Education, Employment, and Job Preference of Women in Kerala: a Micro-Level Case Study
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Education, Employment, and Job Preference of Women in Kerala: A micro-level case study Lakshmy Devi K.R. Disucssion Paper No. 42 2002 Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development Centre for Development Studies Thiruvananthapuram Education, Employment, and Job Preference of Women in Kerala: A micro-level case study Lakshmy Devi K.R English Discussion Paper Rights reserved First published 2002 Editorial Board: Prof. P. R. Gopinathan Nair, H. Shaji Printed at: Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development Published by: Dr K. N. Nair, Programme Co-ordinator, Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, Centre for Development Studies, Prasanth Nagar, Ulloor, Thiruvananthapuram 695 011 Tel: 0471-550 465, 550 491 Fax: 0471-550 465 E-mail: [email protected] Url: http://www.krpcds.org/ Cover Design: Defacto Creations ISBN No: 81-87621-44-3 Price: Rs 40 US$ 5 KRPLLD 2002 0750 ENG 2 Contents 1. Introduction 5 2. Theoretical discourse on female labour force participation 15 3. Female labour force participation – Empirical studies 24 4. Area and population of the study: A profile 38 5. Gender, work, and household relations 47 6. Determinants of female labour force participation in Kerala: Some evidence from the micro level 60 7. Summary and conclusions 85 Appendix 94 References 96 3 Education, Employment, and Job Preference of Women in Kerala: A micro-level case study Lakshmy Devi K.R* 1.Introduction The twentieth century has witnessed rapid transformations in labour market structures in both developed and developing countries. The changes have been so dramatic that the work place in these countries is no longer a man’s preserve. Women in large numbers have joined the labour force and taken up paid employment. Though the trend was first visible in Western industrialised nations, many of the developing countries have also witnessed significant growth in female labour force participation. In most developing countries, the period since 1980 has witnessed increasing participation of women in recognised paid employment and this trend has intensified since 1990. Entry of women in larger proportions into the labour force has been, to a great extent, the result of changes in macro-economic policies during the Eighties and the Nineties. The data for the past 20 years show that female labour force participation has increased, in general, in both developed and developing countries (Table 1.1). However, there seems to be wide divergences in the pattern of change between developed and developing countries. Developed countries which had relatively high female work participation rates even in 1971 experienced a further increase, which was marginal in the case of some countries like Germany but substantial in the case of Australia and China. China is the only country which has a female work participation rate above 50 percent. The Latin American countries like Chilie, Mexico, Brazil, and Peru which had moderately high levels of female participation have registered significant increase during the period. In African countries such as Nigeria ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This study would not have been possible but for the generous support from the Kerala Research Programme on Local Level Development, which sponsored the study. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to the Programme Co-ordinator Dr K. Narayanan Nair and his team. I also thank Dr K. Nagaraj whose comments and suggestions have helped me in a big way in conceptualising and formulating the basic issues relating to women and work. The project was completed successfully with the co-ordinated work of my research team - Bindu Varghese, Bindu. K, Deepa Krishnan, Simon T. D, and Sreelatha K. Incidentally, all of them are old students of the Department of Economics, Dr John Matthai Centre of University of Calicut. I acknowledge my gratitude to them. I am extremely thankful to the Director, Institute of Planning and Applied Economic Research, University of Calicut for granting me affiliation and the University of Calicut for giving me permission to take up the study. This study by necessity is an exploratory one and as such it has its limitations. However, I am sure that its general conclusions will be useful for evolving policies for ‘empowerment of women’. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to all my respondents who despite various inhibitions co-operated very well with the researchers. My husband is the pillar of strength of all my academic endeavours. All my words would be insufficient for expressing my gratitude to him. Still this report would have remained inadequate had it not been for God Almighty who has made many impossibles possible in my life. * Lakshmy Devi K.R is Professor, Department of Economics, University of Calicut, John Matthai Centre, Aranattukara, Thrissur. 