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Of Segmentation, Marginalisation and Exclusion: Sectoral Dimensions of Women's Employment

in India's Service Economy

Neetha N.

Centre for Women’s Development Studies

New Delhi

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• Growth patterns of China and India are different• Share of services in GDP much higher in India – much

above the global norm• Global market in services- banking, insurance and

other business activities brought out by the ICT revolution has been placed at the centre of growth

• The growth within the service sector and its employment prospects are not uniform, or its its implications on different categories of workers- given the informality and precariousness associated with such employment.

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Broad shares

• Employment elasticity of output in the sector estimated to be 0.55 in 2011-12 (Mehrotra, et.al, 2014)

• Steady increase in service sector employment – 89.8 million 99-00 to 107.3 in 2004-05 and 127.3 million in 2011-12

• Informal employment high at 80 percent in 2011-12

Broad Sectoral Distribution

  Urban Total 

1999-00 Male  Female  Male  Female Female share

Primary  7.4 18.5 55.6 77.1 39.1

Secondary 32 28.7 17.1 10.9 22.8

Services 60.6 52.8 27.3 11.9 16.82004-05          

Primary  7.1 18.3 51.5 74.2 41.8

Secondary 33.6 32.2 19.8 13.1 24.7

Services 59.4 49.5 28.7 12.8 18.2

2011-12         

Primary  6.5 11.2 44.2 63.1 35.2

Secondary 34.4 33.7 25.2 19.7 23.0Services 59.1 55.1 30.5 17.2 17.7

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• Service sector accounts for about 8 per cent of total female employment in rural areas and 55 per cent in urban areas

• About 19 per cent of total male employment in rural areas and about 59 percent in urban areas

• Female share in service employment is only 16.3 in rural areas and 18.7 in urban areas.

Distribution across industrial categories – Total

ProportionChanges between 1999-00 

and 2011-12

Male  Female  Male  Female  Female share 

Changes between 1999-00 and 2011-12

Trade hotels and restaurants 43.57 28.03 -2.07 -4.93 12.16 -0.59

Transport & storage 18.12 1.31 -0.18 -1.28 1.53 -1.25

Modern services – financial and business segment  12.12 8.45 6.68 5.34 13.05 2.66Public administration and defence, compulsory social security 6.65 4.25 -5.25 -3.04 12.09 1.06

Education 7.63 27.15 0.78 6.59 43.36 5.57

Health and social work 2.40 8.24 0.05 1.66 42.52 6.28

Private households with employed persons 1.24 11.61 0.48 4.67 66.87 1.92

Other service activities 8.28 10.95 -0.49 -9.01 22.17 -9.37 6

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Distribution of women across various service sector categories

• Trade, hotels and restaurants still the largest category - decline over time -much faster for females

• Decline in public administration and defence, compulsory social security, transport and storage

• Three sectors– education, financial and business activities and private households with employed persons show considerable increase.

• However women’s share in modern services is only 13 per cent far below that of the other two.

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• Education is found to occupy an important position in terms of its share in total employment as well as changes over time.

• Women’s share in this sector increased sharply

• Increase in the proportion of women engaged in private households – largely paid domestic workers .

• Women’s share of this sector as high as 67 percent and has increased over time.

Distribution across sub-categories of education

Categories  Proportion  Female share

Primary education (education at the first level) 37.2 44.2

General school education in the first stage of the secondary level (up to Xth standard) without any special subject pre-requisite 19.9 34.6Pre-primary education (education preceding the first level) 16.3 87.3

General school education in the second stage of the secondary level (Senior/ Higher secondary) giving, in principle, access to higher education 7.8 32.6

Academic tutoring services 4.8 38.6

Higher education in science, commerce, humanity and fine arts leading to a university degree or equivalent 4.1 31.1

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• These are sectors which are known to be female dominated – trends reveal clear gender-based segmentation

• Of all the service sectors, modern services which includes information and communication, financial, real estate, and soft ware services constitute the modern segment and has been the focal point vis-à-vis the discussions on growth and employment

• Capacity to absorb women in large numbers and its gender transformatory possibilities are often over emphasized

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• The NSS data could be used to provide some broad estimates of the sector, though some overestimation is bound to happen as some of the disaggregate classification could also capture employment which fall beyond the sector

• In spite of the limitations, these estimates could help in understanding the broader patterns.

