why women falling out of workforce – Namita bhandare

Men got way more jobs

women always need to ask for permission – men in the family and even village
panchayats
family and household work
permission to even got out to the market. Cant go out alone to seek a job
too many pre conditions even when you get a job – distance – timings – cook
food – safe
safety, as places mostly male dominated – infrastructure – hostels and creches
legally have to provide these facilities
clear case of discrimination – companies don’t want to hire them
themselves inclined to go towards womanly jobs
skilling is a solution for this
train people for what the market wants – there is a gap in that process
few skill programmes – ustads and male teachers – family reluctant to send
girls
more diversity in companies
women work only when the household needs it, otherwise they don’t
u curve

sex workers manifesto – durbar mahila samanwaya committee

women do not have any bargaining power or any power against the client
do they’ve the authority to say no if the client doesn’t want to use a condom
the clients are also very poor – do they care about all of this? Its like a obstacle
in their pleasure
if she says no, she risks losing her client
this will only work if all of them say no
want decriminalisation of sex work
history of sexual morality
women are supposed to stay virgins, no sexual desires, those who do are sex
workers considered to be “fallen”
men are allowed to have open sexual desires
family - very good environment for the man as he can still go to the sex worker
despite having a wife, but the wife is supposed to be at home
it is the man who goes to the sex worker, but it’s the sex worker who is called
the home wrecker (women pit against each other)
anti-men? No anti-patriarchy? Yes
two images – pure and deviant
why prostitution? Many jobs are risky, but people do demand for better
conditions, but in prostitution they have to go for rehabilitation instead of
better conditions
criminalised and very marginalised – hide and do it despite of red areas
always under the brawl of middle men, police, madams, pimps
don’t have much power and double labour (take care of home, children and
drunkard husband)

first wave of feminism

1950s & 60s John Money and Robert Stroller – gender as a social concept
Masculinity and femininity varied across cultures
First time the idea that maybe it is acquired rather than innate
Universal adult franchise – women as wives, mothers, etc
They were in the forefront of these mass movements but not in the structured
decision-making and institutions, working in a predominantly patriarchal
structure with no gender sensitivity – FUCK
 WEBER – patriarchal authority – traditional society – male heads of house and
control
Engels – monogamous marriage – ensured control of women’s reproductive
sexuality
They considered men and women’s different “social positions” but that these
are in fact social constructs in the first place didn’t strike them yet (no equal
legal status)
TALK ABOUT THE ASHAS – women working with the delivery and shit

Second wave – radical feminism

Where are women the most exploited/subjugated?
In the private sphere of family – before this family was seen as the harmonious
and peaceful space for women – the solution to this is – personal is political
The basic assumption – because the woman is exploited in the private, that’s
why they’re also exploited in the public
Liberal political theories – family – 2 assumptions – 1. Free personal choice and
free of power
Challenge of feminists – free personal choice available ONLY TO MAN. Women
have to work according to men, which mostly means housework and take care
of family, Relation between mand and woman is one of power, one dominates
the other
Private sphere – sphere of inequality, hierarchy, domination and HIDDEN
because government is not allowed to look inside or interfere, open it to
normative scrutiny
Doesn’t object privacy or want to abolish private/public distinction
They just want to change the nature of private – based on equality and consent
Gender decides the type of work given to you. Even your Capabilities are
decided judged and defined on the basis of gender
Feminine labour and masculine labour – home or work field
Youre capable of doing only this kind of work, you lack strength, skill,
refinement JUST BECAUSE you belong to a certain gender, that is when the
problem arises, and that is when labour becomes gendered
Under valued and under pain for the same work. EVERYONE DOESN’T HAVE
THE EQUAL STRENGTH AND CAPABILITY. Some women are stringer than some
men and vice versa
Minimum wages act – 194, minimum wages for all
Equal remuneration act – 1976, inequality in work conditions, heath conditions
and pay
2012 – housework as economic work – because the only work many women do
is seen as no work and hence theyre seen as not doing any work
Housewife and homemaker – brought the concept that they’re doing work
Formal sector – lady teachers – cultural activities
Male teachers – physical activities
Home – like an informal sector as well – homemaking – cooking, cleaning, child
and old
House help – sub allocation of work to another women – shows once again
that it is not equal share of housework
No stipulated working hours – no food to eat after serving others or no sleep at
night since you’ve to take care of everyone – no holidays, facilities or
incentives that are in the formal sectors – they don’t have rights or to question
– they cant question and be like I want to take a holiday this week because I
haven’t had one in the past 3 weeks
Cooking food (also repetitive), cleaning – after a few hours once its eaten,
there is no proof the work so since a concrete product is not to be seen the
house work becomes invisible as a result of which their work is also
undervalued
Women who work outside – paid labour and unpaid labour at home, they’ve
some support systems in the formal sector, the “support system” at the house
is also constantly judging and criticizing their work and no place for
improvements
Home based work (cottage industries) – the family works as a unit – the
women’s labour becomes a part of the process – but only the head (mostly
man) recognised for credit for the finished product, man has the right to sell
the product, advantage – they can take care of the home, dont have to
commute, dis – housework + this work ( multiplied work)
Women – cheap source of labour regardless kill or unskilled, therefore, more
often employed in the informal sector (90%), women like it because flexible
work hours
Division of labour is okay but sexual division of labour is problematic
Men are better with science and math (stereotypes and value judgements)
even if the statistics show that, we’ve to focus on the cultural and parental
decisions that even theyre like ladka yeh karega. This is problematic because
these things don’t have ratoional basis and division of labour gets fucked
Constant judgement – you’ve to prove yourself again and again or youre just
too withdrawn
Lets look at homes except for heterosexual ones
Farmer suicide 9women centred families) – how many women farmers
committed suicide? What happened to their families? Again leaves us with the
stereotype that only heterogenous families are there
Single parent – affordability and class – middle class women shares work with
domestic help – lower class women does that work and the work of her own
home. Class also dictates your work
Girl children are also allocated work – isn’t this child labour too???? To take
care of younger siblings and shit
When you identify a women with only the work she does (housework) what
happens when shes old and she cant do that anymore? There is a vacuum and
her place in her own home is not enough anymore
Question the home as a democratic space – dignity of labour, equal sharing
and value recognition