WUNRN
ILO Report - International Labour
Organization
INDIA - NREGS - NATIONAL RURAL
EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME -
LEAVES OUT SINGLE WOMEN, WIDOWS, +
India
- The National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) may be among the
UPA government’s pledge for inclusive governance but it suffers from an
in-built gender bias. A new report suggests that single women have been left
out as beneficiaries in the scheme.
Pointing out that the current design of NREGS left “needy women” out of its
purview, an ILO report says, “Many unmarried or widowed women live in families
and cannot claim to form a separate household. But their need for work can be
particularly urgent. It has been pointed out that the current design of the
NREGS has left out some needy women out of its purview.’’
The report ‘Current Employment Strategies and Women’s Work’ has been prepared
by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in partnership with the ministry
of labour and employment and the Institute of Social Studies Trust.
Elaborating on the study, ILO researcher and feminist economist Nirmala
Banerjee said, “Most women have not learnt to speak for themselves. We received
reports from various states that single women were not recognized as an
independent household. Women also suffer the disadvantage of having principal
responsibility of household chores. Men get the first mover advantage.”
Incidentally, in as many as 10 states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West
Bengal and J&K, women beneficiaries worked for less than 30% of the
mandated 100-day scheme. This is well below the national average of 40.6%
working days for women. J&K is at the bottom with women working for barely
4.5% days.
The report suggests making “one card requirement limited to nuclear families
and other adult women can make separate claims for cards”. This gains
significance as an increasing number of women are now joining the workforce.
“Traditionally, the workforce included older, married women but now single and
unmarried women are joining the workforce. While some are delaying marriage, it
also shows that the family is desperately in need of the money,” Banerjee said.
Female participation in workforce has grown from 1.34% in 1983-1994 to 3.25%
between 2000 2005. While urban areas doubled the number of women workers, the
number of women workers in rural areas has increased from 9 million to 12
million. Incidentally, number of male workers in rural areas has dropped from
74% in 1993-1994 to 66% in 2004-2005.
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India - Institute of Social Studies
Trust
Women and the NREGA (2007)
The Employment Guarantee Act 2005 has paved the way for Employment Guarantee Programmes to be started in 200 districts across the country. An initial pilot study was undertaken in 4 districts, Sirohi in Rajasthan, Dhar in Madhya Pradesh, Gulbarga in Karnataka and Sundargarh in Orissa, as a base line study to see how the programme is being initiated and the potential for women's participation in planning and execution of works, between January and May 2007.
The progress of the EGA has been tracked in a few selected sites with a view to understanding the interaction between EGA, local development, decent work and migration, with special focus on gender concerns. Household surveys have been conducted to assess the impact of the NREGA on the local economy, including impact on local economic development, migration, skills, development path for women, occupational health and safety concerns and other decent work elements, in Rajasthan and Orrisa.
Supported by ILO, New Delhi
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