Bhubaneswar: India is a young economy and remains constantly the fastest growing economy in the world. There is a major surge in labour force participation and the earning pattern has changed drastically since the last two – three decades. Particularly the work participation of women in rural India has increased by 69 percent from 1718 – 2023. The huge quantum of people that are ready to work in the labour force. Though this drastic shift would have been a very impactful change in economy for any other country, in the case of India it is a fairly conservative number considering the vastness of its population and other aspects associated with it.
In India if the women enter into the workforce, the two income family culture crops up even in tier two cities in India. But the discrimination of pay parity remains as unequal as earlier in most places, especially in the private sector. The biggest high point here when the women come into the workforce is the family structure and the case giving activities. Women coming out for work for a living has an implicit cost to the family and child care or elderly care. An Indian woman in the working age from 18 – 59 spends 4 – 5 hours taking care of someone in the family, either elderly or children. To be mentioned here, India has about 120 million elderly people above the age group of 60, who also need care. So caregiving activities are almost entirely on the soldiers of women in the house. So when they are going out for work, this part of work is hampering and it cannot be provided in the house anymore rather to be bought from the market. But whereas the caregiving market has not evolved properly in our country. It can be discussed as a cultural stigma in our society to outsource caregiving activities from the market. Our seems not to be ready to fully accept the concept of caregiving purchased from the market.
At the same time economic empowerment of women is very much necessary for the growth and development of our economy as women drive the most crucial part of our overall development. So the government intervention schemes like the Ladli Behna, Subhadra Yojana, Lakhpati didi, Drone didi etc are adding value to the economic uplifting of the nation. Most of the government schemes are run by the name of the women, be it the housing scheme, ration card, toilets and so on. It empowers women socially at the same time boosting the economy.
Women are the major assets of today’s Indian economic and political system. Indian women are lifting the society in the last in various ways. In the surge of voters, politically and policy – wise, every government is having to respond to women and their aspirations. This strategy did not exist even about fifteen years back. The women were not even recognised. But women are the major drivers now which is a very positive change. As targeting women for the benefits are directly leading to not just the empowerment of the women but upliftment of the families as a whole. The education, health of the children, nutrition values etc get enhanced in a family due these power women.
-OdishaAge
