Gender Discrimination in Quality of Employment and Wages in

Unorganized Manufacturing Sector of India

Anupama
Abstract
The concept of Gender Discrimination has much wider coverage in the Indian economy.
It is apparent in our population structure (generally defined by declining proportion of the
females in total population! political structure and social structure. The underlying
causes of these ine"ualities are centuries old traditions and the economic structure which
is based on formal and informal practices#norms. $ven elevated status of education as
well as health does not let the women to ma%e a free choice in their important decisions
of life until they are economically dependent. This social discrimination is closely lin%ed
with the economic sphere as well. That is why! the women are employed in low paid!
insecure and low status activities. Due to social hindrances! women have very low
hori&ontal as well as vertical mobility and have to remain contended with lower wages.
'owever! it is e(pected that globali&ation and restructuring of the economy may benefit
the women as there may be larger absorption of women into paid wor%. )ince under the
name of globali&ation! more and more fle(ibility in labour laws is being in*ected in the
Indian economy! the si&e of unorgani&ed labour force is swelling. Therefore! present
paper focuses on the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector as a case study for the analysis of
se(+segregation of *obs! their "uality and the earnings therein! during the period of
nineties. An attempt has been made to chec% whether the gender ine"ualities have
diminished or not in this particular sector in the era of globali&ation. ,or this analysis!
-.) regression model will be applied on /))- data apart from use of Ginni 0oefficients
and occupational Gender )egregation 1easure (which is used in various studies on
gender discrimination.
2 Department of $conomics! 3un*abi 4niversity 5egional 0entre! 6athinda! 3un*ab.
anupamauppal7yahoo.com
Gender Discrimination in Quality of Employment and Wages in
Unorganized Manufacturing Sector of India
I. Introduction8 It is generally propounded that globali&ation has provided a vast arena
of challenges as well as opportunities.
9The era of global integration has been associated with far reaching changes in the
structure of employment! including pressures for increased fle(ibility! episodes of *obless
growth! growing informalisation and casualisation! e(panding opportunities for the
highly s%illed but the vanishing opportunities for the less s%illed::.; < 'eint&
(=>>?.
Thus! globali&ation is being presented as a picture with two sides! depending upon
the fact which side is being highlighted+the rosy one or the dar% one. 'owever! as far as
the women are concerned! it is being observed that the economic opportunities available
to them have grown (0agatay and -&ler! @AABC 6eneria and ,eldman! @AA=! though these
opportunities may not be e"ual. The women participation in paid employment has
reached an unprecedented scale. 6ut the point is whether the employment has grown
"ualitatively or not! because in the era of globali&ation! when informalisation of wor%
increases! it would be imperative to %now how the formal and informal *obs are being
divided among men and women. )o! a gendered analysis of the growing employment
opportunities is necessary.
Actually! the division of wor% among men and women is deep rooted in our
societies with patriarchal outloo%. It is centuries old tradition that women everywhere
have primary responsibilities for non+mar%et (unpaid house wor% and caring *obs! which
leads to family constraints on their choice in terms of labour force participation and their
access to paid employment! both formal and informal (6eneria! =>>D. )o! when non
mar%et wor% becomes more important! women fre"uently have less paid wor% e(perience
often leading to lower earnings! low paid! unstable and poor "uality employment.
)ometimes it is argued that the care time is a temporary phase in the life of a woman
wor%er2 and its impact can be mitigated in the long period. 6ut e"ual strong is the view
that even short period gender ine"ualities can have long term conse"uences on economic
growth and human development (5anis! )tewart and 5amire&! =>>>! so it would be
crucial to give gender dimension to the employment analysis.
4p to early eighties! it was assumed in the developing world that with economic
growth! the informal economy would be absorbed in the modern industrial economy and
the benefits of growth would tric%le down. 'owever! the hopes shattered thereafter as the
si&e of the informal economy go on swelling even outside the agricultural sector. In
developing countries informal employment in non+agricultural sector represents one half
to three fourth of the total employment in this sector (I.-! =>>=. Ehen the rate of
informalisation is increasing! the rate of female wor% participation is also increasing as if
the women are ta%ing over mens *obs in the process of being informalised. )o! our
concern is to analy&e these trends in the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector of India in the
post liberalisation phase. In this perspective! present paper attempts to find out the
determinants of female employment and its "uality in the unorgani&ed manufacturing
sector. It tries to find out whether the decent wor% deficit for the females in the
unorgani&ed manufacturing sector has grown or diminished during the phase of
liberalisation. The paper is structured as follows. Apart from this introductory section! the
paper will have four more sections. )ection II will give the review of relevant literature!