• The subsectors are information and communication, financial and insurance activities, real estate activities, professional scientific and technical activities and administrative and support activities

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Categories of Business Sector

SECTION J: INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

Division 58: Publishing activities; Division 59 : Motion picture, video and television programme production, sound recording and music publishing activities; Division 60 : Programming and broadcasting activities, Division 61 : Telecommunications; Division 62 : Computer programming, consultancy and related activities Division 63 : Information service activities

SECTION M: FINANCIAL AND INSURANCE ACTIVITIES

Division 64: Financial service activities, except insurance and Pension funding; Division 65 : Insurance, reinsurance and pension funding, except compulsory social security; Division 66 : Other financial activities

SECTION L : REAL ESTATE ACTIVITIES

Division 68: Real estate activities

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SECTION M : PROFESSIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL ACTIVITIES

Division 69 : Legal and accounting activities; Division 70 : Activities of head offices; management consultancy activities; Division 71 : Architecture and engineering activities; technical testing and analysis; Division 72 : Scientific research and development; Division 73 : Advertising and market research; Division 74 : Other professional, scientific and technical activities; Division 75 : Veterinary activities

SECTION N : ADMINISTRATIVE AND SUPPORT SERVICE ACTIVITIES

Division 77 : Rental and leasing activities; Division 78 : Employment activities; Division 79 : Travel agency, tour operator and other reservation service activities; Division 80 : Security and investigation activities; Division 81 : Services to buildings and landscape activities; Division 82 : Office administrative, office support and other business support activities

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Distribution across sub sectors of modern sector – Female

Categories  Proportion  Female share Monetary intermediation of commercial banks, saving banks, postal savings bank and discount houses 13.03 15.43

Life insurance 5.79 12.57Writing , modifying, testing of computer program to meet the needs of a particular client excluding web-page designing 5.72 31.12

Accounting, bookkeeping and auditing activities 3.62 19.20

Activities of insurance agents and brokers 3.15 20.59

Legal activities 3.07 7.24

Software installation 2.87 16.85Other financial service activities, except insurance and pension funding activities, n.e.c. 2.76 14.30

Providing software support and maintenance to the clients 2.59 11.87

Advertising 2.38 20.86

Activities of call centres 2.32 19.51Computer consultancy and computer facilities management activities 2.18 17.71

Providing data entry services 2.06 34.52

Publishing of newspapers 2.04 27.67Central banking 2.01 15.50 14

• Female share in this sector is only about 13 per cent

• Specific sub sectors of concentration - monetary intermediation; life insurance and writing ; modifying, testing of computer program account for about ¼ th of women in the sector – from about 130 subcategories

• Women’s share highly uneven - share highest in data entry services

• Male employment in the sector much more dispersed across many sub-sectors though concentration exists

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Profile of workers across sectors – Age

Age cohorts

Trade and hotels and restaurants Business services Education

Private households with employed

persons

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05 2011-12

Below 15 1.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.8 0.4

15-30 28.5 29.3 44.4 53.5 38.6 37.4 31.0 32.7

31-50 53.7 51.9 48.7 38.8 52.1 52.1 49.1 51.0

Above 51 16.8 18.3 7.0 7.7 9.3 10.5 16.0 15.916

• 53.5 per cent of women workers in business services in the age group of 15-30

• Increase over time – from 44.4 per cent • For all other sectors 31-50 is the core segment • Reflected in the marital status also – business

services has the highest share for unmarried - 36.8 as against 19.6 for education

