Book Reviews. I - * ' -"H»1. V.V. GIRI NATIONAL LABOUR ..... Hindi typing. 11. 3.57. No ^diplomas done. 50 ..... Work requires manual dexterity, men are clumsy.
LABOUR DEVELOPMENT Vol.1
July-Dec. 1995
NO. 1
International Migration Statistics in India : Some Critical Comments with Reference to the Gulf Crisis of 1990 Supply of Child Labour : An Investigation Gender Issues and Quality of Work Life : A case study of the formal Labour Market in Delhi Impact of Technological Innovation on Women in Economic Sphere Population Size, Migration and Fiscal Transfers in India : Some New Empirical issues Seasonal Migration of Rural Labour in Bihar A Review of Current Literature on Managerial Ethics Communications — Workers Safety Net Mechanisms — Gender Discrimination and Development Process Documentation Book Reviews
I - * ' -"H»1
V.V. GIRI NATIONAL LABOUR I N S T I T U T E
Labour & Development Vol. 1 No. 1, July-Dec. 95
GENDER ISSUES AND QUALITY OF WORK LIFE : A CASE STUDY OF THE FORMAL LABOUR MARKET IN DELHI Satish Kumar* ABSTRACT The purpose of this survey was purely exploratory, i.e., to provide substantive generalizations without laying much claim to their statistical validation. The survey deals with Delhi's Urban Labour Market relating to working women in the formal component of the tertiary sector. This survey has derived much of its methodology from a survey of workers conducted for the London metropolis (Martin and Roberts, 1984). In addition to framing appropriate questions for working women in the formal sector in Delhi, the interviewer maintained a regular contact with the respondents since 1987. Informal discussions helped to redefine and reformulate questions pertaining to the work experience, working conditions, working history and the job search strategies as adopted by working women in the urban labour market Pre-testing also assisted in refining the approach adopted for the interview. INTRODUCTION ender inequalities in the labour market are supposed to be either in the realm of biological givens or sociological imponderables. As Folbre and Hartmann (1989) suggest "their association with this distinctly non (self) interested and therefore non-economic domain, women themselves came to be portrayed as relatively "non-economic creatures". Any a priori assumption that women workers are wholly concerned with family matters can lead to a serious misinterpretation of the behaviour of women workers. Take, for instance, the case of absenteeism among women workers. It is generally assumed that family obligations are the cause. One never considers the alternative view that wages and working conditions may not be sufficiently conducive for them to make an extra effort to come to work (Eldbeng and Glenn, 1979).
G
Assistant Professor, C.S.R.D., Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
32
Labour & Development
Over the years, a great deal of literature has accumulated on the reasons as to why women workers are in a disadvantaged position in the labour market. Three general approaches can be summarised to identify the causes. The neo-classical theorists suggest that women earn less than men, because they have lower levels of human capital, viz education, training, on-the-job experience and therefore lower productivity. (Mincer and Polacheck, 1974). Such a viewpoint has its own merit, yet it raised women's participation in the labour market to levels of myth. One such myth is that withdrawal from the labour force means that women accumulate less work experience than men and their skills tend to depreciate. Another myth is that women having paid employment is a sufficient condition for a real improvement in their economic and social status within the society. In addition, suggestions are made that women in the urban areas find it difficult to combine child rearing and household work with economic activities as many rural women do (Visaria and Minhas, 1991). This paper seeks to readdress some of these myths which have assumed constancy over the years. The Institutional theories of labour market segmentation have on the other hand emphasised factors related to the structure of the labour market and ways in which women and men tend to get entrenched into separate segments of the labour market. In other words, theories of labour market segmentation view labour market as stratified or segmented by institutional barriers. However, the major problem with this group of theorists is that it is purely functional in approach with idealistic and rational overtones. Efficiency is largely ignored. Over the years, there has been a shift in emphasis from substantive rationality dealing only with an analysis of different equilibrium positions to one of "procedural rationality" concerned with the behaviour of economic actors in response to market signals. The role of rational utility maximising individual as identified by the human capital theorist becomes important when labour markets are not structured. However, in reality, as stylised facts show, labour markets are structured (Kumar, 1991). Thus, all of the above theories of Human capital and Dual labour market and Labour segmentation tend to consider women's position in the home and society as given and how this leads to their disadvantageous position in the labour market. This becomes a circular reasoning that women's lower earning potential justifies their doing unpaid domestic work at home. The gender theories of labour market which stand apart from the feminist perspective (women are not considered as antagonistic to men, i.e. feminist) stress the underlying societal and cultural factors that place
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
33
women in an inferior position both at home and in the labour market as explanation for sex inequalities in the labour market. The crux of the argument by the gender theorist is that subordinate position of women in the labour market and in the family are inter-related. They are part of an overall social system, whereby patriarchal value system tends to subordinate women to men. Thus, gender theorists suggest that women's handicap in the labour market can be traced to (a) allocation of domestic work to women; (b) the fact that such domestic responsibilities may be increasing in the urban areas over time in many of the developing countries; and (c) finally, devaluation of women's occupation in the labour market. This is so because these occupations tend to be extensions of domestic roles (teaching, nursing, cleaning, sewing, serving). Overview of the 80s with regard to the labour market. Recent studies have conclusively shown that most of the states in India have recorded "fairly high growth rate of income and employment in the services sector" (Bhattacharya and Mitra, 1993) Indeed, some do contend that women's employment in the services sector has been more resilient to the contractionary effects of world recession than male employment (Jockends, 1987). Deshpande and Deshpande (1992) label this phenomena as part of the feminisation of the urban labour market. According to them, women "suffered a double disadvantage whereby both poverty and their gender restricted their choice of education and training". This contention of feminisation, however, may not hold true for formal sectors of the urban labour market. Besides, poverty gender interface is still a contentious debate. There is no conclusive evidence from Latin America, Africa or Asia that those working in private unorganised or informal sectors are really the urban poor. The whole debate regarding casualisation and feminisation, as suggested by Bhattacharya and Mitra (1993) and Deshpande's (1992) for the Tertiary Services sector cannot be substantiated conceptually. Inadvertently, using Tertiary and Services sector concepts interchangeably has led to assumptions and conclusions which are untenable in reality. Suffice it to add, empirically the major questions at stake are as follows : (a)
(b)
(c)
Proportion of female subsidiary workers fluctuates more than those of principal workers. This is attributed to the availability of work opportunities in the economy (Visaria and Minhas, 1991). There is a need to identify the problems for their employability, in terms of quality of education and skills imparted to or acquired by them. It has been suggested that the process of urbanisation tends to reduce national labour force participation rates, because women in urban areas find it difficult to cope with double day burden.
34
Labour & Development
(d)
There have not been any marked changes in the work-leisure preferences in the labour market. (e) Educational attainment influences the willingness and decision to work. (f) Education related or achievement oriented differences are more marked among women workers than ascribed status. (g) Women workers rarely take up casual work in the urban labour market. (h) Finally, privileges enjoyed by the regular employees make salaried jobs a coveted goal for women and men job seekers. (i) Women workers integrated into production and service sectors tend to segregate. This has a detrimental effect on their organisational potential in the employment sphere. Thus, women are placed in jobsAasks with low productivity, low technology status and have an inferior position in terms of skill levels and promotional prospects. Thus, women and men are integrated into economic and social structures in different ways. At the same time, Industrialisation and urbanisation as a process, mediates and transforms these structures. As a result, gender differences in both economic and social outcomes are naturally going to be high in all developing societies. The moot point, however, remains, why these outcomes should favour one group at the expense of other. As Freeman (1982) suggests "in order to explain the fit between women and inferior jobs, you have to leave the internal dynamics of the labour market and look at the conditions in which they sell their labour power". A common experience for women workers has been a positive change in the number of employment opportunities. There has been a substantial neglect of changes in quality of that employment and the level of organisation and representation they have within the labour market. PURPOSE OF SURVEY The purpose of this survey was purely exploratory, i.e., to provide substantive generalizations without laying much claim to their statistical validation. (Blumberg 1979, and Humplney, 1987). The survey deals with Delhi's Urban Labour Market relating to working women in the formal component of the tertiary sector. This survey has derived much of its methodology from a survey of workers conducted for the London metropolis (Martin and Roberts, 1984). In addition to framing appropriate questions for working women in the formal sector in Delhi, the interviewer maintained a regular contact with the respondents since 1987. Informal discussions helped to redefine and reformulate questions pertainjng to the work experience, working
Table 1 : Sample Options for Working Women in the Urban Labour Market of Delhi National Classification of Occupations
01. 02. 03. 04. 05.