)ection III deals with the data sources and methodology! )ection IF discusses the se(+
segregation of employment in the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector and "uality of
female employment therein. This section tries to e(plore the relationship of female
employment with various determinants in the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector. )ection
F gives conclusions derived from the analysis and some suggestions.
Section II
Revie of Relevant !iterature
The era of liberalisation! no doubt! has registered an increase in labour force
participation by women! everywhere in the world. These trends are largely being
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
2though it may invo%e criticism as care wor% includes the care of elder family
members and any other ailing member of the family apart from caring the young ones
and so may continue throughout life.
recogni&ed as feminisation of labour (I.-! =>>H. At the same time! it is also being
observed that women are concentrated in low "uality and low+paid informal *obs ('eint&!
op.cit.! specially in developing countries! women are less li%ely to be employed as wage
and salary wor%ers as compared to men (0hen et al! =>>BC I.-! =>>H. 1any studies have
shown gender gap in earnings even for same level of education! age and *ob tenure of
women as compared to men (-$0D! =>>HC 1ehra and Gammage! @AAAC $lson! @AAA.
)ince women have to devote more time to care wor% and less to remunerative activities
than men! the total income from their employment falls (0hen et al! =>>BC -$0D! =>>@C
,olbre! @AAH! 4/5I)D! =>>>C 6eneria! =>>D. This has long term implications on women
empowerment who can not establish themselves as independent bread winners and
continue to *ust supplement the earnings of the male members of the family. This may
also adversely affect the families investment in education of their female children as the
returns of this investment will be low or may not be en*oyed by the investing family.
Thus! a lin% e(ists between "uality of female employment! their economic empowerment
and investment in their human capital formation ()en! @AA=. If women are concentrated
in low paid and unprotected forms of employment! then an increase in their share of such
employment does not represent an increase in gender e"uality (0hen et al! =>>B.
1oreover! due to low "uality and instability of informal employment women fre"uently
face a higher ris% of poverty (0had! =>>D. 6ut it is a fact that in virtually all countries of
the world! as women bear the primary responsibility of providing care (/ussbaum! =>>B!
they themselves are more li%ely to find a irregular *ob in the informal sector! but it is also
a fact that with increasing informalisation! when feminisation of wor%force is being
observed! feminisation of poverty coincides with it as well (0hen! Fane% and 'eint&!
=>>?.
Section III
Data Sources and Met"odology
After going through several studies on employment and wages in Indian
labour mar%et and other related studies! present paper tries to e(plore the impact of
various factors on female employment and wages in unorgani&ed manufacturing sector of
India. /))- defines the unorgani&ed sector in terms of all unincorporated proprietary
enterprises and partnership enterprises (G-I! =>>@. /))- provides e(tensive data on
unorgani&ed manufacturing sector under three categories! vi&. -wn Account $nterprises
(-A1$s! /on Directory 1anufacturing $nterprises (/D1$s and Directory
1anufacturing $nterprises (D1$s.
@
3resent study uses /))- data on two digit industrial classification for about =H
sub+sectors of unorgani&ed manufacturing units. Ta%ing these sub+sectors as observations!
cross+ sectional -.) models are run on /))- data for @AAH+AB and =>>>+>@ for
determining wages and female employment in the unorgani&ed manufacturing in India in
post reform phase. The data for both of the years relate to all types of enterprises in
unorgani&ed sector (i.e. for -A1$s! /D1$s and D1$s and for rural and urban areas
separately. The data for @AAH+AB were not available for the unorgani&ed sector as a whole.
)o! in order to arrive at it! we had to add the data for rural and urban areas for each
enterprise type! so that it can be appropriately compared with the data for =>>>+>@. )ince!
the /))- data does not provide data on wages paid to its wor%ers separately for males
and females! simply a regression e"uation is run to %now the effect of number of female
employees on total wages paid in an enterprise.
