Dr.

Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow

2016-2017

FINAL DRAFT

ON

PROBLEMS FACED BY WORKING WOMEN IN URBAN INDIA

SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:

Dr. Sanjay Singh Swarnim Pandey

Professor of Sociology B.A.(Hons.)L.L.B. 3rd Sem.

H.O.D Enroll no. 160101156

RMLNLU
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude and deep regards to my guide Dr. Sanjay

Singh for their exemplary guidance , monitoring, and constant encouragement to give shape to

this project. The blessing given by her from time to time shall carry a long way in the journey of

life on which I am about to embark.

I also take this opportunity to express a deep sense of gratitude to my respected seniors who

share this cordial support, valuable information and guidance which helped me in completing

this task.

Lastly, I thank the Almighty, my parents, siblings and friends for their constant encouragement

without which this assignment would have been impossible.

 INTRODUCTION

Women in the workforce earning wages or a salary are part of a modern phenomenon, one that
developed at the same time as the growth of paid employment for men; yet women have been
challenged by inequality in the workforce A woman is a social animal. To keep her in captivity,
without access to work or finance or interaction with the outside world, is less than fair
(Eisenhover, 2002).Economic, social and political empowerment of women is essential for the
development of any society. Working women are essential for the development of the society, so
empowerment of women is important to the process of upliftment of economic, social, political
status of women. Traditionally women have been the under-privileged ones in the society, not
enjoying the same rights or standards of living as the other half of the population.

Status of women can be broadly defined as the degree of socio-economic equality and freedom
enjoyed by women. Economic, social and cultural factors interplay for reinforcing the gender
differences in ownership, control and access to land trough inheritance, marriage or informal
networks (Arun, 1994). Women’s economic status in the household, depends on three levels of
influence, viz., women’s acquired economic and social power, the socio-economic status of their
households and the level of support and opportunities in the community (Zhao, 1991).Women’s
economic well-being is usually enhanced by women acquiring independent sources of income
that begets increased self-esteem and improved conditions of their households and the overall
level of development in their communities. The gender gap in the ownership and control of
property is the most significant contributor to the gender gap in the economic well-being, social
status and empowerment of women. Women have been playing vital roles in households since
ages. Now women are also recognized for their value in the workplace and are engaged in wide
range of activities of work in addition to their routine domestic work. Building a society where
women can breathe freely without fear of oppression, exploitation, and discrimination is the need
of the hour, to ensure a better future for the next generation.
 OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT

The main objective of the study was to understand the problems and issues faced by urban
working women in India. The objectives also included identifying the key socio-economic
attributes contributing to women’s status, safety and security, and to study women’s involvement
in various activities/ organizations for improving of family, community and society. The study
was confined to the urban working women in white collared jobs in the city of Rourkela, India.
A mixed methods approach involving face to face interviews, focus group discussions and
questionnaire technique including both close-ended and open-ended questions was chosen for
effective elicitation of data from the respondents. The study was based on primary data collected
from Kanpur city to find out the possible solutions for working women which could help them to
overcome the problems that they face in the workplace.

RESEARCH PROBLEM

The study evinces the following research problems for the study at hand related to problems

and challenges faced by working women in the workplace:

1. Balancing between paid employment and family care.

2. Work related stress problems faced by working women.

3. Victims of physical harassment and unfair treatment in the workplace.

4. Tolerance of abuse, violence, harassment and discrimination.

5. Sexual harassment, mental pressure and safety problems.

 OBSERVATIONS

It was observed that different women have different perception of their needs, fears, frustrations
etc. Some are happy with their jobs; some are frustrated because of harassment, both mental and
physical; some women have a good job environment; some are highly depressed because of
issues with their colleagues, both male and female. One interesting fact that was revealed was
that those women who are more beautiful or have enough good personality and can carry
themselves in a good way; people instantly draw a particular conclusion about their character
that is highly negative. They think about her in a wrong way and assume that those women
having a friendly kind of nature inside workplace male member generally think that kind of
objects for them they can do anything with her. Some male members who are highly qualified
and holding a high position, but are highly frustrated because of job stress or for some other
personal reasons for their own, sometimes they behave appropriately with junior women
employees in front of others but covertly harass these women for satisfying their own anger and
frustration. One type of stereotyped thinking that still persists is whether women, who are
crossing the four walls of their homes for jobs, are capable enough to compete with others, and at
the same time appropriately balance between family and professional life. So the question arises
as to why only women have to balance both lives, and why women have all these burdens thrust
on them. Paid maternity leave is not commonplace in India. So the decision to take time off for
childbirth and an extended maternity leave can often result in financial hardship. In addition,
there's the fear that by doing so, a woman will might lose her job. Despite her continuous efforts
and hard work shown towards the organization, supervisors and management does not give this
universal truth, a due consideration.

