The Half Equal Opportunity

Opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer.

Despite substantial growth across various economic and social measures, the employment of women in the workforce in India has largely remained stagnant for nearly three decades (World Bank policy paper, Economic Survey). The overall participation of women in the urban workforce was about 24% in 2018, with the number dropping to less than 15% in some states. While half of all unmarried women are in the workforce, only 20% of married women remain in the workforce.

Why is this a problem? I have heard some even assert that women, especially educated women who stay at home, contribute substantially to the holistic development of children. I find this argument flawed on multiple counts. First, several studies on the impact of women’s work on the nutrition and education of children especially in developing countries, reveal no conclusive relationship between the two. Second, studies show that if India were to increase its female workforce participation rate to 35%, it could help improve its GDP by an additional 16% or more by 2025. Third, there is a strong correlation between the availability of an older family member in the household to a woman’s chances of staying in the workforce. Women whose husbands work more than fifty hours a week are also significantly more likely to quit their jobs (study). Out of 28 women who have served as CEOs of fortune 500 companies, 26 were married, one was divorced and only one was never married. Many of these CEOs said that they could not have succeeded without the support of their husbands, helping with the children, the household chores, and showing a willingness to move. These suggest that more women would be inclined to contribute to the workforce and pursue their careers, if they received more support from their families.

The real culprit therefore appears to be the disproportionate share of unpaid care work that fall on women, rather than just the burden of childbearing. Women staying out of the workforce isn’t in most cases by choice, doesn’t substantially contribute to improved health or education of the children, and is certainly hurting the economy.

Why is this happening? The problem is extremely complex with various social and economic factors contributing to it, with any policy interventions having unintended ramifications. At the root of the problem is the highly patriarchal society we live in. Motherhood is associated an exalted role, with women who pursue their careers alongside family commitments, being perceived as not fulfilling this role. Social censorship and guilt tripping follow. In sections of society where partners and family members are more supportive, women still face problems of opportunity.

Opportunity begins with finding suitable employment. Fewer employers are willing to hire married women due to the ‘risk’ of them leaving on maternity. The Maternity Benefit Act of 2017 increased maternity leave in India from 12 to 26 weeks. While this was an extremely positive step aiding women to better recover from labour and also provide better nursing care for their newborn, it has increased the economic burden of maternity on employers. A recent study estimates that the amendment resulted in 1.6-2.6% or 18 lakh fewer jobs for women in FY 2018-19. The study does anticipate this effect to subside in the medium term as companies adjust to the new law. Some employers are even known to screen women for pregnancy as part of routine medical tests prior to employment, and some implicitly or explicitly ask their women employees to postpone planning a family.

Part of finding employment is also about finding a “good” job that offers sufficient flexibility for women to balance their work and family commitments, while providing opportunity for career growth. While many jobs do not offer any flexibility and mandate working odd hours, other jobs (and managers) misinterpret flexibility. Sometimes managers interpret flexibility as giving women less important or less time-critical tasks. Rather, flexibility should really mean providing women the same opportunities as men, giving them the right to decide if they are willing to take it up, knowing very well the results they will be held accountable for. If the woman does choose to take up an opportunity, flexibility then entails providing them sufficient support and freedom to achieve the results however they choose to.

Increasingly organizations are adopting Equal Opportunity as a policy – a state of fairness with the intent that jobs in an organization should go to the most qualified, rather than to persons for reasons deemed irrelevant including gender, religion, ethnicity, race, or having well connected friends or relatives. Employees have been found to take greater pride in working with an equal opportunity employer. Organizations are taking an active role in improving awareness and commitment through diversity and inclusion activities aimed at attracting more women to join the workforce, in creating opportunities for women to grow in their careers, and to take on leadership roles. However, a challenge these organizations face is managing perceptions of dilution of merit (Nasscom report). A woman who is offered a job or promotion is unfairly perceived as having got the job because of her gender, even if she got it because she was the most qualified – ironically in stark contrast to what the equal opportunity policies were set to eliminate. Organizations need to have the maturity to address such misconceptions through sensitization and communication, highlighting key achievements of women leaders and continuing their focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

For policy makers, a woman who is not actively seeking employment is one less person in the unemployment rate statistic. Attracting more women to the workforce must be complemented with increased job creation. This, however, happens automatically at least partially. A working woman is going to help increase the household’s purchasing power, use of day care facilities and other services such as housekeeping and cooking. The unpaid care work a woman was doing can be made to be part of the formal economy, assuming such services are available at affordable cost and acceptable quality.

To truly address this problem, we need synergistic efforts at all levels -- policy interventions by the State, diversity and inclusion activities by organizations targeting equal opportunity, and most importantly change in the mindset of every individual in recognizing the importance that women play in our society and economy. This is an opportunity for men to be better husbands and fathers than their previous generation, and also set the right example for the next generation to establish gender equality. This women’s day let each of us pledge to extend equal opportunity to half the population that often finds itself being the unequal half.

P.S. I would recommend managers to read the book “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg, apart from the quoted studies. The book critically examines various factors that are root causes for women staying away from the workplace and hampering women’s career progression.