Sundari S
Department of Economics, Mother Teresa Women's University, (A State University), Kodaikanal, Tamil Nadu 624101 India.
Indian J Labour Econ. 2020;63(3):689-717. doi: 10.1007/s41027-020-00245-2. Epub 2020 Oct 7.
The primary objective of this paper is to look at the trends and pattern of changes in women's employment structure over years (1983-2018) consequent upon the structural changes in the Indian economy. It also attempts to analyse the quality of women's labour in terms of select parameters. The study finds that there is neither quantitative nor qualitative improvement in women's employment over time on account of structural changes in the economy. There is no 'U' curve of female labour supply in response to GDP growth and expansion of female literacy, implying that economic growth has not generated adequate jobs for women. It also signifies that women's entry or exit of labour market is influenced by non-economic factors also. There is no major occupational diversification in women's employment despite structural shift of the economy from primary to tertiary sector. Agriculture is still the leading sector in women's employment. The study further reveals that the quality of women's labour is poor. Overcrowding of workforce in agriculture largely as wage labourers, lower earnings, poor literacy levels, large-scale informal employment and most self-employment in the form of unpaid work are indications of women's disadvantaged position in the labour market.
本文的主要目的是研究印度经济结构变化所导致的多年来（1983 - 2018年）女性就业结构的变化趋势和模式。它还试图从选定的参数方面分析女性劳动力的质量。研究发现，由于经济结构变化，女性就业在数量和质量上都没有随着时间的推移而得到改善。女性劳动力供给并没有因国内生产总值增长和女性识字率提高而呈现出“U”型曲线，这意味着经济增长没有为女性创造足够的就业机会。这也表明女性进入或退出劳动力市场也受到非经济因素的影响。尽管经济从初级部门向第三产业结构转变，但女性就业并没有出现重大的职业多样化。农业仍然是女性就业的主导部门。该研究进一步表明，女性劳动力质量较差。劳动力在农业中过度拥挤，主要是作为雇佣劳动者，收入较低，识字水平差，大规模的非正规就业以及以无薪工作形式存在的大多数自营职业，这些都表明女性在劳动力市场中处于弱势地位。