Professional, Technical and Related Workers Administrative, Executive and Managerial Workers Clerical and Related Workers Sales Workers Service Workers
Total
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Female Urban Workers
48.577
38
Sample breakups
As % of NCD white-collared women workers
% total sample selected
% female urban tertiary workers
0.13
20.19
0.05
0.04 0.03
3.60
56
1.22
18.18
0.04
34.934 0.140 31.590
27.32 6.37 24.71
143 30 9
0.41 0.37 0.03
46.43 9.74 2.92
0.11 0.02 0.007
**308
**0.24
100.00
Population population (15-59) Workers Workers (15-59) Tertiary Workers Workers in all Occupation Workers in white-collar (01,2,3,4,5)
100.0
% female urban workers age (15-59)
62
4.597
127.838 Female Urban Female Urban Female Urban Female Urban Female Urban Female Urban Female Urban occupations
% of total whitecollared women workers
257,7952 161,7964 (62.762) 168,959 165,076 127,621 (77.312) 168,022
= = = = = =
308 308 308 308 308 308
**0.24
respondents respondents respondents respondents respondents respondents
0.09 , 0.02 0.005 0.19 = = = = = =
0.012 0.022 0.182 0.182 0.242*. 0.182
Female urban workers in white-collar occupations are also engaged as female urban workers in the tertiary sector. The difference between the two is only around 217, which can be accounted for by the fact that National Industrial Classification has omitted all industries which employ less than 100 workers. Thus, sample of 308 working women represents 0.24% of the total white- collared working women in Delhi. It also represents 0.24% of the total urban female tertiary workers.
Q
S 8§ (A
Do
O
!
CO
36
Labour & Development
conditions, working history and the job search strategies as adopted by working women in the urban labour market. Pre-testing also assisted in refining the approach adopted for the interview. The target population for the survey were women in the working age group, i.e., between 15 and 59 years. These respondents were selected on the basis of the following criteria: 1) Years of experience in the urban labour market; 2) Level of education; 3) Working experience in the formal sector; 4) Engaged primarily in white-collar formal occupations; 5) Having a variety of occupational status (designations, etc.); and 6) Married or single in different age groups. The main emphasis was on capturing the heterogeneity of the working women in the urban labour markets (Keny and Bech, 1981). A sample of 308 working women was considered appropriate to conduct an in-depth analysis of the urban labour market in metropolitan Delhi. This accounts for 0.24 per cent of the urban female tertiary workers and 0.24 per cent of the white-collar working women. It also accounts for 0.2 per cent of the urban working women in the age group 15-59 years (Table 1). TECHNIQUES OF DATA ANALYSIS The data structure was atomistic in that we recorded each respondent's answers to various questions (Miller, 1983). Each of these questions was treated as a separate variable. The use of the Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) on a pre- coded data set enabled a definitive analysis the field work to proceed in three stages (Urban History Yearbook, 1987) : 1)
At the most basic level, the SPSS package provided us with descriptive statistics of frequencies for all the 308 respondents with 264 variables.
2)
At the second stage, the testing of hypotheses within the data sets was done by using contingency or cross-tabulations based on a bivariate analysis technique.
3)
Finally, in the last stage, attempts were made to reduce the diversity and multitude of variables (on the attitudes towards work, family, etc. for 308 respondents), into a generalised form. For this, we made use of factor analysis. This method provides a summary value for
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
37
a large volume of information. It also irons out extreme views expressed, which could be the result of the way questions were posed, the mood, feeling and emotions generated and the background of the respondents.
HYPOTHESES The major hypotheses which were tested through the primary survey were: 1)
A woman's interaction with the urban labour market is a function of her age, her life cycle, work experience, and her occupational status.
2)
Women's job search strategies in the urban labour market are determined by the structure and the level of development of the urban labour market.
3)
Importance of a woman's earnings for her family is largely a function of her position in the sibling order of the household.
4)
Wage rates, even in the formal components of the urban labour markets are characterised by gender differentials.
5)
A Woman's earning capacity is not a function of her age, but is determined by the years of experience in the urban labour market, her skills, the sector in which she is employed (private or public) and the work she does.
6).
Attitudes towards work, non-work, home and financial independence vary among working women by age and their position in the life cycle. WOMEN'S ACTIVITY AND AGE
Women's participation in economic activity has increased over the years (Heisben, 1971). This has far-reaching implications not only in terms of the quality of human resources, but also in terms of the level of participation of a working population. Increased academic focus on the informal workers of the urban economy pushed the problems of the formal sector workers to the background. Formal workers were merely regarded as a given constant in the urban labour market. A primary survey in Delhi attempts to redress this tendency and refocus attention on the dynamic nature of the urban labour market. We, therefore, start with the basic premise that women's activities in the urban labour market are not invariant. Unlike their male counterparts, economic activity varies considerably with age and with the life cycle. Data in Table 2 indicate that working women's full-time economic activity varies with age and marital status. Age is a particularly good indicator of life stage. A majority of the working women in the sample
38
Labour & Development
taken for this study were employed in the age group 20-39 years. This group accounts for almost 80 per cent of the sample population. In terms of the marital status by full-time economic activity, 47.73 per cent of the respondents were single women and 52.27 per cent were married working women. Of the 161 working women who were married, 117 (72.67 per cent) had children below the age of 16 years. A majority of them had either one or two children (67.70 per cent, Table. 3). Table 2 : Age and Marital Distribution by Full Time Economic Activity of Working Women in Delhi Age Range
Age distribution of working women
16-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59
2 67 94 49 63 14 8 8 3
Total
308 .