• Education has the highest proportion of married

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Profile of workers across sectors – Marital Status

Category

Trade and hotels and restaurants Business services Education

Private households with 

employed persons

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

Never married  11.9 12.4 34.4 36.8 19.2 19.6 19.6 16.5Currently married  67.6 67.5 57.9 53.8 70.8 69.1 46.8 55.0

Widowed 18.8 18.2 6.3 8.4 8.1 9.3 26.9 24.9Divorced & Separated 1.7 2.0 1.4 1.0 1.8 1.9 6.7 3.6

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Profile of workers across sectors- education

 Category 

Trade and hotels and restaurants Business services Education

Private households with 

employed persons

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

Below Primary 58.1 44.3 9.1 4.7 6.8 4.9 72.8 57.8

Middle 26.7 27.4 6.4 7.3 9.7 10.4 23.5 35.3

Sec, H. sec. & Diploma 11.7 20.3 19.3 20.5 36.0 28.2 3.3 6.1Grad. and above 3.5 8.0 65.2 67.5 47.5 56.5 0.4 0.8

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• Clear segmentation of women on the basis of education across sectors.

• Trade and hotels and restaurants & paid domestic work cater to the less educated

• Business services show high level of education – about 68 percent have education level of graduation and above

• Provides opportunities for the better educated – capacity to absorb women with various educational attainments limited

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• Social group wise pattern reveals further signs of exclusion

• 48 per cent of workers in business activities are upper castes followed by OBCs – 35.5 per cent.

• Pattern same with education

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Profile of workers across sectors- Social group

Category

Trade and hotels and restaurants Business services Education

Private households with 

employed persons

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

SC  13.9 14.4 11.9 10.8 10.3 14.2 30.8 31.5ST

6.2 6.3 1.2 1.8 4.2 4.9 6.3 3.9OBC Non Muslims 44.3 43.2 28.0 35.5 28.1 32.0 29.4 31.1

Muslims 10.5 10.8 6.7 3.6 5.9 7.5 9.4 9.4Upper caste Non-Muslims 25.1 25.4 52.2 48.3 51.5 41.5 24.1 24.2 22

Quality of Jobs

Category

Trade and hotels and restaurants Business services Education

Private households with employed 

persons

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

2004-05

2011-12

No written  job contract 86.4 91.3 43.2 54.3 41.7 39.8 97.6 94.5Written job contract: for   1  year or less 0.9 2.1 6.0 3.6 3.6 2.1 0.6 0.5More than 1 year to 3  years 4.0 1.5 8.2 6.8 3.3 2.2 0.4 2.7

More than 3 years 8.6 5.1 42.6 35.2 51.4 56.0 1.3 2.3

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• Highly informal with many women workers even within modern sectors and education having no written contract – increasing proportion in business services

• Proportion of workers with longer contracts have declined in the sector

• The size of the enterprises however show an expansion with enterprises employing 20 and above workers increased for both business services and education

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Size of enterprises

Category

Trade and hotels and restaurants Business services Education

2004-05 2011-12 2004-05 2011-12 2004-05 2011-12Less than 6 92.3 91.0 30.5 26.1 40.4 32.9

 6 & above but less than 10 3.1 3.0 8.1 8.0 15.2 18.110  & above but less than 20 1.5 1.9 12.5 13.0 15.5 16.9

20   &  above 2.0 1.4 35.4 45.0 21.6 24.8

Not  known 1.2 2.7 13.6 8.0 7.3 7.225

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Emerging Issues • The analysis suggests that modern service sector shows a mixed

picture• Overall female share is very low and are concentrated in certain

segments• The larger scenario determined by trade, education and personal

and community services which do not offer much hopes. • While the proliferation of business activities will certainly draw

more into paid jobs, it cannot bring about any major transformation in aggregate employment patterns in the near future given its low base combined with high segmentation, and informal nature of employment.

• Employment patterns also show exclusionary tendencies rooted in unequal social constructs