As reiterated time and again, women have been wronged by patriarchy for too long. The sexual division of labour has favoured men as the superior gender that gets paid for their services while a woman’s contribution to society is not valuable enough to be paid. Today this has also translated into the wage gap where a woman is paid less than a man for the same work.
This nuanced topic needs to be first broken down to understand the condition of maternal bodies. There is a huge shift in the currents of the labour market due to the ongoing covid-19 pandemic. Unemployment is reaching its peak not only due to gendered opportunities which persists nevertheless, but also due to how adversely the virus has affected the economy. Countries have had to put themselves under strict lockdowns and even booming businesses are facing a tough time to strive in these trying times. However, it’s important to acknowledge that the rich have definitely gotten richer with most of the billionaires on the list being men. It’s a huge patriarchal cycle that starts from women not having any access to resources itself or rather a ‘ladder’ to climb.
Firstly, it is important to note that not only does patriarchy hold control over various aspects of a woman’s body, its freedom of movement and reproduction but constantly strives to increase its hold over the same. This has resulted in patriarchal control permeating into women’s lives especially in the context of labouring or productive bodies vs. maternal bodies. In Indian society, women are brought up with the notion that they are incapable or their bodies are not built for work outside the house. Hence, their education and employment are not a priority. At the same time, women are expected to engage in unpaid labour. For example, in an agriculturally based family, the male is known as the farmer and paid for his work whereas women being wives are just a helping hand. The problem here is helping hand is an understatement, they contribute extensively in farming but are not recognized as farmers, not valued for their work, neither are they paid as an individual, they are just a counterpart that is not considered as a labourer in the agricultural sector.
Before moving on to a discussion about maternal bodies and labour market trends in India, it is pertinent to note that bodies of women are controlled not only during (in case of) pregnancy but before it too. Workplace infrastructure does not completely cater to women and their hygiene considering menstruation. It is also mostly women’s responsibility to go through various birth control measures that impact their physical and mental health terribly. To add to this, menstrual cramps are not given the kind of acknowledgement it requires for menstruators who get extremely painful cramps and workplace infrastructure doesn’t cater to this issue either. That in fact is too much to ask for when menstruation is still a taboo in India where women are conditioned to hide it like a dirty secret and men are too squeamish and reserved about this topic.
The labour market trends of women in India is currently on a decline. It is interesting to note that women participation in the labour market has been on a decline since 2005. According to a Deloitte report, female labour force participation in India fell from 36.7% in 2005 to 26% in 2018. (PTI, 2019) Further, dissecting these statistics, according to the International Labour Office (ILO) and their scenario exercises, 18% of the total decline was attributed to increased education and higher levels of household consumption between 2005 and 2010. The general lack of employment opportunities for women and other factors accounted for almost 42% of the decline. Over the full 1994-2010 period, they also estimated that increased education and household consumption levels accounted for 38% of the decline in female participation, with diminished employment opportunities and other factors contributing to the remaining 62%. (Kapsos, Silberman , & Bourmpoula, 2014)
Even if we applaud the decline in female labour force participation due to an increased female education does that mean we are on a positive trajectory? The overall rate for female education has increased but it is important to understand whether that translates into further employment. Going back to the research published by ILO, it further states the estimate by which female employment could have grown in a span of 16 years (1994-2010) which is exponentially more than the actual growth. It states that female employment in India could have grown by an additional 20.7 million in the absence of occupational segregation, far exceeding the actual female employment growth of 8.7 million. (Kapsos, Silberman , & Bourmpoula, 2014)
Hence, an increase in female education has not necessarily proved beneficial for females in employment opportunities. In India, working and earning is looked down upon for women because patriarchy has deeply instilled the fact that women are supposed to stay at home and take care of their families. A lot of times even after completing education women are not ‘allowed’ to work. In a recent case, a man in Delhi stabbed his wife multiple times in broad daylight while nobody came to her rescue because he was unhappy that she won’t stop working and stay at home. Even if the crutches of ‘Indian family values’ of an ideal daughter or wife are crossed and an independent woman decides to pursue employment, the next hurdle is occupational barriers. These ‘hurdles’ are important to be noted not only due to the oppression women face but understanding how maternal bodies in the labour trends can be a statistic, but it doesn’t account for how exhaustive the process of reaching that labour market as a bread earner herself is.
As mentioned by ILO, occupational segregation is a big factor in inequality when it comes to employment opportunities for women. Occupations such as assistant, nurse, a call centre employee etc. are deemed viable for women as it doesn’t allow much positional growth, supposedly gives them time to handle domestic chores, and is suitable to feminine ideas of nurturing. According to a discussion paper by UN Women, ‘Women are largely employed in low-level occupations. About 39.9% of the women workers were employed as skilled agricultural and fisheries workers in 2011–2012 as against 28.1% of men workers.’ This data is highlighted while looking at the comparison between the sexes by occupational categories. (Govindan, 2016)
Therefore, not only do women have to face multiple barriers while entering the labour market even today, but they are also subjected to discrimination as a potential employee. Various regulations have been put in place to encourage companies to employ more women and to safeguard them in the workplace. These measures are necessary when you look at how calculatedly women’s bodies are looked at as being maternal or productive. Companies refuse to hire women highlighting cases of pregnancy and maternal leaves. Ironically, neo-capitalism tries to empower women as being independent, encouraging them to earn for themselves but at the same time highlights the modern women who are pregnant in the office, cooks multiple meals for their husband and kids and is also running the company. Instead of acknowledging her as a maternal body and its difficulties, suddenly there is a push to integrate half of the workforce in India that had been at home not contributing to the labour market and label her as the new feministic ideal. The numerous problems here are so complicatedly intertwined that it is hard to talk about one without highlighting the other. For example, pregnancy and maternity leaves are definitely a good measure when it comes to safeguarding women as employees but paternity leaves are still not given importance. The woman is still predominantly expected to take care of the child while the father goes out to work. Many women also claim how coming back to the office after maternity leave is not the same, as their clients have been given away or their value has diminished. It is also pertinent to note that women in rural areas, migrant workers, unskilled labourers who are pregnant receive no leaves and have to still work to make their ends meet. They do not receive proper health care or the dignity which supposedly comes with valuing women as the miracles that produce new life but are treated horribly in reality.
In conclusion, while there are many aspects left untouched, after ample research I believe that the progress of India in general when it comes to women in the labour market is stagnant if not declining for years. Considering that, it’s safe to say, the maternal body is even worse off when it comes to the labour market in contemporary India. It doesn’t have actual value for the maternal body, neither does it appreciate her productive or maternal body differently, instead strives to combine it as if declaring women as strong and magical but oppressing them for the same concomitantly.
References
Govindan, R. (2016). THE INDIAN LABOUR MARKET:. UN Women.
Kapsos, S., Silberman , A., & Bourmpoula, E. (2014). Why is female labour force participation declining so sharply in India? International Labour Office.
PTI. (2019, March 08). Female labour force participation in India fell to 26% in 2018: Report. Retrieved from The Hindu: https://www.thehindu.com/business/female-labour-force-participation-in-india-fell-to-26-in-2018-report/article26467857.ece
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