Thread by @Raksha_Kumar, [#thread on women's employment] Surprise surprise! India’s economy is in big trouble. [...]

[ #thread on women& #39;s employment] Surprise surprise!
India’s economy is in big trouble. In the last week of August, the federal government admitted that the country& #39;s GDP had shrunk by around 24%. For context, GDP of the US contracted by around 9%.

What can the government do? Many things. But consider this.
A 2020 United Nations Global Compact study found that raising women& #39;s participation in the labour force to the same level as men can boost India& #39;s GDP by 27 %.
Not bad, eh?

But, only countries like Iran, Jordan and Lebanon are worse off than India when it comes to female Labour Force Participation rate - the share of women aged 15-64 who report either as being employed, or being available for work. India& #39;s is 24.8% in 2020. Down from 34% in 2006.

Turns out, the #lockdown has been worse for young women& #39;s seeking jobs. Basis @_CMIE figures, I did this story for @Forbes #6a9498ca6d20">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/25/young-women-face-the-brunt-of-indian-economic-downturn/ #6a9498ca6d20">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rak...

Young Women Face The Brunt Of Indian Economic Downturn

The prospect for women's employment in India doesn’t look all that bright - pandemic or no pandemic.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/25/young-women-face-the-brunt-of-indian-economic-downturn/#6a9498ca6d20

One of the biggest fears of dipping employment figures for younger women is an increase in early age marriages. Considering, there were 5,584 phone calls to prevent underage marriages across the country between March and June, the situation might be worse than we think.

Women who work in agriculture find themselves in a worse position thanks to the #lockdown. I had worked on the issue earlier with data from @CadastaOrg @FES_India @Landesa_Global etc. But, I did this story on the immediate situation. #62d8249e32c6">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/21/the-invisible-hands-that-feed-12-billion-people/ #62d8249e32c6">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rak...

The ‘Invisible’ Hands That Feed 1.2 Billion People

Almost 84% of women in rural India depend on agriculture for their livelihood. The lockdown made matters worse for them.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/21/the-invisible-hands-that-feed-12-billion-people/#62d8249e32c6

With more and more people returning to their villages post- #lockdown, competition for farm work has increased, pulling the wages down considerably. This affected the women most.

When I probed the abysmal female labour rate participation in India, I found that the privileged ones would rather not pick up paid jobs because of the ever widening gender pay gap. #8383e437fb04">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/18/why-indian-women-dont-pursue-paid-employment/ #8383e437fb04">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rak...

Why Indian Women Don’t Pursue Paid Employment

Three out of four women in India do not work as paid employees. There are no incentives or safeguards for women to seek paid work.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/18/why-indian-women-dont-pursue-paid-employment/#8383e437fb04

Women benefit from positive discrimination, especially at the workplace, but lawmakers need to ensure there are no unintended negative consequences. Unfortunately, well-meaning laws in India have not helped its women. #5489d61b33d8">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/27/indian-women-suffer-gender-discrimination-due-to-well-meaning-laws/ #5489d61b33d8">https://www.forbes.com/sites/rak...

Indian Women Suffer Gender Discrimination Due To Well-Meaning Laws

Laws should not perpetuate existing social discrimination, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had once said. Some Indian laws do just that.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/rakshakumar/2020/09/27/indian-women-suffer-gender-discrimination-due-to-well-meaning-laws/#5489d61b33d8

Here& #39;s @Nemo911& #39;s post on #LinkedIn on the issue.
Thanks to @peegeekay for pointing me to her post. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/women-workforce-participation-swiss-knife-solving-nations-chahal/?articleId=6676040354690682880">https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/wom...

Women workforce participation - The Swiss knife for solving a nation's socio-economic problems

Preface: I posted this originally on Twitter as a thread. It seemed to have found resonance across the board and saw a mention in The Ken, a new age journalism outfit covering India and SEA.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/women-workforce-participation-swiss-knife-solving-nations-chahal/?articleId=6676040354690682880

A recent paper by @aditiratho of @orfonline is also a very useful resource for those who want to engage more on the issue. https://www.orfonline.org/research/promoting-female-participation-in-urban-indias-labour-force-63693/">https://www.orfonline.org/research/...

Promoting female participation in urban India’s labour force | ORF

The workforce participation rate of India’s women is significantly lower than that of the men; and amongst the women, the employment levels

https://www.orfonline.org/research/promoting-female-participation-in-urban-indias-labour-force-63693/

In addition, @BansariKamdar& #39;s piece for @TheDiplomatMag gives an overview of the recent challenges. https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/women-left-behind-indias-falling-female-labor-participation/">https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/w...

Women Left Behind: India’s Falling Female Labor Participation

India’s female labor force participation is the lowest in South Asia.

https://thediplomat.com/2020/07/women-left-behind-indias-falling-female-labor-participation/

All the four stories I did for @Forbes on women& #39;s employment in India can be found here [one more in edit]. CC: @VibhutiJPatel, @ramreddy, @MrinalPande1 @Laadli_PF
#61a15e13279f">https://www.forbes.com/search/?q=raksha%20kumar #61a15e13279f">https://www.forbes.com/search/...

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