Women in jobs ‘face bias’

THE low participation of women in India’s labour force is largely due to gender discrimination in terms of wages and opportunities, a report by charity Oxfam said last Wednesday (14).

To close the gap in women’s labour participation, the Indian government would have to offer incentives for better pay, training, skills acquisition and job quotas to prospective employers to encourage the hiring of women, said the report, titled India Discrimination Report 2022. It is based on government data as well as Oxfam’s own research.

India’s female work participation rate was just 25 per cent for 2021, according to federal government data. That is among the lowest for emerging economies.

“What the report finds is if a man and woman start on an equal footing, the woman will be discriminated in the economic sphere where she will lag behind in regular/salaried, casual and self-employment,” Amitabh Behar, chief executive of

Oxfam India said.

For every woman, 98 per cent of the inequality she faces would be caused by discrimination because of gender. The remaining two per cent would be because of education or work experience, the report said.

Other groups faced discrimination as well, the report added.

“Apart from women, historically oppressed communities such as dalits and adivasis [tribal communities] along with religious minorities such as Muslims also continue to face discrimination in accessing jobs, livelihoods and agricultural credits,” it said.

Last month, prime minister Narendra Modi asked states to use systems like flexible working hours to retain women in the labour force, saying the country could achieve its economic goals faster if it made use of “women power”.

The Oxfam report found that a sizeable segment of qualified women were unwilling to join the labour market due of “family responsibilities” and having to conform to social norms.