Single Married Widowed Divorced Separated
% of total 0.65 21.75 30.52 15.91 20.45 4.55 2.60 2.60 0.97
Marital Status by Full Time Economic Activity 147 142 10 5 4
47.33 46.10 3.2 1.67 1.33
308
100.00
Total
Table. 3 : Number of Working Women who have Children under 16 Years of Age
Number of children under 16 None
Frequency
as % of total
191
62.0
1
54
17.5
2
55
17.9
3
6
1.9
4
2
0.6
Total
117
99.9
Base
308
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
39
Years of Job Experience of the Working Women Year
vorking women
% of total
1-4
104
33.8
5-9
83
26.9
10-14
50
16.2
15-19
50
16.2
20-24
9
2.9
25-29
8
2.6
40-44
2
0.6
50-54
1
0.3
Total
308
Studies have shown that the more children a women has, who are under 16 years of age, the younger the youngest is likely to be (Martin and Robert, 1984). This has a major influence on her willingness and ability to participate in the urban labour market. It, therefore, follows that a woman with one child below 16 years is better placed to pursue her role as a worker, than those with more children. Women with children below 16 years of age have no option but to work full-time, unlike in the West, where part-time jobs are available. A childless woman has a greater propensity to work than a married woman with a child. A fall in the activity rates of working women in their forties and fifties can be accounted for by the age effect, as women in this age group are less likely to continue working. In terms of the years of experience in the urban labour market, about 34 per cent of the working women interviewed had 1-4 years of work experience and about 32.4 per cent of them had 5-19 years of work experience (see Table 3). The data set out in Table. 4 provides information on the distribution of respondents in the various industrial-occupational categories. The fact that Delhi employs a sizeable proportion of working women in public administration and defence services, led us to draw a larger sample from this group (42.53 per cent), followed by educational, scientific and research services (22.40 per cent); real estate and business services (10.39 per cent) and restaurant and hotel services (6-14 per cent). For the same reason, a larger sample was drawn from clerical and related
40
Labour &
Development
workers followed by professional, technical and related workers; administrative,, executive, managerial and sales workers. In all, 76.62 per cent of the sample represented the public sector and 23.05 per cent the private sector enterprises. Table 4 : Industrial/Occupational Structure of the Working Women NIC
No. of women Women workers
workers
as % of total
Service Categories 60.
Wholesale Tr. in Food, Tex. Live An. Severage of Intox.
6
2.0
63.
6
2.0
64.
Wholesale trade in All Types of Machinery, Trans. Elec. Eqpts Wholesale Trade in Misc Mfg.
3
1.0
69.
Restaurant & Hotels
22
7.14
16
5.19
7
2.27
73.
Services Incidental to Trans.
80.
Banking & Similar Types of Financial Institutions
82.
Real Estate & Business Serv.
32
10.39
90.
Pub. Admn. & Defence Serv.
131
42.53
92.
Education, Scientific & Research
69
22.40
93.
Medical & Health Services
4
1.29
95.
Recreational & Culr. Services
2
0.65
3
0.97
96.
Personal Services
308
Total Occupational Categories 01.
Professional, Tech & Related Workers
02.
Admn.,
03.
Clerical & Related Workers
04.
Sales Workers
05.
Service Workers Base
Executive & Managerial Workers
62
20.13
56
18.18
151
49.03
30
9.74
308
iblic sector Distribution of working women in the private public Private
71
23.05
Public
236
76.62
Total
308
100.00
The year of entry into the labour market is an important indicator of. the life stage of a working woman (Table 5). In the sample selected,
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
41
57.4 per cent of the working women entered the urban labour market of Delhi during 1980-89. Since these were the first time entrants to the labour market, they had a different pattern of interaction with it than persons who had started their working career in the 1960s or the 1970s. In terms of levels of educational qualifications, 62 per cent of the sample workers had a bachelor of arts degree and 26 per cent had a post-graduate degree when they entered the urban labour market. Table 5 : Period of Entry of Working Women into the Urban Labour Market Years
Number of women workers
% of total
1960-64
9
2.9
1965-69
12
3.9
1970-74
50
16.2
1975-79
56
18.2
1980-84
87
28.2
1985-89
90
29.2
Base: 308 Table 5A : Highest Qualifications Attached by Working Women Qualifications Intermediate
18
5.8
B.A.
191
62.0
M.A.
81
26.3
M.Phil
15
4.9
Ph.D.
3
0.9
Base: 308 Table 5B : Examinations Passed by Working Women in the Urban Labour Market Reasons
Frequency of women
% of total
19
6.17
6
1.95
75
24.35
Teaching Qualifications Nursing Social Work and Qualification
Contd.
42
Labour &
Development
Clerical and Commercial (Shorthand & Typing)
128
41.56
Apprenticeship
26
8.44
Foreign languages Base: 308
13
4.22
In terms of specialized or technical education, among the respondents of Delhi (Table. 6), 15.58 per cent had secretarial diplomas followed by business management or computer and library science diplomas. T o determine the influence of family circumstances in moulding the perception and decision to work, we had asked the respondents to recall periods of prosperity or crisis in their households and found that 73.70 per cent of the sample were able to recall periods of prosperity. It was also found that prosperity was identified with: a) b) c) d)
Inheritance of property or windfall gain; shifting to one's own house; acquisition of increment by father/mother; or, shifting to a bigger house (Table. 7). Table. 6: Distribution of Major Post-Graduate Diplomas Among the Working Women Diploma description Personal Relation Officers Secretarial Shorthand & typing Journalism Computer Science Hotal Management Library Service Business Management French B. Ed. Hindi typing No ^diplomas done Total Sample
Number of women workers
% of total
6
1.95
39 48 6 16 8 16 31 14 6 11 50
12.66 15.58 1.95 5.19 2.60 5.19 10.06 4.55 1.95 3.57 16.23
308
Tackling of Orisis by Households of the Working Women 1. 2. 3.. 4.
Role of Sisters Role of Brothers Role of Uncles/Aunts Others Base: 308
24 30 22 15
7.79 9.74 7.14 4.87
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
43
Table 7 : Recalling Periods of Prosperity in Household of Working Women Frequency 62 80
20.13
Inheriting property/windfall gain
3.
Shifting to own house
70
22.73
4. 5.
Shifting to bigger house
14
4.55
Repayment of a loan Recovery of a loan given cannot recall
1
0.32
81
26.30
1. 2.
6.
Father/Mother getting an increment
% of total
26.0
Number of Working Women Able to Recall Periods of Prosperity in the Household Response
Frequency
% of total
Able tq recall periods of prosperity Not able to recall periods of prosperity
227 81
73.70 26.30
Total
308
100.00
The major crises faced by working women before entering the urban labour market were identified as: 1)
deaths in the family;
2)
serious illness leading to a depressing environment;
3)
termination of marriage prospects due to financial crisis; or
4)
serious accidents in the family
Transfer of residence within and outside Delhi was not considered a major crisis by working women. Divorce/separation was never admitted very openly as a crisis, unless probed. The adaptive strategies employed by the households of the working women facing any of the abovementioned crises is provided in Table 8. The role of elder brothers and sisters has been instrumental in helping the family tide over these crises. Locating working women within the sibling order becomes an important indicator of the life cycle of a working woman. Position within the sibling order also determines the entry point to the labour market. Moreover, this position also has Implication for the importance and utilisation of their earnings and determines the level of their participation within the labour market. 28.57 per cent of the working women interviewed were second youngest in the family and 26.62 per cent were the eldest
44
Labour &
Development
Table 8 : Working Women Recalling Periods of Orisis in the Household Crises
Frequency of options
% of total
1.
Due to transfer of residence in Delhi
1
0.33
2.
Due to transfer of residence from Delhi
2
0.65
3.
Deaths in the family of aged/elders/youngsters
78
57.79
4.
Serious illness, depressing entire environment
23
39.93
5.
Serious accidents in the family
54
17.53
6.
Divorces/Separation
8
2.60
7.