Apart from the regression analysis! for measuring gender segregation in the
unorgani&ed manufacturing sector! the Inde( of Dissimilarity (ID and I1 Inde(
(Iarmal and 1aclachlan Inde( are calculated for both the time periods on /))- data.
Section I#
Gender Segregation and Quality of Employment in t"e Unorganized
Manufacturing Sector of India
The unorgani&ed manufacturing sector employment in India has grown in the phase of
liberalisation due to stagnation in the organi&ed sector employment. The share of
unorgani&ed manufacturing in total manufacturing employment has reached to J=.D per
cent during =>>@+>= as compared to J> per cent in @AAD+AH (G-I! =>>D. 4nder this
sector! it is being observed that the share of female wor%ers has also increased during the
liberalisation phase. Depending upon the /))- data! it is observed that the share of
female employment has increased from D@ per cent of total unorgani&ed manufacturing
sector employment during @AAH+AB to DH per cent during =>>>+>@. Though! the overall
picture shows that employment in this particular sector is being feminised! the attention
diverts to the "uality of female employment i.e. on the types of *obs! earnings and
benefits etc. and how the *obs with some positive "ualities are distributed among men and
women. )o! firstly! we will discuss how far the employment in unorgani&ed
manufacturing sector is segregated by gender. Though! se( segregation in employment
can be defined as hori&ontal segregation (i.e. by different occupational groups and
vertical segregation (i.e. by types of *obs within the same group! here we are dealing
with hori&ontal segregation. Ee have used here the Inde( of Dissimilarity (ID as
suggested by Eatts (@AAJ. The simple ID is given as follows8
@
@
K ( L L K
=
n
j j
j
ID f f m m
=
=

where, fj and mj denote the number of female and male employees in the *
th
occupation
and f and m are total female and male employment! respectively.
.ater! Eatts himself e(plained that the analysis of se(+segregation in any occupation
would not be complete until the respective shares of both males and females in total
labour force participation are not ta%en into account (Eatts! =>>@. )o! he favours Iarmal
and 1aclachlan Inde( (I1 Inde( which is given as follows8
( )
( )
@
@
@
@
@
n
j j j
j
n
j j
j
I f a m f
T
a f am
T
=
=
= +
=

where T! a! f*! m* are defined as total employment! the overall female share of employment
and female and male employment in the *
th
occupation! respectively. The inde( denotes
the fraction of total employment that would have to be relocated between occupations to
achieve &ero gender segregation. This inde( is a measure of difference between the
integrated and actual distribution of employment by gender. -vertime! both the
occupational shares and overall gender shares of employment typically change. I1
inde( being sensitive to these interrelated changes! is considered a better measure than
the simple ID.
It is observed that the hori&ontal se(+segregation has declined in =>>>+>@ as
compared to @AAH+AB. Table8 @ clearly shows decline in both the indices during this
period! especially in case of I1 inde(! thus showing that very small proportion of labour
force is needed to be shifted to reach &ero gender segregation. Given the aggregate nature
of data! the value of these indices is very low! showing hardly any significant gender+wise
difference of employment in various enterprises.
$a%le& ' Se()Segregation of Employment in Unorganized Manufacturing
Sector of India
$nterprise Type
by location ID *M Inde(
@AAH+AB =>>>+>@ @AAH+AB =>>>+>@
Rural
-A1$s >.=A= >.=D> >.@H= >.@@=
/D1$s >.H@? >.=?> >.>A> >.>?
D1$s >.=BJ >.@JJ >.@>B >.>M
Total >.=M@ >.=@M >.@=J >.@>H
Ur%an
-A1$s >.HMB >.D=@ >.@AA >.@BM
/D1$s >.HBH >.D>> >.>HB >.>H
D1$s >.DHH >.=HB >.>?= >.>B
Total >.H=J >.D>B >.@=H >.@HM
+om%ined
-A1$s >.D>> >.=HB >.@H@ >.@=@
/D1$s >.HHM >.D@= >.>?M >.>B=
D1$s >.D?@ >.=DM >.@>M >.>M
Total >.D>H >.=D? >.@D> >.@>B
)ource8 0alculated from /))- (@AAB! @AAJa! @AAJb =>>=a! =>>=b.
