Gender Dimension of Labour:
The following aspects of women employment may be observed:
1. Marginalization of work : Women constitute nearly 31% of the labour force in rural area and 20% in urban areas. The female labour force participation is declining while that of males is increasing. Female labour force participation in India declined from approximately 40 per cent in the 1990s to 22.5 per cent in 2011-12.
2. Barriers of Employment : Women face multiple barriers relating to access to employment, choice of work, working conditions, employment security, wage parity, discrimination, and balancing the competing burdens of work and family responsibilities.
3. Economic dependence of women: In 2004-05, 85 percent of the female population was completely financially dependent and without any, employment/ income.
4. characterized by low productivity activities (63 per cent versus 44 per cent of males): a lower share of women are engaged in regular employment (13 per cent, as against 20 per cent of males): and a significant share of urban women work in the service sector as domestic workers.
Higher social spending, including investment in education, can lead to higher female labour force participation Representation of women in higher cadres of employment (IAKAS) needs to be improved as well as in legislative assemblies, councils and Parliament.