Termination of marriage prospects due to financial crisis
61
19.80
Base: 308 (Table 9). Date in Table 10 indicate that 18 per cent of the respondents had more than eight members and 17 per cent had seven members in their family. 43.18 per cent of the respondents had five to six members and another 14 per cent had only four members in their family. Table 9 : Sibling Order of the Working Women Sibling order
Number of women workers
Single
% of total
2
3.0
Second Youngest
88
28.57
First eldest
82
26.62
Second eldest
59
19.16
Third eldest
62
10.06
Others
15
4.87
Base: 308 Reasons offered of Mother of Working Women Taking up a Job Frequency
% of total
Was working before marriage
32
10.39
Economic need to support
29
9.42
Highly educated
20
6.49
3
0.97
To be gainfully employed (motivated) Base: 308
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
45
At least 76 per cent of the working women had one or three brothers in the family. While 68 per cent had one to three sisters in their natal family. 17 per cent had neither any brothers nor sisters in their family (Table 10). Table 10 : Total Number of Members In the Family of Working Women Number of members
Frequency
% of total
3
9
4
43
13.96
5
69
22.40
6
64
20.78
2.92
7
53
17.21
8
28
9.09
9
17
5.52
10
11
3.57
Total
308
Note: Only values above 1 per cent was considered here. Table 11 .'Number of Brothers and Sisters In the Family Working Women Number
Frequency
% of total
Number of Brothers in the Family 0
53
17.21
1
119
38.64
2
79
25.65
3
37
12.01
4
15
4.87
Base:
308 Number of Sisters in the Family
0
56
18.20
1
89
28.90
2
65
21.10
3
54
17.50
4
29
9.40
5
8
2.6
Base:
308
46
Labour & Development
The working status of the parents provides important insights into the possible effect it may have on their children's work histories. At the time of the interview, 48.40 per cent of the women respondents reported their father to be working. On the other hand 78 per cent said their mother was not working. Only 11 per cent of the sample reported their mother to be working. Likewise, 46 per cent of the working women interviewed reported that their father had retired from work and only 3 per cent reported their mother as retired. Three per cent indicated that their father expired while in service and 1.33 per cent reported that their father expired after retirement. Interestingly, 6.5 per cent reported their mothers to have been working earlier but were not working now (Table 12). When further probed for the reasons for the mother taking up the job, it was found that in 10.40 per cent of the cases their mother had worked prior to marriage. Economic need emerged as a major reason for their mother taking up a job before marriage. Being highly educated also motivated a large number of them to work. Table 12 : Working Status of the Parents of Working Women Working status at the time of interview 1.
Working
2.
Non-working
Father
% of total
149
48.40
34
11.00
1
0.33
240
77.90 2.90
Mother
% of total
3.
Retired
140
45.50
9
4.
Retired doing business
3
1.00
—
•—
5.
1
0.33
20
6.5
6.
Earlier working, now non-working Working-Expired
9
2.90
2
0.67
7.
Retired-Expired
4
1.33
308
100.00
308
100.00
Total
In terms of the working status of brothers and sisters of women workers interviewed, a distinct pattern emerged. It was found that families with five brothers had at least four of them working full-time. In case of sisters, a similar picture emerged, when we considered their participation in the urban labour market (Table 13). The results presented above are a major reflection of the way women's full- time economic activity in the urban labour market varies at different stages of their lives. The life cycle variables based on age, marital status, sibling order in the family, year of entry into the labour market and number of children below the age of 16 years, reflected the major life
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
47
stages of the working women in the urban labour market. Women's work history varied markedly for single and unmarried women. At the same time, their age also reflected the extent of participation in the urban labour market. Some insights were also drawn as to whether the marital status of a woman worker determined the level of work participation. This question would be highlighted in the subsequent sections. Table 13 : Working Status of Brother/Sisters of the Respondents Working status
Brother 1
Brother 2
Brother 3
Brother 4
Brother 5
Sister 1
Sister 2
Sister 3
Sister 4
Sister 5
Working
210
108
448
12
3
165
73
29
18
3
% of Total
68.1 35.06 15.5
3.9
3.25
0.97
Non-Working % of Total Retired % of Total Working-expired % to Total Earlier working Now Retired
0.97 53.57 23.70 9.42
2
44
0.65
14.28 11.69 8.12
1
2
0.32
0.97
36
25
3
1
2
2.92
0.32
0.65
0.32
1
1
0.32
0.32
Sister 6
Sister 7
1 0.32
3
2.27
0.97
% of Total Earlier working Non-working % of Total Total: 308
Women's Working Hours, Length Pattern of Working Days and their Motivation to Work in the Urban Labour Market Table 14 lists the people who made the most important impact on the sample women's decision to work. It was observed that the motivation for a woman to work came principally from her father and secondarily from her mother. Some were self-motivated. In very few instances did the mother and father jointly endorse the decision of their daughter to seek employment in the urban labour market. The role played by brothers and sisters and by husband (in the case of married women) and peers in assisting women workers in taking a decision regarding work and career was also acknowledged.
48
Labour & Development
Table 14 : People Who Have Made the Most Important Impact on a Working Women's Decision to Work Motivated by 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. Base:
Number of Women
Mother Father Sister Brother Husband Peers Self Aunt Uncle Both father and mother Brother-in -law Grandmother 3.8
70 86 17 17 14 14 66 3 3 5 4 3
% of Total 22.7 22.9 5.5 5.5 4.5 4.5 21.4 1.0 1.0 1.6 1.3 1.0
It was observed that 47 per cent of the sample working women had put in 5-6 years in the present job and another 36 per cent had spent 3-4 years in the present job. Around 14 per cent had 1-2 years of experience and only 3 per cent had 7-8 years of experience in their present job. It was confirmed that working women in the formal labour market rarely had any choice of part-time jobs. As is evident from Table 15, a majority of the working women worked on the same day each week and Table No. 15 : Working Women's Duration of Employment in the Present Job Duration 1 to 2 years
Frequency
% of Total
43
14
3 to 4 years
111
36
5 to 6 years
145
47.1
7 to 8 years Total
2.9 308
100.0
Number of working women who worked on the same day each week Response Women who work Women who do not work Total
Frequency
% of 308
301
97.7
7
2.3
308
100.0
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
49
Working Women Who Start and Finish Work the Same Day Women who work Women who do not work Total
284
92.0
24
7.8
308
100.0
most of them started and finished work at the same time every day. It was also observed that 88 per cent Qf the working women had fixed timings of work, whereas 12 per cent had some choice in the timings to attend work (Table 16). While 61 per cent of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the present timings of work, 38 per cent wanted a change. A majority of them said they wanted to work fewer hours per week (34 per cent). There were others who were willing to work more hours but with lesser number of days per week (Table 16). Table 16 : Working women who have a fixed or flexible time or work Options
Number of women workers
Fixed time Can choose Total
% of Total
270
87.70
38
12.30
308
100.00
Working Women Who Were Happy-not-Happy With the Present Timing of Work Response
Number of workers
% of total
Happy with present time
189
61.40
Would like to change
117
38.0
2
0.6
308
100.0
Cannot say Total
Working Women's Time Preference for Their Jobs Options
Frequency
More hours but less days per week
% of total
14
4.5
Fewer hours per week
104
33.8
Happy with present set-up
190
*61.7
Total
308
100.0
50
Labour & Development
The journey to work and the time spent on it can provide an estimate of the length of the working day (Home and Courna, 1982) or in other words the time spent away from home. Travelling to the work place is an extension of the extension of the normal working hours. Data in Table 17 suggest that most women on an average spent 15-30 minutes in getting to their place of work (27 per cent). 22 per cent of the working women spent just about 10 minutes or less in commuting to work, put another 20 per cent spent more than an hour in commuting to the place of work. Table 17 : Length or Journey to Work for Working Women who Travel to a Regular Place of Work Time •1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Total
10 minutes or less 10-15 minutes or less 16-30 minutes or less 31-45 minutes or less 46-50 minutes or less 60 and more
Frequency
% of total
67 34 82 55 9 61
21.75 11.00 26.20 17.90 2.90 19.80
308
100.00
The above analyses provides some understanding of the adjustments a working woman has to make for balancing her career and domestic responsibilities. The implications of the above analysis are that blanket decisions to increase the number of working days or working hours would have a differential impact on the lives of working women. This would be totally different from the effect it would have on the male workers in the urban labour market. There are very few occupations which actually provide flexibility of timings to working women in the urban labour market. Before conducting the survey, querries were made regarding parttime and full-time occupations, as also about the subsidiary or secondary jobs done by the working woman in the urban labour market. Information about overtime work was also obtained. Table 18 allows for the following observations to be made regarding women's employment and the issues mentioned above : 1)
All of the sample population was engaged in full-time work within the formal sector pf the urban labour market. There was no indication of any woman doing a part-time job in the formal sector.