'owever! this is the aggregate picture. -ur concern is how the positive and negative
"ualities of this employment are distributed among the males and females in this
particular sector. )o! Table8 = gives a detail of the "uality characteristics of female
employment in the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector of India. The table has depicted
some of the negative and positive characteristics of female employment in this particular
sector. It is being observed that there is a remar%able imbalance in the share of females in
various types of employment as compared to their overall share in total employment in
any type of enterprise! indicating a sort of decent wor% deficit. ,or e(ample! during @AAH+
AB! it is observed that whereas the share of females in total employment is D@ percent! this
percentage is as high as D? per cent in total unpaid employment and as low as @H per cent
in full time employment! @J per cent of total wor%ing owners and only @B percent of total
hired wor%ers. This shows that in negative type of employment! the females are over+
represented and in positive types! they are under+represented. The irony is that by the
year =>>>+>@! the negative "ualities of employment have outgrown the positive ones in
case of female wor%ers in this sector. The table8 = shows that while the share of female
wor%ers in total employment is DH per cent during =>>>+>@! it is B? per cent in unpaid
employment! ?= per cent in part time employment and only @? percent! =J per cent and
D= per cent of total hired wor%ers! full time wor%ers and wor%ing owners! respectively in
this particular sector. This shows that whereas the share of women in positive "ualities of
employment has increased in =>>>+>@ as compared to @AAH+AB! the negative types of
employment have also absorbed more of women than men during this period. It is worth
noting that the proportions in negative types of employment largely differ from the
comparable proportions in total employment in urban areas as compared to the rural ones.
The type of enterprise also affects this difference e.g. in case of D1$s! though the
wor%ing owners are being less represented by the females as compared to other types of
enterprises! there is hardly any significant difference in case of full time wor%ers. 6ut
here! too! the conditions have deteriorated as compared to @AAH+AB as in case of full
employment in D1$s! the share of females was greater than their share in total
employment (by J percentage points during @AAH+AB but by =>>>+>@! there is a deficit of
@ percentage point. Actually! the "uality characteristic table! does not give a clear pattern
as both the deficit in case of positive "ualities has reduced and the negative "ualities of
employment are being more represented by the female wor%ers as the liberalisation of
economy matured. )o! there is a need to establish a functional relationship of various
determinants with female employment during this period. ,or this a cross sectional -.)
$a%le& , Quality +"aracteristics of -emale Employment in Unorganized Manufacturing Sector of India .s"are
in / out of total employment in eac" category0
$nterprise
type
@AAH+AB =>>>+>@
Total
female
employ.
4npaid
employ.
3art
time
employ
,ull
time
employ
Eor%ing
owners
'ired
wor%ers
Total
female
employ
4npaid
employ
3art
time
employ
,ull
time
employ
Eor%ing
owners
'ired
wor%ers
12MEs
5ural H= H= D? @? == @A HD ?@ ?D DM DB DH
4rban D> D> @H @> @A @> H= BD M? D? DJ @?
0ombined DA H> =J @D =@ @B HD ?> ?B DM D? =M
3DMEs
5ural @D @B => @@ H @@ @D DA H> @@ J @@
4rban B M @@ H D H ? @A =? ? ? ?
0ombined J @> @? ? D M A =J DD J M J
DMEs
5ural =J => D= D@ H D@ =M DH HA =? A =A
4rban @> A =? @> H @@ @D =@ DB @= ? @D
0ombined @J @H =A =? H @A @A =J HD @J M =>
$otal
5ural DJ H> =M =H => =H DA ?> ?@ DD DD =H
4rban @J =D @J J @H J @= HB ?M => DA @>
0ombined D@ D? == @H @J @B DH B? ?= =J D= @?
)ource8 0alculated from /))- (@AAB! @AAJa! @AAJb =>>=a! =>>=b.
is run on /))- data for two points of time i.e. @AAH+AB and =>>>+>@! to observe
the changes during this period. The model runs as follows8+
$"e Employment Model
> @ = D H
log log log log log
i i i i i i
FE GVAE UE ME PE = + + + + +
Ehere! ,$i indicates number of female wor%ers per enterprise.
GFA$i is gross value added per enterprise. This output variable is ta%en as a pro(y for
si&e variable to find out the impact of increase in output on female employment in this
sector.
