Niti Aayog’s latest report on state-level progress across various indicators under the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reveals the comprehensive index score on gender equality (Goal 5) of all Indian states, except Kerala and Sikkim, fall in the red zone, signifying low performance.

Niti Aayog’s ‘Strategy for New India @75’ document falls short of engaging gender equality in a meaningful way, despite its own worrisome findings. The strategy document section on gender which discusses just one theme: The need to enhance female labour force participation, while neglecting a whole gamut of other issues. The strategy document aims to achieve a female labour force participation of at least 30 per cent by 2022.

                The idea of women- empowerment just doesn’t imply economic empowerment by increasing their Labour force participation, job creation, entrepreneurship opportunities. There is a grave necessity of social and political empowerment due to.

• Crimes:
  • Crimes against women are discussed merely as a barrier to women’s mobility, one that hampers their supply in the labour market.
  • NCRB data recording an 83 per cent increase in crimes against women between 2007 and 2016, and the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s global poll in 2018 naming India as the most dangerous country for women.
  • The MeToo movement tumbled out many skeletons from the drawers showing most women kept quiet about the sexual harassment due to fear of losing jobs and affecting their livelihoods and career.
• Social barriers:
  • Married women are not allowed to work in some religions and culture. Further, the patriarchal mindset prevalent in Indian people forces such barriers on women.
  • According to recent research by Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a major metropolis like Delhi has only 196 female workers per 1,000 workers, and Mumbai has only 188. In contrast, a state like Nagaland, which has historically been matrilineal, has more than 500 women workers per 1,000 in most districts.
• Unpaid care:
  • Unpaid work done by women in the household demonstrates no understanding of how it constrains women from entering the labour force.
  • The lack of basic facilities like drinking water, cooking gas in rural areas forces women into drudgery to arrange the basic stuff.
• Fixed Gender Roles:
  • There are fixed gender roles in most families, again a consequence of patriarchal mindset.
  • The concept of paternity leave and mainstreaming of gender education in schools is still miles away in India.
  • Without the renegotiation of gender roles, most women will only juggle jobs and not enjoy fulfilling careers.
• Gender-wage gap:
  • Unequal pay for equal work is a stark feature which directly violates the fundamental right to equality of women.
  • A government report in 2018 finding a 30 per cent wage gap even for men and women with the same qualifications.
  • Women also lack equal inheritance rights leading to Feminization of poverty.
  • There is absence of any discussion on over-representation of economically active women in the informal sector, which leaves them poor and vulnerable, deprived of many work benefits.

Way Forward:

• Implementation of the laws viz. Protection of women from sexual harassment at workplace act, maternity benefit Act in true letter and spirit.
• Breaking the social barriers by gender sensitization and education at families, schools and workplaces.
• Incentivising companies to employ women and promoting safe work spaces are necessary.
• Companies must compulsorily grant paternity leave so that the responsibility is shared.
• Gender-wage gap should be reduced by bringing in stringent laws.
• Formalization of jobs should be pushed to avail benefits to many women. Until then, social security benefits should be provided to women in unorganized sector.

Conclusion:

                The NITI Strategy document opted for a GDP-centric approach focusing only on capitalisable gender dividend. The strategy document should take into consideration the above lacunae and provide a holistic document rather than eyewash. The need of the hour to reap economic benefits is by addressing the issues of gender rights and justice.