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
51
2)
A majority of the working women within the sample (87 per cent) had never done a subsidiary or additional job in addition to the job they were currently doing. Only 13 per cent of the sample had done additional jobs.
3)
Working women took on tuitions, typing and freelancing for various magazines and newspapers as additional or subsidiary jobs in the urban labour market (Table 18). Table 18 : Number of Working Women Who Have Done Subsidiary Jobs Over and Above Their Main Salaried Job
Responses
Number of women workers
Women doing subsidiary jobs Women not doing subsidiary jobs Base
%
of
39
12.66
269 308
87.34 100.00
total
Nature of Subsidiary Jobs Done by Working Women in the Urban Labour Market Major job types
Number of women workers
% of total
% of 308 sample workers
Tuitions Free-lancing Journalist Typing Others
10
25.64
3.25
6 8 15
15.38 20.51 38.46
1.95 2.60 4.87
Total
39
4)
38.46
Among those who did subsidiary jobs, 48.72 per cent earned an income between Rs. 2000 and Rs. 3000 per month (Table 19) Table 19. Earnings From Subsidiary Jobs as Declared by Working Women in the Urban Labour Market of Delhi
Gross Pay Range, Rs 0-500
Frequency
% of total
5
12.82
10
25.64
1000-2000
4
10.26
2000-3000
19
48.72
1
2.58
39
11.03
500-1000
> 3000 Base
52
Labour & Development Table 19 : Major Reasons Cited by Working Women for not Doing Subsidiary Work in the Urban Labour Market
Reasons
Frequency
% of total % of 308 sample
24
9.00
8.00
No time
194
72.66
63.00
3.
No need
22
8.24
7.14
4.
Studying
11
4.12
3.57
5.
New to the place
6
2.23
1.95
6.
Not encouraged by family
4
1.50
1.30
7.
No opportunity
2
0.75
0.65
8.
Never thought of it
2
0.75
9.
Delhi not safe
2
0.75
0.65
267
100.00
86.69
1.
Not interested
2.
Total
.065
5) 72.7 per cent of the working women surveyed, did not do any subsidiary work due to paucity of time at their disposal, 9 per cent were not interested in doing any subsidiary jobs. Another 8.24 per cent mentioned that they did not feel the need to do a subsidiary job. A small proportion of working women, however, never thought about the prospects of doing an additional job. At the same time, a few of them expressed their apprehension that Delhi was not safe enough for working women who desire to do additional jobs after the office hours (see Table 19). Of the total sample only 18.83 per cent actually did paid overtime work at their place of work (Table 20). However, 81 per cent said that they never do any paid overtime in their jobs. Further probing revealed that it was not possible to do paid overtime in the jobs. While 39 per cent said it was possible to do paid overtime, 3 per cent expressed ignorance about the opportunities of overtime work available to working women. Table 20 : Working Women Who Do Paid Overtime in the Urban Labour Market
Response
Frequency
% of 308
58
18.83
Respondents who did not work overtime
250
81.17
Total
308
100.00
Respondents who worked overtime
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
53
Working Women Who said it was Not Possible to Do Paid Overtime in Their Jobs Response
Frequency
% of 308
Working women able to work overtime
120
39.00
Working women not able to work overtime
180
58.40
8
2.60
308
100.00
Working women having not idea about overtime Total
Table 21 : Number of Paid Holidays Working Women Earn per year in the Urban Labour Market Range of Days
Frequency
0-1
11
% of total 3.6
16-30
5
1.6
31-45
18
5.8
46-60
78
25.3
61-75
177
57.5
76-90
8
2.6
91-105
8
2.6
106-160
3
1.0
308
100.0
Total
Working women on an average were entitled to a paid holiday ranging from 61 to 75 days per year (57.5 per cent of the respondent range). 25 per cent of the respondents were entitled to two months of paid holiday (Table 21). In general, 80 per cent of them had a choice to take a holiday, especially those working in the public sector enterprises. 9 per cent of the working women from the private sector could take holidays only at specific times in the year (Table 22). Table 22 : Options Available to Working Women in Taking a Break From the Urban Labour Market Choices
Number of women who said
Take holidays at specific times
60
% of total 19.48-
Have some choice in taking a holiday
248
80.52
Total
308
100.00
54
Labour & Development
While eliciting opinions from working women regarding union, it was found that they were not very happy with their narpes being associated with any union. Because of this hesitation, it was found convenient to ask them about associations - both formal and informal-at their place of work. The response was much more positive. While 61 per cent of the respondents said that they were members of the association/union at their place of work, 34.7 per cent said they were non-members. 3.60 per cent of the respondents said that there were no unions in their place of work (Table 23). Only 39 per cent of the respondents attended the union/association meetings. Of them, 29 per cent attended regularly and 71 per cent occasionally (Table 23). On being questioned as to why they did not attend the union/association meetings, the reasons given were quite revealing. A majority of them said that they were not interested, or that they had no time. Some of them were very emphatic in stating that they did not believe in or approve of unions/ associations. They felt that not only were meetings held at inconvenient times and inconvenient places but also that they never had any intimation about the time and place of these meetings. Moreover, these meetings, besides being restricted to committee members, were highly politicised and not really useful to all. It was implied rather succinctly that working women have to fight for their rights by themselves. Problems of working women, it was stated, were never given any priority in the agenda of these meetings (Table 24). Table 23 Working Women Who are Members of Union/Staff Association Options 1
1
,
1
Frequency '
Those Those Total Those Those Total
who attend meetings who do not attend meetings who attend regularly who attend occasionally
•
i
% of total
•
120 188 308 35 85 120
f
38.96 61.04 100.00 29.17 70.83 100.00
Table 24 : Reason Why Working Women do not go to Union Meetings Options
1. 2. 3.
