Women: Delhi
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The state of Delhi’s women
As in 2015-21
Abhinav Rajput, Ridhima Gupta & Siddhivi Singh, Dec 9, 2023: The Times of India
From: Abhinav Rajput, Ridhima Gupta & Siddhivi Singh, Dec 9, 2023: The Times of India
Book Of Job: Number Of Women In Workforce Dips
DELHI DATA: Employment Among Women Lower Than National Average, Seeing A Consistent Decline Over The Years
New Delhi : The number of women in the working population of Delhi has dipped, while the number of men has gone up marginally. The ‘Women and Men in Delhi 2023’ report published by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics on Friday said that Worker Population Ratio (WPR) in the age group of fifteen years and above for women went down from 16% in 2018-19 for three consecutive years to reach 11.5% in 2021-2022. In the case of men, it rose from 67.3% in 2018-2019 to 68.9% in 2021-22.
Delhi's women workforce participation is also lower than the national average, which was 22% in 2017-18 and has since shown an upward trend to reach 31.7% in 2021-22, as per the data in the report. WPR is an indicator used to assess the employment situation. The ratio indicates the proportion of a country's population that actively contributes to the production of goods and services.
ADelhi government official said that the pandemic was one of the reasons that the number of women in the workforce decreased. Many of them engaged in the unorganised sector lost their jobs during that time. “Also, the number of women working in agrarian states or rural areas in the farm sector is sometimes higher than recorded,” he said.
Swati Maliwal, head of Delhi Commission for Wo men, responded to the gender skew saying, “While India recently achieved the status of the fifth-largest economy globally, the active involvement of women in the labour force remains limited. The adverse effects of the Covid pandemic have exacerbated the challenges they have faced in recent years.”
Maliwal added, “Women also continue to encounter difficulties in accessing fundamental amenities such as transportation and safety. Issues like child marriages and alack of educational opportunities for girls are significant barriers too. It is imperative to focus on enhancing safety in urban areas, as well as improving the affordability and accessibility of transportation and education in rural India.”
The unemployment rate has improved in the case of both genders over the years. For the age 15 and above age group, the unemployment rate was 9.2% for males against 10.7% for the female population in 2017-18. In 2021-22, the rate was 5.1% for men and 6% for women. In 2021-22, 33.1% of the male workers were self-employed, 63.3% were wage or salary earners and 3.5% were casual labourers. Among women, 17% were self-employed, 83% were in regular wage or salaried employment and none in casual labour. Casual labour comprises intermittent, sporadic or short-period work. The figure seems to indicate that more women switched from casual to regular wage or salaried employment in 2021-22.
The analysis of the distribution of workers across industry divisions shows that the highest female participation (14.7%) was in trade, hotel and restaurant sectors, followed by manufacturing (14%) and communications (7%). They had negligible presence in the electricity and water sectors.
According to the report, the average wage of Rs 548 earned by casual workers per day in Delhi surpassed the national average of Rs 382. One area regarding women in Delhi that has shown improvement is the mean age at marriage. It is now higher than the national average. As per the report, in 2020, the mean age at marriage for women in the city was 24.4 years against the national median age of 22.7 years. While in urban Delhi, the mean age was 24.4 in 2020, in rural Delhi it was lower at 23.3. Rural Delhi has been seeing a dip in the mean marriage age for the past few years.
Education
Education; employment as educators 2020-21
Shreya Ghosh, Dec 9, 2023: The Times of India
More women secure entry-level posts in univs, but career progression slow
New Delhi : The information related to education in the ‘Women and Men in Delhi 2023’ report shows that in 2020-21, there was a surge in female representation in faculties in the city, especially as assistant professors, tutors, temporary teachers and visiting teachers.
In 2020-21, there were 2,404 male professors and 1,415 women professors in the various institutions in the city. Associate professors numbered 1,838 men and 2,519 women associate professors, while there were 5,291 men and 6,879 women assistant professors.
Maya John, assistant professor of history at Delhi University, said, “In universities and other publicly funded higher education institutions, women can secure entry-level posts, but a career progression, especially in science, is challenging due to the long hours required in laboratories. Universities lack adequate supporting infrastructure, such as daycare facilities and creches.”
Abha Devi, associate professor of phy sics at DU, added, "The science and mathematics departments are male dominated and women fare better in humanities. Nevertheless, hiring at the base level must be bias-free.” She also alleged a glass ceiling in the university that needed to be acknowledged by the authorities.
On the brighter side, the education report shows a broader societal shift with more women choosing careers in medicine and education. Women seem to be more drawn to the teaching profession than men, especially at the primary level, as evidenced by the number of female teachers per 100 male teachers rising from 363 in 2012-13 to 410 in 2021-22.
The adjusted Net Enrolment Rate in secondary schools was 90.9% in 2021-22, with the figure for girls being 88.9% and for boys, 92.6%. Literacy rates of those aged 7 and above increased from 93.8% to 96.3% in urban areas between 2014 and 2017-18 and from 89.8% to 92% in rural areas in the same period. The Gender Parity Index in higher education dropped from 1.2% in 2018-19 to 1.04 in 2020-21, indicating a decline in gender parity.
Health
2015-21
Dec 9, 2023: The Times of India
Delhi women getting obese; maternal mortality and anaemia on the decline
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
New Delhi : Delhiites appear to have given up the fight against obesity, the root cause of many lifestyle-related diseases, indicates the Delhi government report on “Women and Men in Delhi — 2023”.
According to the report, the number of women in Delhi considered obese has seen a jump of nearly 8% — from 33.5 % in 2015-16 to 41.3 % in 2019-21. keeping up with them are men who saw a 13.4 % increase in obesity — from 24.6% in 2015-16 to 38.0% in 2019-21.
The capital, however, saw an improvement in other key health parameters. For example, maternal mortality and anaemia among young women has declined in the city.
As per the Annual Report on Registration of Births and Deaths in Delhi, the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in the capital decreased from 0.55 in 2019 to 0.49 in 2022. MMR refers to the number of women who die due to complications in pregnancy or childbearing in a given ye ar per 1,00,000 births.
The report also shows a significant decrease in young women (15-49 years old) suffering anaemia from 54.3% in 2015-16 to 49.9% in 2019-21. Doctors say obesity, which is characterised by a Body Mass Index (BMI) exceeding 30, is a pressing health concern associated with heightened risks of type-II diabetes, hypertension and organ-related complications.
“To address this multifaceted issue, we advocate immediate and comprehensive action. Proactive lifestyle interventions stand as the cornerstone of prevention, emphasising regular exercise and dietary modifications, particularly for those at high risk,” said Dr Nikhil Gupta, senior consultant and chief, gastro-intestinal surgery, at Sri Balaji Action Medical Institute. Gupta added that early awareness and screenings, starting from age 10 and continuing biennially, were crucial for timely identification of obesity-related diseases and safeguarding of vital organs from potential damage.
