Women’s Employment in India: An Overview, Global Microsoft Azure Outage, Bagmati and Bihar Floods

(General Studies III – Economy Section – Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment. Inclusive Growth and issues arising from it.)

• Women’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India has historically been low, especially when compared to men and the global average.
• While the global average female LFPR stood at 53.4% in 2019, India’s female LFPR declined from 38.9% in 2000 to 23.3% in 2018.
• In contrast, the male LFPR in India has remained significantly higher, at around 76%. This disparity highlights underlying structural issues that hinder women’s participation in the workforce.

Reasons for Low Female Labour Force Participation in India –

Social and Cultural Dimensions –

1. Cultural Norms: Traditional gender roles and societal expectations often confine women to unpaid domestic work and caregiving responsibilities.
2. Safety Concerns: Lack of safe transportation and inadequate workplace safety measures deter women from seeking employment outside their homes.
3. Educational Attainment: Despite improvements, gender gaps in higher education persist, affecting women’s employability in skilled sectors.
4. Occupational Segregation: Women are often restricted to certain types of jobs that are deemed ‘appropriate’ by societal norms, limiting their employment opportunities.
5. Marriage and Family Responsibilities: Early marriage and childcare duties often lead to career interruptions or withdrawal from the workforce.

Economic Dimensions –

1. Wage Disparities: Women often receive lower wages than men for similar work, which discourages them from entering the labor market. The gender wage gap in India is estimated to be around 20%.
2. Informal Sector Dominance: A significant proportion of women (nearly 95%) are employed in the informal sector, where job security, benefits, and protections are minimal.
3. Unpaid Family Labour: A large number of women are engaged in unpaid family labor, particularly in rural areas, which is often unaccounted for in official statistics.

Structural and Policy Dimensions –

1. Limited Access to Resources: Women face challenges in accessing credit, land, and other productive resources due to gender biases and lack of collateral.
2. Inadequate Policy Implementation: Despite progressive policies, implementation gaps persist, affecting women’s ability to benefit from various schemes and protections.
3. Technological Divide: The digital gender gap limits women’s access to emerging job opportunities in the tech sector.

To address the issue of low female LFPR, a multi-faceted approach is required –

1. Policy Interventions –

• Implement and enforce policies ensuring equal pay for equal work.
• Provide safe and accessible transportation options for women.
• Mandate basic facilities like toilets and crèches in workplaces.
• Strengthen implementation of the Maternity Benefit Act and Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act.

2. Educational and Skill Development –

• Enhance access to quality education and vocational training for women.
• Promote STEM education among girls to broaden their career opportunities.
• Implement skill development programs tailored to local economic needs.

3. Supportive Infrastructure –

• Improve access to resources such as water and market facilities in rural areas to enable women’s participation in agricultural activities.
• Develop affordable and quality childcare facilities to support working mothers.
• Invest in digital infrastructure to promote remote work opportunities.

4. Economic Empowerment Programs –

• Promote women’s entrepreneurship through access to credit and mentorship.
• Encourage and support self-help groups and cooperatives to provide a support.
• Implement gender-responsive budgeting at all levels of government.
  

Case Study: Women in Traditional Occupations in Bhuj, Gujarat –

• A study on women in the slums of Bhuj, Gujarat, revealed a preference for traditional home-based employment, such as bandhani, embroidery, and fall beading, due to the flexibility it offers.
• Despite the low income, these occupations allow women to balance work and household responsibilities. The study also highlighted the potential of collectivizing women under SHGs to enhance their skills and market access.
• Organizations like the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS) are working towards empowering women by linking them directly to markets and providing necessary training.

Empowering women economically has far-reaching benefits for society and the nation. Enhancing female LFPR can significantly contribute to economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve family welfare. Recent studies suggest that increasing women’s participation in the workforce could add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025.

• A 14-year-old boy from Malappuram district, Kerala, succumbed to the Nipah virus.
• The National Institute of Virology in Pune confirmed the Nipah virus infection.
• Doctors had administered monoclonal antibodies procured from Australia by the Indian Council of Medical Research.