Number of % of total women who said
N6t interested, no time, no particular reason Don't believe in/don't approve of unions Don't have meetings/not allowed to go. Meeting restricted to committee members
25 11 5
8.1 3.6 1.6
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
Don't know when/whether meetings are held Meetings held at inconvenient times/inconvenient place Over-politicised Not useful at all Have to fight alone for our rights Meeting agenda does not have any fixed priorities
9 11
2.9 3.6
9 5
2.9 1.6
55
Therefore, it was not surprising that of the total sample, only 1.62 per cent held any office in the associations/unions (Table 25). Those who held positions were women who had reached the top echelons of their career. Discussions with them gave the impression that women's issues could not really be a priority in their agenda. Matters of workers vis-avis management became more crucial issues for immediate consideration. Table 25 : Working Women Who Held Office in Association/Union Responses Those who had a position Those who did not have a position Total
Number of women who said 5 303 308
% of total 1.62 98.38 100.0
Table 26 : Deputation of Majority of the Working Women in the Urban Labour Market Designation of officers under whom working Managers Supervisors Deputy General Manager Directors Section Officers Duty Officers Company Secretaries Assistant Engineers Executive Engineers Deputy Librarian General Manager Total Base
Frequency
89 11 21 20 59 9 11 9 8 6 7 250 308
% of toti (Sample 308) 28.90 3.57 6.82 6.49 19.16 2.92 3.57 2.92 2.60 1.95 2.27 81.17
56
Labour & Development
In general, therefore, women work less paid overtime than men and this could account for the well known variations in male/female earnings in the urban labour market (Martin and Roberts, 1984). It needs to be emphasised here that, except in the most contingent of situations, overtime work is generally not encouraged by the management, particularly of the public and quasi-government undertakings. Public services of an essential nature like hospitals, universities, libraries, etc. are dependent on overtime work for their smooth functioning. In general, rather than payment in cash, compensatory leave is allowed. This provides some relief and options to working women in the formal sector. The private sector provides more choice of overtime work, where meeting output targets become a matter of primary importance, e.g. tourism industry, advertising industry, etc. It has been found that monetary considerations generally overweigh either in favour of or against overtime work. In most cases, the overtime in cash is limited to certain cadres of employees. Employees in the higher grades are generally encouraged to take compensatory leave against overtime done at the place of work. Some of the working women in the private sector who were working on non-working days or were working beyond the stipulated time, mentioned that this was an expression of loyalty to the company, even if they do not have good terms with their immediate supervisors. Conditions of Employment of Working Women in the Urban Labour Market In order to understand the extent of segregation of work between male and female workers in the urban labour market, questions were directed towards issues of actual work done by working women and their gender specificity (Polacheck, 1976). This was further linked to the training available to them to enhance their skills. A majority of the working women interviewed were working under supervisors designated as Managers (29 per cent); followed by Section Officers (19 per cent); Deputy-General Managers and Directors (6.82) and 6.49 per cent, respectively), (for details see Table 6.26). However, 80 per cent of the respondents declared that their immediate in-charge was a female (Table 27). Table 27 Working Women Whose Immediate Boss is a Male or a Female Options Number of women who said Female boss 246 Male boss 56 No immediate boss 4 Both male female bosses 2 Total 308
% of total 79.87 18.2 1.3 0.6 100.0
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
57
Most of the working women were working along with men workers (Table 28). 56 per cent of the respondents said that these men were doing the same sort of work they themselves were engaged in (Table 28). Almost 39 per cent of them said that they were working alone and 5 per cent replied that men were not working with them. When the proportion of working women who thought of their work as purely woman's work was considered it was seen that only 7.8 per cent of them thought of their work as purely women's work. Likewise, only 3 per cent of working women thought they were doing jobs which were mainly done by men. However, a majority of them were of the opinion that both men and w o m e n can do the job assigned to t h e m . In other words, there is no gender specificity to the tasks assigned in the urban labour market (Table 28). Table 28 : Presence/Non-Presence of Men Working in the Place of Work of Working Women Market Responses
Number of women workers who said
Presence of men workers Non-presence of men workers Total
283 25 308
% of total 91.90 8.10 100.0
Numbers of Cases Where men are doing the Same Sort of Work as Women Do Options
Frequency
% of total
Men doing the same sort of work
172
55.80
Men not doing the same sort of work Women who work alone
15 119
4.90 38.60
2
0.65
There is no one else doing the same job
Working Women Who Think of Their Work as Purely Woman's Work Options 1. Mainly women's work 2. Mainly men's work 3. Work either men and women can do Total
Frequency 24 9 275 308
% of total 7.8 2.9 89.30 100.00
58
Labour & Development
Altogether, 95 per cent of the respondents felt that men can do the same sort of work as women do (Table 29). Over all, 91 per cent of the respondents felt that men would be prepared to do the sort of work women undertook In the labour market. Only 9 per cent felt that men would not be prepared to do the same sort of work women did in the urban labour market. The major reasons assigned by working women for feeling that the work they did was mainly a women's job were: i) ii)
Men do not have the right, personal skills or the temperament. Women were considered better in dealing with people, Most of the work that women do is boring and men would not be able to stand the tedium. Table 29 : Working Women Who Feel Men Can Do the Same Work Which They Do in the Urban Labour Market
Responses Men can do the same work Men can't do the same work Total
Women who 292
% of total 94.80
16
5.20
308
100.0
Proportion of Women Workers Who Said Men Would Not be Prepared to Do the Same Work They Do Responses Men would be prepared Men would not be prepared Total
Women who 280 28 308
% of total 90.91 9.09 100.00
Reasons Why Working Women Think of Their Work as Mainly Women's Work Options Men do not have the right, personal skills or temperament; women better in dealing with people Work requires manual dexterity, men are clumsy The pay is too low The work is boring/men would not stand the tedium
Frequency 33
% of total
10.70 1.9
7 9
2.3 2.9
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life 5. 6. 7:
It would be embarrassing for men Type of work should be a women's work in the informant's opinion Confidential areas better handled by women
6
1.9
7 4
2.3 1.3
59
iii) The salary was considered too low. The type of work was considered women's work in the opinion of the working women. This observation was largely endorsed by respondents engaged in travel, advertising and hotel services. iv) Some respondents also felt that it would be embarrassing for men to do the same job these women were doing, v)
Finally, some considered men to be clumsy in handling confidential jobs, which, it was stated, were generally better handled by working women (Table 29).
A large number of respondents (56 per cent) mentioned having received formal training in the job. While 51 per cent spoke of training courses within the urban labour market, only 5 per cent were trained onthe-job. A majority of them received training for less than one week (19.80 per cent). 13 per cent received training for more than one week but for less than one month, 22.08 per cent had undergone training courses ranging from one month to more than 6 months. On the whole, 44.16 per cent of the respondents received no formal training at the place of work (Table 30). Table 30 : Working Women Who Received Formal Training in the Job Options
Training Course Training on the job No training
Number of women who said
% of total
157 15 136
50.97 4.87 44.16
Duration of Training Course Available to Working Women in the Urban Labour Market Options
Less than 1 day 1 day but less than 1 week 1 week but less than 1 month
Number of women who said
% of total
4 61 39
1.30 19.80 12.66 Contd.
60
Labour & Development
1 month but less than 6 months 6 month plus
34
11.04
34
11.04
No training
136
44.16
Total
308
100.00
Among those respondents who attended training courses, 60 per cent had attended these courses twice; 35 per cent thrice; 20 per cent four times; 9 per cent five times and 3 per cent over six times (Table 31). While 98 per cent of the respondents had learnt on the job; 64 per cent had already done this job when they joined their company, 5 per cent of the respondents felt discriminated against by the management in denying them access to training programmes. At least 1 per cent among them felt that they were leap-frogged by the males when it came to training programmes. Table 31 : Number of Times Working Women in the Urban Labour Market Attended Training Courses Times
Frequency of women workers
% of total
Once
192
100.0
Twice
103
59.88
Thrice
60
34.88
Four
33
19.19
Five
16
9.30
5
2.91
Six plus Base: 172
Proportion of Working Women Who Learnt on the Job Options
Frequency of women workers
% of total
Women workers who had done this kind of work before
196
63.60
Had learnt on the job
304
98.70
14
4.50
3
1.00
Felt discriminated for not being sent on a training course Being leap-frogged by males Base: 308
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
61
Working Women Who Felt There Was Scope for Further Training in the Job Options
There was scope for training There was no scope for training Can't say if there was any scope for training Total
Number of women who said
% of total
!35 70 3
76.30 22.70 0.97
308
100.00
Over all, 76 per cent of them felt that there was scope for further training. Only 23 per cent felt that there were no opportunities for working women to get access to training programmes in the labour market (Table 31). Most working women felt that they would require training for jobs at higher levels where new skills would be an asset in handling major responsibilities. 42 per cent of the respondents felt the need to acquire more skills in handling their current jobs. Working women in general were quite eager to have further training. This was true mainly for jobs requiring newer skills and which were at higher levels (Table 32). Table 32 : Proportion of Working Women Who Feel There are Opportunities for Training in the Current Job Opportunities in The hob they are doing currently For jobs requiring new skills For jobs at a higher level No opportunities Base : 308
Number of Women who said
% of total
131 17 222 177
42.50 70.50 72.1 57.46
Proportion of Working Women Who Would Like to Have Further Training in the Urban Labour Market Options
For the job they were doing now For jobs requiring new skills For jobs at a higher level Do not want to have any training Base : 308
Number of women who said
% of Total
160 276 274 14
51.90 89.60 89.90 4.50
62
Labour &
Development
In terms of promotions within the urban labour market, it was observed that in the sample, 55 per cent were promoted in their jobs, whereas 45 per cent never had a promotion. 82 per cent of them felt that there were opportunities for promotion in their current job, 13 per cent were very pessimistic about future prospects, 6 per cent expressed ignorance about any prospects of promotion in their jobs in the near future. Almost all of them, however, were keen that they be considered for further promotion (Table 33). Four per cent of the respondents were quite averse to receiving promotions in their jobs. The major reasons which were cited by respondents not keen to accept a promotion were: i)
Family commitments added a lot of pressure on them.
