This report highlights that gender inequalities and women's subordination in India are caused by two formidable macro-structures: patriarchy and the exclusion of unpaid work from the macro-economy. Both these structures reinforce each other and negatively impact women's empowerment. Patriarchy imposes subordination on women and forces a disproportionately higher share of unpaid domestic services and unpaid care onto them. This is unfair and unjust - a violation of basic human rights. Other structures like race, religion, and caste cut across these main structures. The selected papers in this report show how patriarchy causes gender inequalities in all critical dimensions of women's life on the one hand, and how unpaid domestic services and unpaid care sustains the macro-economy and its growth on the other. The contributors discuss pathways to integrate unpaid work with the macro-economy such that the strength of patriarchy declines and at the same time gender equality is promoted. To put it differently, unless the structures are addressed by integrating unpaid work, inequalities cannot be addressed effectively. The report emphasizes that this is the only way to move to real macroeconomics. The papers have explored pathways to break these structures gradually to achieve gender equality and empower women. Though the path is challenging, it is feasible to reach the goal of pervasive gender equality.
1: Indira Hirway: Introduction Section One: The Major Impeding Structure 2: Indira Hirway: Transforming Impeding Structures for Gender Equality: Exploring Pathways 3: Padmini Swaminathan: Revisiting the Feminist Project of Gendering Development: Why Framing of Questions Becomes Important? 4: Govind Kelkar and Pallavi Govindnathan: Social Norms and Attitudes Towards Women's Entitlement to Land 5: Sona Mitra: Policy Framework for Women's Economic Empowerment: What is a Miss? Section Two: Patriarchy and Unpaid Work 6: N Neetha: Care Economy in India 7: Deepta Chopra: Women in the Labour Market: Structural Constraints and Solutions Towards Gender Equality and Empowerment 8: Anuradha Seth: Gender Inequality and Intra Household Consumption Disparities 9: Indira Hirway and Anindita Ghosh: Recognition, Reduction and Redistribution of Unpaid Work in India Section Three: Case Studies: Patriarchy in the Selected Sectors 10: Nitya Rao: Seasonal Agricultural Work, Gendered Time Use, and Its Implications for Nutrition 11: Aasha Kapur Mehta and Samik Chouwdhury: Gender Inequalities in Health and Care 12: Geeta Menon and Aparajita Sharma: Barriers and Pathways to Girl's Education 13: Indira Hirway: Macroeconomic Policies and Unpaid Work: Trade-liberalization Policy and Home-based Workers Section Four: Social Norms and Violence Against Women 14: Jharna Pathak and Rahul Sharma: Macro Roots of Violence Against Women: Rape Victim's Struggle for Justice 15: Jharna Pathak and Neha Shah: Socio-Economic Correlates of Domestic Violence: A Hidden Crisis of COVID-19 Pandemic Section Five: Social Mobilization for Empowerment 16: Renana Jhabvala and Nitya Nangalia: Gradual Revolution: SEWA, An Example of the Women's Movement 17: Indira Hirway: Expanding Statistical Paradigm Mainstreaming Time Use Surveys in the India Statistical System 18: Surajit Deb: Social Development Index 2022
Indira Hirway is the Director and Professor of Economics, Centre for Development Alternatives, and Associate of Levy Economics Institute of Bard College, New York. Major areas of her research interest are development alternatives, employment and labour market structures, poverty and human development, gender and development, environment and development, and time use studies.
