A blurred mapping of internal female migration
Relevance: GS I and II (Social Issues and Justice)
- Prelims: One Nation One ration card; e-Shram; and affordable rental housing schemes for women;
- Mains: Employment Issues in India; Women Issues.
Why in the News?
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) estimates that internal migration in India was 27% from June 2020 to 2021, with women comprising a greater share of the migrant pool. However, the survey captures the information about female migrants but often conveys an inaccurate picture.
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About:
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Issue of National surveys and inaccurate picture:
- Inaccurate Surveys: National surveys such as the PLFS capture information about female migrants but often convey an inaccurate picture. Surveys only ask the respondents regarding their primary reason for migration.
- PLFS data suggest that the leading reason for migration among women is marriage (81%), followed by migration of family members (10%), employment (2.42%), and migration for education opportunities (0.48%).
- Inaccurate Data: Data from these surveys regarding migrant women’s labor force participation can be misinforming.
- Approximately three quarters of migrant women are unemployed, approximately 14% of migrant women are in self and wage-employed jobs, and approximately 12% are in casual labor.
- Women choose forms of employment that allow them to handle their domestic duties while contributing to the household’s production or finances.
- Limitations: Working as unpaid family workers, in household enterprises, or being self-employed is common amongst them.
- Female migrant workers in India work in industries such as the garment industry, domestic work, and other labor-intensive industries.
- Women may view their employment as an extension of their domestic commitment instead of a form of employment, which leads to them misreporting their employment status.
- Lack of Social Support and Discrimination: Female migrant workers often lack social networks and face discrimination, feeling marginalized and having limited financial resources, low literacy levels, and little bargaining power.
- Female migrant workers often lack social networks and face discrimination, feeling marginalized and having limited financial resources, low literacy levels, and little bargaining power.
Issue of Human and Social capital
- Female labor potential issue:
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- Entry to the formal labor force is challenging for female migrant workers in India, potentially due to the need for more human and social capital.
- 85% of female migrant workers have less than 10 years of education, which can create employment problems.
- Migrant women are proportionally less employed than non-migrant women, despite similar educational levels.
- Social Networking issues:
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- Lack of social networks, especially after migration, hinders employment chances for female migrant workers.
- The dismal recovery of women’s labor activity after the pandemic is evident, with 55% of women not returning to their places of employment, and those who did so, earning only 56% of their pre-pandemic income levels.
- Female migration for labor/employment increased by 101% between 2001 and 2011, but female migrant workers remain largely invisible, facing significant hurdles and marginalization.
- Policy Hurdles:
- Female migrant workers are not a considerable vote bank, leading to a lack of targeted policies and a dearth of good data on female migrants.
- Policies such as One Nation One ration card, e-Shram, and affordable rental housing complexes are mainly targeted towards the male migrant population, further neglecting the needs of female migrant workers.
What are the other challenges faced by female migrant workers in India?
Female migrant workers in India face several challenges, including:
- Invisibility and Informality: Female migration is prominent in rural-to-rural streams, with a significant number engaged in paid domestic work, which is marked by informality, low wages, and poor bargaining conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic rendered millions of female domestic workers jobless, particularly those working as live-in or part-time domestics who commute to multiple households.
- Employment Barriers: Female migrants face barriers to post-COVID recovery, with lower rates of remigration and labor market re-entry, both inside and outside their home villages. They also encounter poor wage rates, persistent wage inequalities, and lack of formal employment opportunities.
- Exploitation and Abuse: Female migrant domestic workers are at risk of exploitation, abuse, and violence throughout the migration cycle, including human rights violations such as sexual and gender-based violence, harassment, and unjust working conditions.
What steps need to be taken?
The challenges highlighted above directs for the need of targeted policies and support to address the specific needs of female migrant workers in India.
- National surveys should compile more information regarding their socio-economic conditions post-migration as very little is known about it.
- For instance, the PLFS indicates that a minute percentage (approximately 7%) have access to social security benefits; there is no data for the rest of the populace.
- There is also a lack of time-use data for migrants, as India has not made that the norm yet.
- Time-use data would significantly help advance existing knowledge regarding unemployed female migrants.
- On a broader scale, a change in narrative is required, starting with an increased collection of female-specific data. It will illustrate the largely anecdotal problem and bring awareness about the plight of these women to encourage progressive policymaking.
Conclusion:
Several steps should be taken, including compiling more information regarding their socio-economic conditions post-migration, collecting more female-specific data, and changing the narrative to bring awareness about the plight of these women to encourage progressive policy making.
Mains PYQs
Q. “The growth of cities as I.T Hubs has opened new avenues of employment, but has also created new problems”. Substantiate this statement with examples. (2017)
Q. Discuss the changes in the trends of labor migration within and outside India in the last four decades. (2015)
Q. Besides the welfare schemes, India needs deft management of inflation and unemployment to serve the poor and the underprivileged sections of the society. Discuss. (2022)
Q. Discuss the various economic and socio-cultural forces that are driving increasing feminization of agriculture in India (2014)