4$i is number of unpaid wor%ers in each enterprise. It is widely discussed in literature on
female employment that females are more li%ely to be employed in unpaid activities than
their male counterparts! which in turn badly affects their economic empowerment as they
are left with less time for paid activities. )o! to observe the impact of this variable on
female employment during liberalisation phase! this is inducted in to this model.
1$i is number of male wor%ers per enterprise. This variable is inducted to chec% if male
and female wor%ers are substituting each other or employment opportunities in this sector
is growing for both of them or we can say whether the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector
is e(periencing feminisation of labour or not.
3$i is number of part time wor%ers per enterprise. As it is assumed that males are more
represented in full time *obs and females due to their involvement in unpaid care
activities! are more li%ely to see% part time *obs! this variable is assumed to have a
positive effect on female employment.
Ni is the error term! Oo! is the constant term and O@! O=! OD P OH are the respective
coefficients of the determinant variables.
The model summary is given in Table D. The Table shows that during both the periods the
model has a very high e(planatory power! as the value of 5
=
is very high and the sample
results can easily be applied to the whole of population due to significant ,+values. The
model shows that during both the both the time periods! there is a positive relationship
between the output variable and female employment. 'owever! this positive impact
strengthens by =>>>+>@. $arlier a one per cent increase in GFA per enterprise would have
increased employment by >.HD per cent! but during =>>>+>@! it would have increased by
@.>J per cent and this relationship is also found statistically significant. This shows that in
later phase of liberalisation the women wor%ers are being more in demand as output
increases. 'owever! the relationship with number of male wor%ers! seems to be re*ecting
the thesis of feminisation of labour force in the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector of
India as there is a negative relationship between the number of male wor%ers and female
wor%ers per enterprise during both the time periods. A one per cent increase in male
wor%ers would have reduced female employment by @.>B per cent during @AAH+AB and by
@.=@ per cent during =>>>+>@. A coefficient greater than one shows that an increase in
male employment reduces the female employment more than the proportionate value
indicating a trend of defeminisation of labour force rather than the feminisation of
labour force in unorgani&ed manufacturing sector of India. This trend is found stronger
in urban areas! as compared to the rural ones and in /D1$s than any other enterprise.
Interestingly! in case of D1$s (which by definition employ more of the hired wor%ers
than any other enterprise! the impact is very nominal and is not statistically significant in
both rural and urban areas during =>>>+>@. 1oreover! this trend has mitigated as
compared to @AAH+AB. 6ut this may not push us to a conclusion that the females are
getting more of the paid and "uality *obs as the relationship of female employment with
number of part time wor%ers shatters our hopes. The model shows that! the impact of part
time *obs on female employment remained positive in both time periods but the division
of part time employment between males and females became more biased towards
females by =>>>+>@ and the D1$s contributed most of this bias. During @AAH+AB! a one
per cent increase in part time employment has increased female employment by >.BD per
cent but by =>>>+>@ this would have increased female
$a%le& 4 Determinants of -emale Employment in Unorganized Manufacturing Sector of India
'556)57
Fariable 5ural 4rban 0ombined
-A1$s /D1$s D1$s Total -A1$s /D1$s D1$s Total -A1$s /D1$s D1$s Total
GFA$ +>.@M?
(+>.ADD
>.@HD
(>.BA@
+>.DMB
(+@.@@A
>.=?@
(@.?HA
+>.>DB
(+>.DH=
+>.>A?
(+>.BBB
>.DH@
(@.?MB
>.DJM
(@.=B@
>.@@@
(+>.?DM
+>.@?M
(+>.M@H
>.@?H
(>.BBH
>.HDH
(@.B=J
4$ >.HM=
(=.@JD
22
>.DBB
(@.MB?
222
>.@@A
(>.B=H
>.JD=
(=.=A@
22
>.?BJ
(B.>BJ2
>.D@M
(@.A@B
222
>.=MM
(@.BDB
>.DA?
(=.=?=
22
@.>@H
(H.>D@2
>.D>B
(@.?DM
>.@=H
(>.?D>
>.MMA
(@.MJA
222
1$ +>.H@B
(+@.A?=
222
+>.B@A
(+@.JAH
222
+>.>@M
(+>.>H?
+>.A@B
(+=.MJ
2
+>.?MM
(+=.?@J
22
+>.=HJ
(+@.DDM
+>.?JB
(+D.DH
2
+>.?J=
(+=.@>
22
+@.>M@
(+D.AA@
2
+>.DD>
(+@.=@=
+>.B@=
(+@.M@>
+@.>HA
(+=.=>?
