making.

CONCLUSION:

In conclusion, the efforts of Union Government in opening new opportunities for women in employment sector by allowing night shifts for women employees is really a bold step and worth applaud able. It would empower the State Governments for allowing the necessary flexibility in employment of women during night shifts in factories. The State Government or any person authorized by it would be allowing employment of women during night only after consulting workers or their representative organizations and concerned employers or their representatives. State Governments may also frame their own rules for giving such permissions. Also the amendment would result in optimal utilization of the installed capacity, promotion of exports and generation of employment opportunities for women.

REFERENCES:

1. Abdin, M.J (2008). “Women Empowerment in Bangladesh”. Social Science Research Network. PP. 1-17 2. Mosedale, S. (2005). “Assessing women's empowerment: towards a conceptual framework”. Journal of International Development. Vol. 17, No. 2, PP. 243-257. 3. Absar, S. S. [2002]. “Women Garment Workers in Bangladesh.” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol.37, No.29, 3012-3016. 4. Ahmed, F. E. [2004]. “The Rise of the Bangladesh Garment Industry: Globalization, 5. http://www.ifad.org/gender/learning/role/labour/in_tamil.htm 6. IFAD/OE. 2000. The Republic of India: Tamil Nadu Women's Development Project: Completion Evaluation, Report 340-IN. Rome, April. 7. http://www.publishyourarticles.net/knowledge-hub/essay/an-essay-on-the-empowerment-of-women-in-india/1196/ 8. https://sunshinegen.wordpress.com/2013/12/15/women-empowerment-in-india-short-essay/