Nipah Virus:

• Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus, meaning it is transmitted from animals to humans.
• The primary hosts are fruit bats of the family Pteropodidae, particularly species belonging to the genus Pteropus.

Symptoms:

• Nipah virus infection can present a range of symptoms, typically 5 to 14 days after exposure. The initial symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain (myalgia), sore throat, and vomiting.
• As the disease progresses, severe symptoms may develop: dizziness, altered consciousness, acute encephalitis (brain inflammation), respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath, severe respiratory distress)
• In some cases, patients can experience long-term neurological conditions and relapses.

Causes and Transmission:

• The causes and transmission modes include Direct contact with infected bats or their bodily fluids (such as urine or saliva).
• Consumption of fruits or fruit products contaminated with bat excreta.
• Direct contact with infected pigs or their bodily fluids.
• Human-to-human transmission through close contact with infected individuals or their secretions, especially in healthcare settings.
• The virus can be shed in respiratory secretions, urine, and other bodily fluids, making it highly contagious in close-contact situations.

Dig Deeper: Why bats are the host of many viruses?

• In the early hours (IST) of 19^th July reports emerged of a Microsoft Azure cloud service outage affecting users in the Central U.S. area.
• The outage quickly spread to several other countries, including India, disrupting flight operations and air traffic, and forcing airports to switch to manual operations.
• Brokerages and stock exchanges were also impacted, causing significant disruption.
• The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team, CERT-In, issued a “Critical” severity rating for the incident.
• Microsoft acknowledged the issue, noting that “Virtual Machines running Windows Client and Windows Server, running the CrowdStrike Falcon agent, may encounter a bug check.”
• The impact happened when the update started rolling out.
• The glitch was triggered by a software update in CrowdStrike’s endpoint protection program, Falcon Sensor.
• CrowdStrike, a cybersecurity firm, deploys a unified security program to stop breaches in real-time.
• The Falcon Sensor platform runs with high privileges to protect endpoints.
• A mishap in this platform can cause operating systems to crash, leading to the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) and boot loop cycles, preventing access to devices linked to the Falcon platform.
• The outage had a broad impact, affecting Microsoft’s users globally, including airports, airlines, financial institutions, and office workers.
• CrowdStrike has since deployed a fix, and the situation is gradually returning to normal.

Dig Deeper: Read about the concept of Black Swan events.

Recent Bangladesh Protests has created internal security risk for India.

• At least 130 people were killed in clashes during student protests against quotas for government jobs in Bangladesh.

• The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court dismissed a High Court order, reserving 93% of government service seats for merit, with 5% for freedom fighters and their descendants, and 1% each for tribes, differently-abled people, and sexual minorities.
• High inflation and unemployment are primary challenges.
• Post-1971 war, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman established quotas for freedom fighters and torture survivors.
• Over time, the system expanded to include various underrepresented groups.
• Critics argue that quotas have become politicized, benefiting Awami League supporters rather than the intended groups.
• The protests reflect broader political tensions, with opposition parties allegedly using the movement to challenge Hasina’s rule.

Dig Deeper: Read about the outstanding Issue of the Teesta water-sharing agreement.

• Bihar Chief Minister has repeatedly raised concerns about the annual flooding of the Bagmati River with various leaders from Nepal.

• The Bagmati River, currently in spate, is a major cross-border river that flows through Bihar, carrying significant water from the upper reaches of the Himalayas in Nepal.
• The Bagmati flows from Nepal through the Bihar districts of Darbhanga, Sitamarhi, Sheohar, Muzaffarpur, and Khagaria, before meeting the Kamala River in Samastipur.  
• The government has already allocated more than 500 crores in funding to embank the river.
• Neither India nor Nepal has shown urgency to address the problem, despite the Bihar government’s advocacy.
• Bihar continues to urge Nepal to build the necessary infrastructure to prevent annual flooding caused by cross-border river systems.
• Cross-border rivers are crucial for several Indian states, including Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and Tripura.

Dig Deeper: List all Transboundary rivers between Nepal and India.