22
3$ >.BHB
(=.D=J
22
>.HHD
(=.=JA
22
>.=JM
(@.=M
>.?DM
(D.=JJ
2
>.@MD
(@.DHH
>.HHA
(=.??H22
>.@D=
(>.MHB
>.H>J
(=.=D
22
>.DA@
(=.HAM
22
>.HBB
(=.B>H
22
>.BB?
(=.AJD2
>.B=B
(=.H==22
0onstant @.MDA
(>.A=M
+D.>@>
(+>.B?@
B.AB@
(@.DA>
+@.MM=
(+@.BA
+>.MAB
(+>.D>?
=.HHD
(>.??M
+H.D@H
(+@.=M
+D.>H?
(+@.=D
+@.?HH
(+>.JJ=
=.AHD
(>.J@M
>.@A?
(>.>BM
+=.?HM
(+@.DDA
, J.ABA2 ?.AD>2 @.=MH J.AA?2 @J.=J>2 B.HHJ2 B.@@?2 @@.JD2 @?.>@?2 M.=JA2 D.BMJ22 A.BA?2
5
=
>.??? >.?=> >.=D@ >.??M >.J>= >.BHJ >.BD= >.M=H >.MJ@ >.?@J >.HHD >.?J@
,888)8'
Fariable 5ural 4rban 0ombined
-A1$s /D1$s D1$s Total -A1$s /D1$s D1$s Total -A1$s /D1$s D1$s Total
GFA$ +>.B?H
(+=.J>A
2
>.DJJ
(@.A=D
222
+>.=?A
(+>.AH=
>.=?B
(>.?D@
+>.>MH
(+>.=J
>.H@>
(@.M@?
222
>.H=B
(+@.AA
222
@.@?A
(=.HJB
22
+>.=BJ
(+@.HJ@
>.H=H
(@.??A
>.=AD
(@.@BH
@.>JJ
(=.=HH22
4$ +>.@??
(+>.M>A
>.D@@
(@.=J=
>.@DD
(>.BD?
+>.>A@
(+>.HM
>.@AB
(@.MA@
222
+>.>@B
(+>.>JD
>.=DM
(@.>M>
+>.>HM
(+>.DH
>.@DD
(@.>=@
+>.@>>
(>.BHA
>.D>M
(@.HMJ
+>.@>M
(+>.?M@
1$ +>.=@=
(+>.ABJ
+>.MBA
(+D.>B@
2
>.D=J
(@.DH>
+>.M?J
(+@.J=
222
+>.BDH
(+=.=JD
22
+>.JD?
(+D.MHD2
+>.@M>
(+>.J@
+@.@HD
(+=.?D
22
+>.HH@
(+=.MHA2
+>.MM?
(+D.>A=2
+>.>HH
(+>.=@M
+@.=@?
(+=.?@H
22
3$ >.=H=
(@.@DM
>.D>A
(@.B?@
>.?BM
(=.JJ>
2
>.HD@
(=.HBD
22
>.HMJ
(D.HBA2
>.@M>
(>.ADB
>.MAD
(D.ABH
2
>.J>A
(H.==2
>.H==
(=.A>H2
>.=@D
(@.@=@
>.MA>
(B.@?J2
>.JBH
(H.M>2
0onstant H.MJ>
(=.?A?
22
+D.?@B
(+@.=MB
=.BMD
(>.J>D
+@.BD@
(+>.B?
>.BJM
(>.DHD
+D.MBA
(+@.@DB
+@>.@A=
(+@.MJ
222
+B.DJ>
(+=.DD
22
@.MHJ
(@.??J
+=.AJ=
(+>.AJB
+H.=DA
(+@.=@?
+H.@@> (+
=.>HH
222
, M.D@D2 D.@@D22 B.DMH2 B.=A>2 =D.ADD2 H.BHB2 ?.MAJ2 J.BJ=2 =?.>=J2 D.BMA22 @>.@@>2 @=.>M>2
5
=
>.?D= >.H@M >.BBJ >.B=M >.JH= >.HJA >.BJA >.?HH >.JDD >.HD> >.?J> >.M@J
)ource8 0alculated from /))- (@AAB! @AAJa! @AAJb =>>=a! =>>=b.
