Women and Economics
Context:
- For a considerable time, economic history has been written from a male perspective, highlighting the accomplishments and perspectives of men. Since 1969, just three women have received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, compared to ninety males.
Women in the Economy:
- 2009 saw Elinor Ostrom emerge victorious for her explanation of how local communities, the majority of which are found in poor nations, manage themselves. Esther Duflo, the second, took up the prize in 2019 for her innovative efforts to reduce world poverty. Claudia Goldin, whose research on female labour force participation (FLFP) earned her the third women’s Nobel Prize in Economics in 2023.
- The main goal of economic science is to understand how economically useful products and services are produced in an efficient manner. Economists quantify human and natural resources in monetary terms. Claudia Goldin received recognition for her efforts to clarify why, although performing equivalent labour, women get paid less than men.
- The work that women do in the home improves human welfare in society; nevertheless, it has little effect on GDP or economic growth. According to Ms. Goldin’s research, women are viewed as less useful in economic enterprises because they are unable to commit to working full-time for their employers for an extended period of time, unlike males. This is despite the fact that women also take care of the caring job that is needed for families at home.
India’s future employment prospects:
- Global economic growth patterns have changed. Even in wealthy nations, long-term employment in industrial settings is becoming more difficult to come by. The informal sector and gig economy are currently producing more jobs. Short-term contracts are used for employment, even in major industrial companies.
- Given that India has the greatest proportion of young people worldwide, these developments in the future of work provide a unique problem. Despite the fact that the Indian economy is one of the fastest expanding in the world, they are finding fewer options for respectable work with a sufficient salary and social security.
- Furthermore, with India ranking 132nd out of 191 nations in terms of human development, more funding should be allocated to caregiving services. Sadly, the care economy places little emphasis on providing care. Millions of women who labour in communities as ASHA (Accredited Social Health Activists) and anganwadi (AWC) workers in primary health and education, as well as millions more who provide domestic services, are paid extremely badly.
- The G20 has been urged by the prime minister of India to promote human-centered development that goes beyond GDP. “One Earth, One Economy, One Future” has been the current globalisation concept. At the G20, India has proposed Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, or “One Family, One Earth, One Future,” as an alternative vision.
- GDP is a monetary indicator that only accounts for a society’s economic aspect. Caregiving labour is not valued by the GDP. Therefore, officials, even in India, want to take women out of the informal sector and out of their homes and force them into more productive, industrial agricultural enterprises in order to help the country achieve its goal of becoming a “$10 trillion dollar GDP.”
The SDG aim is:
- In order to make growth more equitable and sustainable, a number of environmental, social, and economic issues must be resolved concurrently. These issues are addressed by the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), which are expected to be accomplished by 2030.
- The G20 has determined that, with only 12% of the targets met by 2030, global progress towards the SDGs lagging behind schedule. It is obvious that we need to adapt if we are to meet the SDGs.
- The same methods of thought that created complex systemic issues cannot be utilised to solve them. In public policy, it is customary for domain experts to identify the best solutions in their fields, and then government agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) carry them out on a large scale.
- No, complex problems should be solved top down, but bottom up. The only way to accomplish the SDGs is for communities to work together to build local system solutions.
Esteem the caregiving profession:
- The economy is viewed by men as a competitive production machine. A caring society is the foundation of a feminine understanding of the economy. The mainstream, male-dominated field of economics has produced a Tragedy of the Commons.
- Nobel Laureate Ostrom demonstrated how local communities collaboratively manage their own resources sustainably and fairly, frequently with women at its heart. Ms. Ostrom put out an alternative paradigm for achieving the Millennium’s pressing requirement of implementing the Promise of the Commons, one that is centred on collaboration, equity, and sustainability.
A shift in the economic paradigm:
- A transfer in power is usually necessary for paradigm shifts, but it’s challenging since powerful people are reluctant to cede their position. Power comes from a variety of sources: formal education, science (PhDs and Nobel Prizes), political authority, and money.
- Instead of teaching the people ways that have brought humanity to serious difficulties with environmental degradation and economic inequality, it is time for the powers that be to humbly listen to the people and learn from them.
- An overhaul is required for the global, male-dominated, and financially driven system of business and societal organisations. Women need freedom to create better, family-oriented institutions for governance, not only to advance within institutions controlled by men.
Way Forward:
- Furthermore, more authority must be granted to local communities to create and carry out inclusive, long-lasting solutions to their issues. The idea of “One Family, One Earth, One Future” put forward by Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam will quickly vanish in the absence of such important institutional reforms.