Also different age group of working women have different kinds of problems and challenges and
different categories as married, single, divorcee, single parent, separated, have different issues at
stake in the workplace. Some problems are definitely common, like mental and physical stress,
lack of proper balance between employment and family care, unfair treatment in the workplace,
stressful life and work place discrimination etc. But some challenges are age or category specific,
like prejudiced and stereotyped thinking, safety and security issues, ego hassles with colleagues,
and problem of glass ceiling etc. Some probable solutions for problems plaguing urban working
women that could help them to overcome the problems that they face in the workplace are proper
safety and security measures by the parent organizations, sensitive and supporting partners at
home, effective child care policies and appropriate grievance redressal mechanisms for women
in place at the workplace. Policies and legal mechanisms alone cannot help in curbing the
problems faced by women at work place - the overall attitude and acceptance level of the people
of needs to change. Just letting women work outside home does not mean that society treats men
and women equally. The issues and problems that women face in their workplaces should be put
to an end and then only it can be said that men and women have equal status. Although there are
various laws that are made for protection of women even in workplace but due to lack of proper
implementation and interpretation of law, it has not been quite effective in protecting women
from the crimes and inequality in the workplace. Organizations are going out of their way to
ensure they provide safe work environment for their women employees, and are also putting up
policies to ensure the women feel motivated to work and continue their career, even after child
birth.

RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

1) Partners can be more sensitive to women’s needs, and counter tradition by helping their

wives perform daily tasks and take care of children.

2) Organisations should have an internal code to ensure security of women employees and

take measures to ensure that they discharge their job in a secure atmosphere.

3)Governments should make it mandatory for companies to install Global Positioning

System (GPS) in vehicles carrying women, in all industries which engage women in night

shifts.
4) Providing self-defence training to women; installing safety devices and CCTVs at the

work place; undertaking police verification of cab drivers, security guards etc.

5) Child care facilities and Child care leave for working women should be provided by

every organization.

5)Flexible timing and Possibility to work from home are required for working women.

In a patriarchal society like India a particular boundary exists only for women, and if they try to
cross that boundary then people start maligning them. The general perception is that if some
women are doing things differently, beyond people’s limited imagination, and out of sync with
traditional thinking, like going out for jobs, wearing different type of fashionable clothes, talking
freely with male members etc., immediately they are branded as loose women. India probably
has still a long way to go to make our workplaces free from any prejudices, abuses and
harassments. Even then we can still try at solving some of the related issues and problems with
some possible solutions that have been mentioned above so that women become stronger and are
able to handle any adverse situations.
 QUESTIONAARE

1)What types of problems are you facing while managing at work place?

Some of them said that non-cooperation, non- coordination, lack of staff, non- availability
of conveyance in case of any emergency, bad behaviour of supervisors. Some face challenges
due to non increment policy, unequal payment, excessive workload, irregularities in timings of
departure. Also the deduction in salary in case they are unable to come due to sickness or any
other genuine reason.

2) Do you face any problem in managing time between family and work?
One of them replied this answer in affirmative that not much support is given to her by her
family so frequently she faces problems while managing the time .Her husband is supporting
but in laws are not compromising.
One lady working in a corporate sector faces this problem due to hectic schedule leading
to high stress levels which is causing sleep disorders, performance deterioration, and
increased absenteeism. Due to overload of work they cannot take their children well.

3) Have you ever faced sexual harassment or inappropriate behaviour?

Though they were slightly hesitant while answering this question and may that is why
most of them answered negative. But two of them responded to this answer in
affirmative. One of them who is a teacher in a high school told that the principal of that
school tried to abuse her sexually .However she managed and escaped and afterwards
filed a complaint against him. The other one works as employee in a company
told that one of her male employee misbehaved with her knowing that she is a divorcee.

4) Do you feel insecure during night shifts or travelling back to home ?

I asked this question firstly to a female guard in our hostel .She replied that this area
Aashiyana is not a safe area so even she is old enough but fears a little for her security.
However during night shifts she does not faces much problems but worries for her
children at home. One lady replied that however safe a area is or protected a little
insecurity remains .However after coming of these cabs and taxi ,not much danger is felt .
 CONCLUSION
In India, men do not share on most of the household chores, it is women who have to
cook, clean the house, do the dishes, wash clothes, get their children ready for school etc.
Men just took care of few chores that are to be dealt outside the house. So the major
burden of running the family is on the shoulders of women. It was alright for women to
handle all the chores as long as they were homemakers. Now with their increasing need
for getting some income for the family, they have to work all the more harder. They have
to take up a 9 to 5 job plus handle all the household chores that they handled as a
homemaker. Men's role has not changed much.
The status of Indian women has undergone considerable change. Though Indian women
are far more independent and aware of their legal rights, such as right to work, equal
treatment, property and maintenance, a majority of women remain unaware of these
rights. There are other factors that affect their quality of life such as age of marriage,
extent of literacy, role in the family and so on. In many families, women do not have a
voice in anything while in several families; the women may have a dominating role. The
result is that the empowerment of women in India is highly unbalanced and with huge
gaps. Those who are economically independent and literate live the kind of life that other
women tend to envy about. This disparity is also a cause for worry because balanced
development is not taking place.