ii)
Quite a few of them actually liked their present job and were not keen to do a different type of job.
iii)
Some of them were planning to shift to a new job.
iv) Others did not want any more responsibilities and felt that they were either not qualified or lacked experience (Table 34). Table 33 : Working Women Who Have Been Promoted in Their Jobs Options
Women worker who said
% of total
Women workers who were promoted
168
54.50
Women workers who were not promoted
140
45.50
Total
308
100.00
Working Women Who Feel There are Opportunities for Promotion Options
Number of women who said
There are opportunities for promotion
% of total
253
82.10
There are no opportunities for promotion
39
12.70
Not aware of opportunities for promotion
16
5.19
308
100.00
Total
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life Working Women who want to be Considered for Options
Number of women who said
Want to be considered for promotions Do not want to be considered for promotions Not sure about promotions Total
63
Promotions % total
280 12
90.90 3.90
16 308
5.10 100.00
Altogether, 55 per cent felt that the present job made full use of their experience, whereas 45 per cent felt otherwise. We then went on to explore the reasons why women were doing jobs not making full use of their work experience. A majority of them cited job-related reasons and that justice was not done to their work experience. Others gave reasons related to personal circumstances. Some mentioned that there were no other jobs available. In some cases they never tried for any other job and invariably ended up doing jobs with no variety or challenge (Table 34). About half of the working women in the urban labour market were fairly satisfied with the people they worked with (see Table 35) and 42 per cent were very satisfied with their journey to work. In terms of their future prospects, 48 per cent were fairly satisfied. Most of them were fairly satisfied with the hours of works done, the scales of pay and the opportunities to use their abilities. 72 per cent of the respondents felt very satisfied as regards the security of their job. Over all, 58 per cent of the sample felt fairly satisfied about their job. The remaining 13 per cent had attitudes ranging from "altogether dissatisfied" to "obviously not satisfied" (Table 35). Table 34 : Reasons Why Working Women in the Urban Labour Market Do Not Want to be Considered for Promotions Reasons 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Number of women who said
Do not want to do a different type of job/nature of work would change Don't want more responsibility Like the job I am doing now Planning to change job/would prefer a different job to promotion Not qualified/do not have enough experience Have family commitments Total
% of total 308
1
0.30
2 4 3
0.60 1.30 0.97
1
0.30
1 12
0.30 3.90
64
Labour &
Development
Working Women Who Feel Present Job Makes Full Use of Experience Options
Number of women who said
% of total
170 138
55.20 44.80
308
100.00
Yes no Can not say Total
Major Reasons Cited by Working Women for Doing Job Not Making Full Use of Work Experience Options 1. 2. 3. 7. 9.
Number of women who said
% of total
22
7.10
45 19 13 13
14.60 6.20 4.20 4.2
Mainly related to personal circumstances Mainly job-related reasons No other jobs available Back to same, job-no variety Never tried any other job Base 138
Table 35 : Working Women's Attitude to Work in the Urban Labour Market of Delhi How satisfied are you with
Very satisfied
The people you 112 work with % of total 36. The ease of your 128 journey to work % of total 41.60 Your prospects 47 % of total 15.3 x Your hours of work 98 % of total 31.8 The sort of work 93 you do % of total 30.2 Your rates of pay 55 % of total 17.9 The opportunities 57 to use your abilities % of total 18.5 How secure your 227 job is % of total 18.5 Overall how do you 87 feel about your job? % of total 28.2
Fairly satisfied
Altogether dissatisfied
Very Not Can't Total disobvisay satisfied ously satisfied
154
23
10
8
50 109
7.5 19
3.2 12
2.6 39
35.40 147 47.7 126 40.9 146
6.20 42 13.6 31 10.1 33
3.9 30 9.7 24 7.8 19
12.70 40 13.0 29 9.4 17
47.4 149 48.4 126
10.7 40 13.0 55
6.2 25 8.1 36
5.5 39 12.70 34
100 308 100 308
40.9 53
17.9 7
11.7 4
11.0 15
100 308
40.9 179
17.9 25
11.7 11
11.0 6
100 308
58.1
8.10
3.60
1.90
100
1
308
0.3 1
100 308
0.3 2 0.60
100 308 100 308 100 308
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
65
Attempts were also made to understand the reasons for women to work. It was found that: i)
20 per cent felt that to work was a normal thing to do (Table 36);
ii)
Most of them needed money for basic essentials, such as rent, food, mortgages and lease.
iii)
Still others went to work to earn their own money;
iv) About 30 per cent of the respondents said they were working because they enjoyed working and wanted to pursue a career; v)
12 per cent of the respondents were working to achieve an independent existence.
Table 36 : Reasons Cited by Working Women for Taking up a Job in the Urban Labour Market (Main Reasons for Working) Reasons
Women Workers Who say so
1.. Working is a normal thing to do 2. Need money for basic essentials as rent, food fees, mortgages, lease 3. To earn money of buy extra 4. To earn money of my own 5. For the company of other people 6. Enjoy working 7. To follow my career 9. Sense of fulfilment 10. Self-respect 11. Support family 12. Independence 13. Social status 14. Compulsion Base: 308
% of total
Frequency
%of total
63
20.5
15
4.90
56
18.20
36
11.70
31 52 14
10.10 16.90 4.54
11 30 3
3.60 9.74 0.97
46 46 32 33 28 38 28 1
14.94 14.94 10.40 10.70 9.10 12.34 9.10 0.30
22 38 42 22 29 56 3 1
7.14 12.34 13.65 7.14 9.42 18.20 0.97 0.30
When we asked the respondents to indicate the main reasons why they took to work, 18 per cent of them cited financial independence as the primary reason. A sizeable section (12 : 34 per cent) said they worked to follow a career (Table 36). Others worked because they achieved a sense of fulfilment, while a majority of the working women said that working was a normal thing to do, yet never emerged as a primary reason for women to work.
66
Labour & Development Table 37 : Working Women Planning to Leave Work Next Year
Those who said
Frequency of women
Those who were planning to leave Those who were not planning to leave Those who were indecisive Total
77 224 7 308
% of total 25.0 72.70 2.20 99.00
Working Women Expect/Do not Expect to Go on Working Beyond Age of 40 Years Response
Frequency of women
Expect to go on workmg Do not expect to go on working Don't know Total
218 81 9 308
% of total 70.78 26.30 2.92 99.90
Questions were also asked to assess the level of involvement of working women in the urban labour market. 73 per cent of the working women said that they had no intention of leaving their jobs in the near future; 2 per cent appeared indecisive but 25 per cent were already planning to leave the labour market within a year (Table 37). The major reasons cited for leaving their current job within a year were desire for a better job (23 per cent) and starting a family (Table 38). In order to ascertain the long-term trends of employment in the urban labour market, women were asked if they intend to stop working after the age of 40. Those who planned to discontinue their career after 40 years of age provided the following reasons: a) Most felt that they would not require the money and would like to spend more time with their children and family; b) Jobs were considered rather tedious and had affected their health; Table 38 : Reasons Which May Force Working Women to Leave Their Jobs Reasons 1. 2. 3. 4. 5 6.
