PYQ Relevance
[UPSC 2021] Examine the role of ‘Gig Economy’ in the process of empowerment of women in India.
Linkage: The article highlights that India’s economic vulnerabilities are aggravated by its failure to integrate women into the workforce. While traditional women-dominated export sectors face instability due to tariff shocks, the gig economy offers a new pathway for empowerment. Platforms like Urban Company demonstrate how women can earn sustainable incomes (₹18,000–25,000/month) with safety, insurance, and skill development. Thus, the gig economy is not just an employment option but a structural enabler of women’s empowerment, mobility, and autonomy. However, as the article stresses, formalisation of gig work, targeted policy support, and social protections are vital to make this empowerment sustainable. |
Mentor’s Comment
India’s economic rise is undeniable, valued at $4.19 trillion, it is poised to be the world’s third-largest economy. Yet, the proposed 50% U.S. tariffs on Indian exports highlight an uncomfortable truth: India’s growth story is fragile because it has failed to empower half its population. This article unpacks how gender imbalance in labour markets is no longer a social concern but an economic vulnerability.
Introduction
India’s ascent as a global economic power is being tested by external shocks such as U.S. tariff hikes targeting $40 billion worth of Indian exports. Unlike China, which diversified and scaled its manufacturing, India’s labour-intensive sectors, textiles, gems, leather, footwear, remain exposed. These are precisely the industries that disproportionately employ women. The looming disruption reveals a deeper structural weakness: India’s persistently low female labour force participation rate (FLFPR). What was once viewed as a social development challenge is now a core economic liability threatening the sustainability of India’s demographic dividend.
The U.S. tariff shock and its economic implications
- Targeted exports: U.S. tariffs at 50% could shave off nearly 1% from India’s GDP, directly hitting sectors employing 50 million workers, many of them women.
- Comparative disadvantage: India could face a 30–35% cost disadvantage against competitors like Vietnam.
- Dependency: The U.S. absorbs 18% of India’s exports, exposing India’s lack of diversification.
- Employment vulnerability: An export decline of up to 50% could destabilise women-dominated industries.
Women’s participation as India’s strategic liability
- Persistently low FLFPR: Stuck at 37–41.7%, far below China’s 60% and the global average.
- Lost GDP potential: IMF estimates closing the gender gap could boost India’s GDP by 27%.
- Cultural and systemic barriers: Patriarchal norms, unpaid care work, safety issues, poor public transport, and sanitation gaps keep women away from education and jobs.
- Urban stagnation: Urban female labour participation shows little improvement despite rising education levels.
The ticking clock of India’s demographic dividend
- Demographic window: India’s working-age population outnumbers dependents, but this will close by 2045.
- Historical lessons: China, Japan, and the U.S. capitalised on their demographic peak to fuel growth; Southern Europe failed due to low female participation, resulting in stagnation.
- Risk of lost opportunity: Without women’s integration, India risks a slowdown before fully realising its demographic advantage.
Lessons from global experiences in women’s empowerment
- U.S. during WWII: Women’s labour mobilised with equal pay and childcare.
- China’s post-1978 reforms: FLFPR at 60%, backed by state-supported childcare and education.
- Japan’s reforms: FLFPR rose from 63% to 70%, boosting GDP per capita by 4%.
- Netherlands model: Flexible part-time work with full benefits, relevant for India’s context.
- Common thread: Institutional investments in legal protections, skills, and care infrastructure.
Emerging solutions and policy innovations within India
- Karnataka’s Shakti Scheme: Free bus travel boosted female ridership by 40%, improving access to jobs, education, and autonomy.
- Targeted fiscal policies: Tax incentives for female entrepreneurs, digital inclusion drives, and gender-skilling programmes.
- Gig economy empowerment: Urban Company employs 15,000+ women, offering ₹18,000–25,000/month along with maternity benefits and insurance.
- Public schemes: Rajasthan’s Indira Gandhi Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme generated 4 crore person-days of work, with 65% jobs for women, enabling many to work for the first time.
Conclusion
The U.S. tariff threat is a wake-up call, India’s economic fragility lies not just in external shocks but in internal neglect of women’s potential. Empowering women is no longer a matter of social justice but a strategic necessity for sustaining growth, harnessing the demographic dividend, and achieving global competitiveness. The choice is stark: invest in women and rise as a resilient power, or ignore them and remain vulnerable to shocks and stagnation.