2 significant at @ per cent level of significance.
22 significant at @ per cent level of significance.
222 significant at @ per cent level of significance.
employment by >.JB per cent! meaning that as part time employment increases! females
are more li%ely to be absorbed in this type of employment. 'owever! it is noticeable that
in @AAH+AB! the females in rural areas are more li%ely to get part time employment as
compared to their urban counterparts! but by =>>>+>@! e(actly opposite situation is being
e(perienced due to more number of D1$s located in urban areas as compared to the
rural areas.
,inally! the relationship of female employment with unpaid employment has
strangely changed during this period. During @AAH+AB! there was a significant positive
correlation between female employment and unpaid employment as a one per cent
increase in unpaid employment would have increased female employment by >.MJ per
cent (>.JD per cent in rural areas and >.H per cent in urban areas but by =>>>+>@ the
impact turns to be a negative of >.@@ per cent. Though the regression coefficient is not
fond statistically significant! but it leads us to a result that females are less li%ely to offer
themselves for unpaid *obs. Though the impact is different by location and by enterprise
type! it is noticed that D1$s still have a positive relationship between female
employment and unpaid employment (but as the impact is not statistically significant! it
can not be stated with conviction that females now be less li%ely to be represented in
unpaid *obs than their male counterparts.
,urther! regarding wage earnings! since /))- data does not provide male and
female earnings separately! we have run a regression model *ust to chec% the impact of
employment si&e of females (or say! their collective strength on total emoluments paid in
each enterprise. The model runs as follows8+
$"e Wage Model&
> @ =
log log log
i i i i
W b b LPRO b FW = + + +

Ehere! Ei is annual wages per hired wor%er in each enterprise
.35-i is annual value of gross value added per wor%er in each enterprise indicating
labour productivity in i
th
enterprise.
,Ei is the ratio of female wor%ers employed in the i
th
sector.
Ni is the error term! bo! is the constant term and b@ and b= are the respective coefficients of
the determinant variables.
$a%le& 6 Determinants of Wages in Unorganized Manufacturing Sector of
India .+om%ined results of 3DMEs and DMEs0
Fariable @AAH+AB =>>>+>@
5ural 4rban 0ombined 5ural 4rban 0ombined
.35- >.?AH
(=.H?M2
>.DA@
(=.=MH22
>.BDB
(=.??2
>.?DB
(H.?>2
>.J>=
(=.?B=22
>.J=H
(H.=MA2
,E +>.=??
(+@.B?@
+>.@BB
(+@.JHD
222
+>.@JB
(+>.A=M
222
+>.@@>
(@.HA=22
+>.?HJ
(+>.A@?
222
+>.B>D
(+@.=D=22
0onstant >.DB?
(>.?>J
@.HMD
(>.JA@2
@.>@=
(=.HBD22
@.==M
(@.A=?2
>.M@M
(@.DH=
@.=BD
(D.=D2
5
=
>.?? >.J>? >.M@@ >.MBJ >.BJ >.JJ?
)ource8 0alculated from /))- (@AAB! @AAJa! @AAJb =>>=a! =>>=b.
2 significant at @ per cent level of significance.
22 significant at @ per cent level of significance.
222 significant at @ per cent level of significance
In this model we have combined results of /D1$s and D1$s! e(cluding the -A1$s
because by definition! -A1$s do not have any hired wor%er on a fairly regular basis.
The model shows that there is a significant positive relationship of wages with labour
productivity (combined for males and females. -n the other hand a significant negative
relationship is observed between the ratio of female wor%ers in total employment and the
wages in an enterprise. The Table8 H shows that whereas a one percent increase in labour
productivity would have increased wages by >.BD per cent in @AAH+AB! it increased to >.J=
per cent by =>>>+>@. 'owever! this positive impact has become greater in urban areas as
compared to the rural areas in =>>>+>@! while the relationship was "uite opposite in @AAH+
AB. It is observed that while the total wor%ers are getting a larger share of their
productivity in terms of wages! the female wor%ers are losing their bargaining strength as
with one per cent increase in ratio of female employment out of total employment! the
total wages fell by >.@A per cent in @AAH+AB and by >.B> per cent in =>>>+>@. During
=>>>+>@! the females employed in urban areas are more vulnerable as a one per cent
increase in their share in total employment! reduces their wages by >.@@ per cent in rural
areas and by >.?B per cent in urban areas. This tendency may be understood in the conte(t
of previous table which show that women are being over represented in part time *obs!
