Poverty and Gender Inequality in India

Gender Inequality in India 
According to UNICEF, India is one of the most rapidly developing economies globally. However, poverty and gender inequality in India remain deeply entrenched. Despite the voices of women worldwide in various professional domains, women and girls within India still face restrictions on their rights, due to deeply ingrained beliefs about their inferior value and power.

Gender Disparity in the Indian Workforce

According to the National and Family Health Survey findings, the participation rate of women in the workforce in India stands at 25%, while for men, it is 57.5%. This discrepancy is not surprising but deeply concerning. India has long been known for its low female workforce participation rate. In contrast, countries like Nepal (79%) and Bhutan (52%) have rates of female workforce participation much higher than India. 

Oxfam India’s inequality report titled “On Women’s Backs” highlights how unpaid care work ultimately leads to income and time poverty for women, impacting their health, financial situation and emotional well-being and limiting their professional aspirations. 

Oxfam India’s 2022 report on discrimination in India sheds light on access to the labor market. The report reveals that the labor market reflects the country’s realities with a gender gap in employment and wages and discriminatory attitudes towards women. Although discrimination has declined over the 15 years, significant gender bias persists within the labor market which makes poverty and gender inequality in India continue. 

It suggests that the differences in abilities and qualifications such as education level, work experience, asset ownership, land possession and parental education are insufficient to explain the disparities between genders in employment and wages. It highlights that gender-based discrimination plays a role in perpetuating these inequalities accounting for 98% of the employment gap between men and women in areas. Moreover, one can attribute 67% of the wage gap to gender-based discrimination. 

This discrimination is often driven by attitudes towards genders held by employers and their policies that overlook gender fairness. Employers sometimes intentionally favor men over women regardless of their qualifications while claiming fair and unbiased practices, leading to adverse outcomes of poverty and gender inequality in India.

UNICEF’s Initiatives for Gender Equality

UNICEF India has created its 2018–2022 Country Programme to address the challenges that children in India face related to gender disparities. Each program outcome emphasizes the importance of gender equality, which is explicitly reflected in the program’s objectives, budget allocation and expected results, contributing to the decline of poverty and gender inequality in India. UNICEF India’s goals include: 

  • Health: Reducing the high mortality rate among girls under five and promoting health care-seeking behavior for girls and boys. For instance, frontline workers actively encourage families to seek attention for sick baby girls.
  • Nutrition: Enhancing the status of women and girls by promoting equitable eating practices. One approach involves empowering women cooperatives to develop and implement their plans for nutrition within their communities.
  • Education: Providing gender support to ensure that out-of-school girls and boys have access to education and fostering curricula and teaching methods that promote gender equality. This includes implementing strategies to identify out-of-school children and revising textbooks so that they no longer perpetuate harmful gender stereotypes.
  • Child protection: Ending child marriages by supporting village councils to eliminate child marriage through organizing clubs for girls and boys that teach girls non-traditional activities like sports, photography and journalism.
  • WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene): Enhancing girls’ access to menstrual hygiene management, including providing equipped toilets in schools.
  • Social policy: Assisting state governments in creating cash transfer programs that are responsive to gender needs and promoting women’s leadership in governance. For instance, implementing a cash transfer program in West Bengal to support girls’ education.
  • Disaster risk reduction: Encouraging better gender data collection for disaster risk reduction efforts and increasing the involvement of women and girls in leadership roles by promoting greater female participation and leadership. 

Empowering All for India’s True Progress

According to UNICEF India, many women from India have emerged as leaders and strong advocates in industries worldwide. However, it is unfortunate that most women and girls in India cannot exercise their rights due to ingrained patriarchal beliefs, societal norms, traditional values and structural barriers. India can only achieve complete development when both girls and boys receive support to realize their capabilities. 

– Aysu Usubova
Photo: Flickr