The Problems of Women's Labor
Hindi essay: the problems of women labour.
Since 1950, women’s participation in the labour market has increased steadily, the overall economic activity rate of women, for the age group 20-54, now approaching 70 per cent as opposed to slightly above 50 per cent in 1950. 1
Although still lower than the male labour force participation rate, the striking feature of women’s labour force participation has been its sharp increase.
Various factors are generally given to explain this. One is decreasing fertility rates, due in part to increasing educational levels and in part to the widespread introduction of female contraceptive methods in this period. In nearly all countries, as women have fewer children, their labour force participation rates increase. Another factor is the transition from manufacturing industries to services industries as economies advance. Traditionally, women have been disproportionately employed in the services sector and, in many countries, employment opportunities in this sector have increased greatly. A third factor is the globalization of markets. As the advanced market economies move out of manufacturing and, in particular, low-skilled manufacturing, these jobs move to lower cost economies. Thus, employment opportunities for both men and women in developing economies may increase. Women who were not previously in paid employment now find jobs in light manufacturing plants and in the assembly phase of manufacturing. A fourth factor is technological innovation, especially in telecommunications, which has made it much faster and cheaper to transfer data across borders. Thus, women in developing countries and in countries remote from the advanced market economies now may find employment opportunities in data processing, credit card billing centres and call centres which no longer have to be located in the client’s home country. It should be noted, however, that despite the fact that the percentage of
Since 1950, women’s participation in the labour market has increased steadily, the overall economic activity rate of women, for the age group 20-54, now approaching 70 per cent as opposed to slightly above 50 per cent in 1950. 1
Although still lower than the male labour force participation rate, the striking feature of women’s labour force participation has been its sharp increase.
Various factors are generally given to explain this. One is decreasing fertility rates, due in part to increasing educational levels and in part to the widespread introduction of female contraceptive methods in this period. In nearly all countries, as women have fewer children, their labour force participation rates increase. Another factor is the transition from manufacturing industries to services industries as economies advance. Traditionally, women have been disproportionately employed in the services sector and, in many countries, employment opportunities in this sector have increased greatly. A third factor is the globalization of markets. As the advanced market economies move out of manufacturing and, in particular, low-skilled manufacturing, these jobs move to lower cost economies. Thus, employment opportunities for both men and women in developing economies may increase. Women who were not previously in paid employment now find jobs in light manufacturing plants and in the assembly phase of manufacturing. A fourth factor is technological innovation, especially in telecommunications, which has made it much faster and cheaper to transfer data across borders. Thus, women in developing countries and in countries remote from the advanced market economies now may find employment opportunities in data processing, credit card billing centres and call centres which no longer have to be located in the client’s home country. It should be noted, however, that despite the fact that the percentage of