5 and South Africa, labour force participation rates of females declined. In the case of India also a marginal decrease in the rate is observed. Among the South Asian countries, except Pakistan, all others have FLPR higher than that of India. Table 1.1 Female labour force participation in selected countries 1971-1997 Countries 1971 1997 Industrialised Countries U.K 35.9 42.6 U.S.A 37.1 45.7 France 36.5 39.0 Germany 40.4 41.1 Australia 31.9 43.6 China 41.8 55.7 Japan 38.9 43.3 Latin Amrican Countries Peru 20.7 22.0 Chile 22.9 25.8 Mexico 18.9 25.6 Brazil 22.3 32.2 African Countries Nigeria 37.3 28.4 South Africa 33.1 29.4 Middle Eastern Countries U.S.A 4.3 18.9 Kuwait 9.0 24.7 Oman 6.4 8.6 South Asian Countries India 29.4 28.9 Pakistan 9.3 20.7 Bangladesh 5.5 44.3 Sri Lank 25.1 30.5 Source: World Employment Report 1998-1999 The increase in the rate in the case of Pakistan and Bangladesh seems to be spectacular. One of the reasons that could be attributed to the increase in female labour force participation is the increasing globalisation trend which the world witnessed since the late eighties. Women’s employment has gone up significantly in every region of the world, with the exception of Africa. This means, however, neither an improvement in the financial power of women nor elimination of gender-based discrimination (UN Report, 1999). The main aim of economic reform was to generate higher rates of economic growth. Economic growth does not, per se necessarily lead to reduction in gender inequalities. 6 The female labour force participation rate in India is not only low, but also has remained near-stagnant over the past several decades. Moreover, there still exists a large difference between the work participation rates of males and females, which is an important aspect of gender inequality. Besides, differences in the nature of work performed also bear evidence to gender inequality. Women are largely confined to unpaid work (at home or in the field) and casual labour, while men concentrate on more valued forms of remunerative work. The data on work force provided in the reports of the successive rounds of National Sample Survey (NSS) clearly point out the trend of increasing casualisation of the work force, the incidence of which is more severe among women than among men. Kerala, which ranks first among the Indian States in terms of Human Development Index (HDI) and Gender Development Index (GDI), presents, however, a poor picture in terms of female work participation. This is paradoxical since the development experience of the State is universally acclaimed as a ‘model’ for poor States to follow for transforming the living conditions of their people, through ‘enlightened’ policies of promotion of health care and education. But, the most tragic failure of development in the State is the acute unemployment and low labour force participation rates of both men and women. Reckoned in terms of all the three measures of unemployment – usual status, current weekly status, and current daily status - used by NSS, Kerala has the highest incidence of unemployment both for males and females and in rural as well as urban areas. Educated unemployment in the State is even more severe. During the period 1983 to 1988, the unemployment rate of those with educational qualifications higher than SSLC went up only marginally from 6.96 percent to 7.24 percent in the country, while in Kerala it went up from 14.38 percent to 17.88 percent in the case of males and from 17.11 percent to 24.23 percent in the case of females. This clearly indicates that improvement in literacy and education has in no way improved the employment situation in the State. It is often held that education improves the employment opportunities of a woman and raises her earning potential. But the experience of Kerala suggests an inverse relationship between education and female employment. Whether education is the cause of unemployment or vice versa needs investigation. The rapid expansion of higher education in the State and the consequent steady increase in the supply of graduates swell the reservoir of educated unemployment in the State. There are distinct differences in job preferences as between educated and uneducated persons. It seems that the improvement in the educational levels of women in Kerala have created in them strong preference for white collar and salaried jobs and reduced their willingness to take up manual work. Preference for salaried employment and aversion to self-employment among educated job seekers of Kerala were documented in a few recent studies. However, the fact that even the uneducated have strong job preferences based on factors such as social status, class- consciousness, and the resulting inter-linkages in the social hierarchy, is new wisdom. The pattern of employment, especially female employment, in the State is a complex phenomenon.