Higher Education and employability challenges of Indian Women

We are either going to have a future where women lead the way to make peace with the Earth or
we are not going to have a future at all”- Vandhana Shiva, Environmental Activist.

India’s future ought to look like this. However, are we headed in the right direction? The education system in India is both overly controlled and underdeveloped, focusing more on the quantitative than the qualitative techniques to be taught in the system. Because of this, young people in India today work in or are hired for positions outside of their fields of expertise.

We have seen in the past that girls in colleges and schools are consistently placed in the top three for achieving good grades and participating in extracurricular activities. The academic performance of girls is
excellent, and they take their education extremely seriously. However, this proportion has decreased in terms of employment options. Women are not the first option for hiring by most employers in India.

According to India’s most recent “India Discrimination Report 2022,” women in India will face discrimination in the job market despite having the same educational background and work experience as men due to societal and workplace stereotypes. 33 percent of women with salaried jobs earn less money because of a lack of education and experience, and 67 percent are paid less because of prejudice. The requirement for leave and other related factors are major barriers that prevent businesses from hiring women.

These choices, including maternity leave, crèche facilities, and other benefit services, were made available by major companies. However, tiny businesses cannot afford to cover all of these. They, therefore, refrain from hiring women. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has destroyed the lives and livelihoods of marginalized populations, urgent relief measures are required for a fair and inclusive pandemic recovery.

More educated and employed women are constrained from staying at their homes because of obligations
to their families.

More steps need to be efficiently implemented by the nation’s government in order to accelerate the pace of advancement for women in the workplace. The system should provide equal pay, equal benefits, and equal recompense when maternity costs or other expenses make it necessary.

The program should work to strengthen civil society’s involvement in ensuring a more equitable distribution of household and childcare responsibilities between women and men and facilitating
higher participation of women in the labor market.

Actively challenge and change societal and caste/religion-based norms surrounding women’s participation in labor markets.

India saw an increase in the Gender Parity Index (GPI) for higher education in 2019–20, rising from 1.00 to
1.01. In this situation, the family’s participation is crucial in accepting responsibility. Positive statistics show that Indian families have socio-economic mobility, which reflects better prospects for female students to pursue higher education.

Manju Malathy is an Assistant Professor having 12 years of experience in higher education,
Passionate trainer, Provisional Zone Trainer Junior Chamber International India Zone 20 and a
social activist.