A study carried out by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) across 705 districts in the country has revealed that women respondents in just 32 per cent of these districts felt they were able to maintain a work-life balance, emphasising the persistent challenges related to unpaid domestic labour.
The report, titled “Women’s Empowerment at the Subnational Level: Towards Achieving Gender Equality (SDG 5)”, introduces the Women Empowerment Index, which offers a comprehensive and district-level analysis of women’s empowerment across India. This index provides new insights and data aimed at advancing gender equality.
The report was released by Professor Satish Deodhar, Dean (Faculty), and Professor Vidya Vemireddy, Chairperson of Gender Centre and co-author of the report.
Speaking at the report’s launch, Deodhar emphasised that in order to attain work-life balance for both genders, men must share household responsibilities.
“Of the four parameters studied in the report, the work-life balance parameter shows the least progress. Only about 32 per cent of women reported that they could manage work-life balance. In my opinion, women’s workforce participation is intricately linked to responsible household work participation by men. As men have not taken their equal share of household responsibilities proactively, it ultimately hinders the quality of labour-force participation of women. This report by the Gender Centre at IIMA serves not only as a measure of progress but also as a roadmap for future interventions to enhance women’s empowerment and participation in the workforce,” he said.
The Centre’s report functions as a locally pertinent resource for assessing district-level empowerment in four crucial areas that are necessary to meet SDG-5 of the UN: 1) Work-life balance; 2) control over income and economic empowerment; 3) Educational and informational empowerment; and 4) Autonomy over income and physical mobility.
Of the sample of 705 districts in the study, 67.5 per cent of districts indicated that women were empowered in decision-making and mobility.
Emphasising the importance, Vemireddy said, “Our initiative at the Gender Centre at IIMA is to provide a replicable methodology which would help multiple stakeholders to generate localised district-level insights to identify and track progress and future areas of improvement in women’s empowerment and SDG 5 indicators. This effort is aimed to support existing policy and research ecosystem via ensuring a data-driven approach to monitor gender equality at local levels and towards achieving the SDG-5 (Gender Equality) goal.”
According to the study, women are becoming more involved in decision-making, especially when it comes to their own healthcare, household expenses, and how to use their husband’s income. The percentage of women who make decisions—alone or jointly with their partners—has increased.
The percentage of women who have ownership of their own assets (land or house), alone or jointly with their partner, also went up from 29.09 per cent in NFHS-4 to 35 per cent in NFHS-5.
From 11.43 per 100 women in NFHS-4 to 14.42 per 100 women in NFHS-5, the average number of women completing higher education has grown. Primary and secondary schooling, however, failed to show a significant difference.
In addition, from 69.12 per cent in NFHS-4 to 76.24 per cent in NFHS-5, there has been a significant increase in women’s engagement with various media platforms, suggesting a wider exposure to mass media (such as listening to radio, watching television, and reading newspapers).