even though their ratio in unpaid employment has declined. This tendency e(plains the
fact why employed women are more li%ely to be poor than employed men! as according
to I.- data for =>>D! women accounted for ?> per cent of wor%ing poor even though
they comprised *ust H> per cent of total employment (I.-! =>>H. The impact of lower
earnings of the female wor%ers has wide implications on the economic as well as social
status of women in society! which wea%ens in this process.
Section #
+onclusions and 9olicy Suggestions
Above analysis shows that although the female labour force participation has increased
and se( segregation of total employment has declined in the unorgani&ed manufacturing
sector of India! yet their access to decent economic opportunities is fre"uently
constrained! particularly in paid employment category. The women are being over
represented in unpaid and part time *obs as compared to the *obs with positive
characteristics under the unorgani&ed manufacturing sector of India. It is a fact that
employment as well its "uality is significant by which growth can be translated to the
empowerment of the marginali&ed classes! including women. 'owever! our regression
analysis points towards certain dar% areas of increased women employment in the
unorgani&ed manufacturing sector of India. It is observed that though! female
employment is positively related to the output variable! but it is negatively affected by the
number of male wor%ers in an enterprise. 4nder increasing employment conditions in
unorgani&ed manufacturing sector! this negative relationship would have meant
substitution of females by more than the number of new male wor%ers employed! and so
pointing to defeminisation of labour force in this sector. -n the other hand a negative
relationship of wages with ratio of female wor%ers in total employment shows that as
number of female wor%ers increases the total e(penditure of an enterprise on total
emoluments declines indicating that females are being paid lower than their male
counterparts due to their low "uality *obs or due to low bargaining strength. This
confirms the general trend of females being underpaid in the unorgani&ed sector of India
and so feminisation of poverty. 'owever! there is a respite that during this period (from
@AAH+AB to =>>>+>@! the impact of unpaid employment on total female employment is
diminishing.
These results re"uire the planners#policy ma%ers to loo% into the ways in which
the gender intersects with other sources of disadvantage for wor%ing class. Any policies
regarding womens employment must %eep in mind! the division of female wor% time in
paid and unpaid activities. As women can devote lesser of their total wor%ing time to paid
activities as compared to men! they earn less in the same type of *ob. 'owever! when
even for same number of wor%ing hours! same level of education and s%ill and
e(perience! women are earning less than the men! then there to seriously loo% into the
matter and ensure the implementation of $"ual 5emuneration Act and any deviation
from it should be strictly dealt with. As women are now largely contributing to the
earnings of their family and helping to come through the poverty! it is important that their
capacities should be enhanced by providing them more decent employment opportunities.
-nly then the poverty and gender ine"uality will diminish.
,inally! organi&ing women is the critical element in their economic and social
empowerment. 5esponsible women organi&ations can enable them to defend their
interests and maintain pulls and pressures in formulating appropriate policies and dont
let the policy ma%ers ignore their gender interests. 6ut the problem is that the mainstream
trade unions are male dominated and do not address the specific problems of women
wor%ers! especially of those wor%ing in the unorgani&ed sector. There is a need to
organi&e these women wor%ers neglected by the mainstream trade unions. There is a
model of Iorean Eomens Trade 4nion (IET4 apart from our countrys )$EA! which
are organi&ing women wor%ers neglected by mainstream trade unions. )uch unions
should %eep their own autonomy while co+operating with the mainstream trade unions on
issues of common interests. $ven the mainstream unions should also form separate
womens sections to deal with specific problems of the women wor%ers. Ehatever may
be the case! the point is that women organi&ations are most important for women wor%ers
in the informal sector to counter the forces that contribute their impoverishment.
1oreover! there is no substitute of the voice raised by the sufferers themselvesQ
3otes
@. -A1$s are the enterprises which employ no hired wor%er on a fairly regular
basis! /D1$s are the enterprises with at least one hired wor%er and less than si(
total wor%ers! while D1$s hire at least one wor%ers and si( or more total wor%ers
(/))- =>>=.
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