Retirement Temporary contract Dissatisfied with job Want better job Going abroad Starting a family
7.
Be with family
Base: 308
Frequency of women 4 3 72 4 5 3
% of total 1.3 1.0 23.40 1.30 1.60 1.00
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life c)
67
3 per cent of the respondents were either planning to migrate or to set up their own independent business (see Table 39). Overall, 71 per cent were sure they would work beyond the age of 40; 26 per cent said they would discontinue and 3 per cent were indecisive about their future involvement in the urban labour market (Table 39).
Table 39 : Reasons Why Women Workers in the Urban Labour Market May Stop Working After Age 40 Reasons 1. 2.
Frequency
Dont know Won't need money, don't want to work, want to spend more time with family, want more leisure 3. Health reasons, job is tiring 7. Want to do independent research 9. Want to set up business 10. Going to migrate 11. Top much of stagnation Base: 308
% of total
9 57
2.9 18.5
15 4 10 9 6 110
4.87 1.30 3.20 2.90 1.90 35.71
Job Search Strategies as Adopted by Working Women in the Urban Labour Market In this section, the strategies adopted by working women in the urban labour market to acquire means of employment are examined. An attempt has also been made to highlight aspects of a job which are considered essential by women seeking employment. The diverse job priorities are also identified. The major hypothesis tested here is that job search strategies in the urban labour market are determined by the structure and level of development of this market. The underlying theme is that a labour market not only allocates workers to different jobs, which are scarce, but also provides new opportunities (referred to as the 'creative functions' of a market). Working women move in and out of the urban labour market. Unlike, males who are more averse to changing jobs, working women infuse a great deal of dynamism into the working of the urban labour market. While the job search strategy of a male may not be very different from that of a female worker, yet working women have a much quicker access to untapped labour market information, which is generally overlooked within the urban labour market. Data in Table 40 indicate that 36 per cent of the working women felt that it was fairly easy to get a job in the urban labour market. Another 20 per cent felt very confident that it was very easy to acquire employment status. Thus, 60 per cent of the respondents thought it was easy to get a job in the unban labour market, whereas the remaining felt it was difficult.
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Labour & Development Table 40 : Working Women's Perception Towards Job Search
Choice 1. 2. 3. 4.
Frequency of women
% of total
63 112 75 58 308
20.50 36.40 24.40 18.80 100.00
Very easy ' Fairly easy Fairly difficult Very difficult Total Base 308
Working Women's Familiarity/Access to Urban 1.abour Market Information Options 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Number of women workers
% of total
Extremely well informed Fairly well informed Badly informed Not at all informed No choice
65
21.1
154 42 46 31
50.0 13.6 14.9 10.3
Total
308
100.0
Reasons why it would be Difficult for a Working Woman to get another job Reasons 1. 2. 3 4. 5.
Frequency of women
Few jobs, too much competition No jobs of the type they wanted No jobs with choice timings Age, too young or too old Not enough experience or qualification Base; 308.
% of total
172
55.80
117
38.80
12 46 31
3.90 14.9 10.10
The major reasons cited as to why it would be difficult to find a job in the urban labour market were: a) There were too few jobs, and too much competition. b) There were no jobs of the type they wanted. c) They were either too young or too old to get another job. d) Some felt they did not have the adequate experience or qualification to get a new job.
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
69
In all, 57 per cent of the working women expressed the urgency of having a job, while 29.5 per cent felt it was not very important to have a job (Table 41). Most of the working women were keen to go on a training course if it would help them to get a better job. While 53 per cent opted for full-time training courses, 41 per cent expressed a preference for parttime training (Table 41). Table 41 : Importance of Having a Job as Expressed by Working Women Choices
Number of women who said
LVery important 2.Fairly important 3.Not very important 4.Total
176 41 91 308
% of total 57.1 13.3 29.5 99.90
Working Women who were wilingI to go on a TrainingI Course to get a job Choices
Number of women who said
Willing to go on a training course Not willing to go on a training course Not sure whether to go on a training course Total
282 20 6 308
% of total 91.60 6.50 1.90 100.00
Working Women willing to attend full/part-time Training Course to get a job Choices Attend full-time training Attend part-time training Can attend either full or part time training course Total
Number of women who said
% of total
163 126 19
52.9 40.9 6.1
308
99.9
In job search strategies, one takes into consideration both formal and informal ways of acquiring information about the urban labour market. A prospective candidate in search of a job adopts one or both the methods in reaching his/her objective. As the labour market becomes more and more developed, there is greater flexibility in allowing workers to shift from job to job. The buoyancy of the urban labour market allows for an efficient, optimum allocation of workers
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Labour & Development
to jobs they are best suited for. Conversely, if the labour market is very tight, there is invariably a mismatch between the skills and the jobs allocated. Rigidity also hampers the labour market in playing a creative role in generating additional opportunities with adequate remuneration. The urban labour market, therefore, acts as a barometer of the healthy labour market and vice versa. Table 42 : Multiple job search strategies, as adopted by Working Women in the Urban Labour Market Number of women workers
Steps 1. 2. 3. 4.
Looking at advertisements given in newspapers Asking around friends & relatives Approaching employers directly Registering at employment exchanges Base:308
% of total
221
71.75
101 26 80
32.79 8.44 25.97
Reasons cited by the Working Women for not registering at Employment Exchanges Choices Not really looking for a job not urgent/ essential Prefer other ways of finding a job/ found a job straightaway Did not think of it Need a break to review, but was not idle Too ambitious to work in government, so chose private sector jobs No jobs of the type I wanted It is not an ideal method Too much bribery Base:308
Number of % of total women who said 8
2.6
10
3.2
6 2 2
1.9 0.6 0.6
3 2 2
1.0 0.6 0.6
Data in Table 42 show that 72 per cent of the respondents depended on a newspaper advertisement to get a job. Another 33 per cent on information through friends and relatives. 25 per cent registered formally with the employment exchanges. The major reasons why all the working women did not register with an employment exchange were: i) They preferred other ways of finding a job or they found time job straightaway. Obviously, time taken by government agencies is long and the procedure Cumbersome.
Gender Issues & Quality of Work Life
71
ii)
Some of them said that they were not really anxious, or desperate to have a job. This is a very suggestive statement, in that only those who were left with no options but work ultimately ended up registering with employment exchanges.
iii)
Most felt that employment exchanges provided very limited options and corruption was rampant there (Table 42).
Table 43 : Method adopted by Working Women in searching for a job in the Urban Labour Market Very useful
Options 1)
2)
3) 4) 5)
Asking around people 127 you know % of total 41.2 Approaching employer 76 directly % of total 24.7 Using employment exchang e 92 % of total 29.9 Looking at advertisement 250 81.2 % of total 31 Using private employment agencies % of total 10.1 Base:308
Fairly useful 114
Not very useful
Don't know 4
63
37.0 99
20.5 97
1.3 36
32.1 36 11.7 40 13.0 54
31.5 83 26.9 14 4.5 37
11.7 97 31.5 4 1.3 186
17.5
12.0
60.4
Criteria adopted by Working Women while searchingI for a
