Is globalization enhancing woman labour force?

Dr. Shikha Jyoti Deka

In the era of globalization, in order to compete at global level, it has become significantly important for a nation to reduce gender discrimination. In today’s integrated world, increasing global sensitivity towards women’s rights performs the role of a watchdog. Gender imbalance can curtail nation’s global standing-peculiarly for nations with export potential in goods and services with high female employment. While growing consumers’ demands and media exposure for better treatment of workers has obliged multinationals towards better working conditions and fairer wages for women, international peer pressure has also guided more nations than ever to ratify treaties against unjust or prejudice treatment.

Since 1919, ILO has sought to guarantee labour rights and improve working conditions for women and men. Equality is enshrined in the ILO Constitution. The principle was first made operational in 1951, when the ILO adopted the Equal Remuneration Convention (No. 100). Acknowledging that discrimination in remuneration cannot be tackled effectively without ensuring more general protection against discrimination in employment and occupation, the ILO adopted the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention (No. 111) in 1958. The ILO’s commitment to the elimination of discrimination was reaffirmed in the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998. The ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008, also reaffirms that gender equality and non-discrimination are cross-cutting issues in all the ILO’s work (ILO, 2008).

Pressure from media and consumers in developed countries can also lead multinational firms to offer better working conditions to their workers in developing countries. For instance, both wages and nonwage working conditions (such as hours worked, accidents, contractual characteristics, work environment, and other benefits) among formal workers (most of them women) in the export textile and apparel industries in Cambodia, El Salvador, and Indonesia were found to be at or above the average in the rest of the economy (WDR, 2012).

The establishment of various NGOs around the globe and the collaborative efforts of these organizations have improved the lives of women in developing nations. The U.N. Decade recognized the importance of female labour in developing nations and the fact that economic policies fail to address the needs of females. Representatives from NGOs agreed that global feminism should be established to reduce the inequality facing women in these nations and to improve the advancement of women in society (Bacchus, 2005). As a result of The U.N. Decade, NGOs in throughout the developing world have reached out to women to meet their needs in farming, environmental protection, healthcare, domestic issues, employment conditions, and to reduce the financial strains in their everyday lives (ibid). The collective organization of women’s groups throughout the world has also generated the attention of the media, which is necessary in educating the general public about the current issues facing women in developing nations. The continued efforts of these groups and the economic realization of the importance women’s work will eventually create greater social awareness about the inequalities facing women in these nations (ibid).

In India, the Ministry of Women and Child Development is administering schemes for gender equality/socio-economic development/empowerment of women in the country. The information was given by the Minister of Women and Child Development, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi in reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha on 10 December 2015. A few of the schemes are- ‘Swadhar and Short Stay Homes’ is to provide relief and rehabilitation to destitute women and women in distress. Another scheme ‘Working Women Hostels’ is for ensuring safe accommodation for working women away from their place of residence. Scheme ‘Support to Training and Employment Programme for Women’ (STEP) is to ensure sustainable employment and income generation for marginalized and asset-less rural and urban poor women across the country. Scheme ‘Rashtriya Mahila Kosh’ (RMK) is to provide micro-finance services to bring about the socio-economic uplift of poor women self-employment. ‘Rajiv Gandhi National Creche Scheme for Children of Working Mothers’ (including single mother) is to provide day care facilities for running a creche of 25 children in the age group 0-6 years from families having monthly income of less than Rs 12,000.

As we have seen, globalization is the worldwide movement towards political, economic and cultural integration. This process has influenced on culture, on government structure, on economic expansion and prosperity, on the environment, and on welfare of mankind around the globe. Economic, social, political and environmental globalization cut across national boundaries and results in higher integration or interdependence of human societies.

Economic globalization integrates worldwide markets. Over the past 60 years, this integration has accelerated steadily through advancement in technological and telecommunications, development in transportation, role of Multinational Corporations and Non Government Organizations, mobility of capital and labour, increase in consumer demand, dismantling cross-trade barriers and reduction in other man-made barriers to international trade. Now, the emerging economies (developing countries) impact on the global economy and the advanced economies (developed countries) is rising rapidly.

As discussed, globalization, particularly in terms of the mobility of capital and the spread of advanced communication technologies, has had a radical impact on employment relations in countries that are finely incorporated into the world economy. In India, its effects were mainly seen in the service sector.

At the international level, it has been noticed that women participation in the paid workforce has been increasing and their employment has expanded to all the productive sectors – services, agriculture and manufacturing; with a particularly strong arise in the service sector. Women have also proceeded towards occupations that have been typically ruled by men. It simply means that, beyond household-based production, the section of female workers has moved to various sectors of the economy. This direction of women employment is influenced by the process of globalization and it is not only limited to high-income countries. As we have discussed, women’s representation has been escalating as a share of total employment and to varying degrees, their employment has been developing faster than men’s. Studies reveal that the gap between percentage of women employment and percentage of men employment has been narrowing.

Globalization has the capability to contribute to greater gender equality. Globalization has indeed worked as a catalyst in women’s efforts to get fair rights, impartiality and opportunities and certainly has nurtured the ideas and norms of equality for women that provided a platform of awareness. Economic dimension of globalization gives rise to new scope and benefits to women. Growth in cross-national exchange and upgraded communication encourage improvements in women’s status and equality.

What is to be done is that to implement suitable policies to effectively address gender disparities and to bring social justice. In a fast developing country like India, progress and development do not confine to increase in production, health and social welfare alone (Patel, 2014). It is not possible to have any major development by marginalizing the majority of educated women with professional skills. The first step in national development is to recognize their merit and their contribution. Women should really feel proud of their accomplishments and status in the society. That will strengthen themselves to fight against the social evils. The entire success of the family and nation depends of the women of the house and at the working place (ibid).

(The writer is an Assistant Professor, Modern College of Arts, Science and Commerce. She can be reached at shikha84deka@gmail.com)

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