Even as more and more women graduate, why do very few seek jobs or get hired?

According to the All India Survey on Higher Education (2012-13), carried out by the Ministry of HRD, there are 13.6 million girls enrolled in higher education courses, of which, over 10 million are in undergraduate courses. At the end of that academic year, more than three million girls passed out of the final year! Now the question is — where are the three million jobs for these women?

Let us also look into the findings of the report of the Labour Bureau, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India, on youth employment and unemployment for 2012-13. The report declared that the unemployment rate among educated youth is on the rise. It also brings to light two issues pertaining to women:

• Low Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): The number of women working or seeking jobs or available for work is low.
• High Unemployment Rate: The number of women who did not get work despite being available for it is high.

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The Big Two

So, let us discuss two major causes and explore potential solutions.

1. Workplaces Unfriendly to Women

In India, a majority of the available jobs are suitable, or at least perceived to be suitable, for men only. Consequently, women limit themselves to a few job roles which are stereotyped to be suitable for them. They are restrained by their families from seeking challenging job roles, even though they may be competent enough.

Changing workplaces to make them women-friendly begins by transforming the way women are perceived at work by male colleagues and bosses. Women bring in a unique set of benefits: a sense of purpose, focus on outcomes, and work discipline.

Women-friendly policies like flexible work timings, separate washrooms, and work-from-home options will encourage more women to join the workforce. This problem is acute in the MSME sector. While large companies and MNCs are making significant progress, the MSME sector, especially manufacturing companies, are far behind. Considering that 90 per cent of new jobs are created in the MSME sector, this sector cannot afford to ignore the women workforce.

Our experience in hiring women who had taken a career break showed that they were keen to perform and were willing to work at a very economic compensation package than men with comparable competence and work experience.

2. Apprehensions Associated with Migration

Sometime back, a client of ours asked us to source 1,000 women candidates for work at their assembly plant in Chennai. We had to mobilise women from rural parts of Tamil Nadu. The biggest learning was that while women are as smart as men, when the job involves relocation, concerns of parents curb the aspirations of potential workers.

Thoughts of safety, relocation costs, and lifestyle differences discourage parents from allowing their daughters to relocate. This issue can be addressed by setting up hostels dedicated to women working for a particular company. These hostels should be:

• Partly-funded by the government to minimise the cost of living.
• Equipped with high-level security to mitigate parental concerns.
• Supported by ‘hostel to work’ bus services.

When parents notice that their daughter would be spending her time with other girls from the same region or office, they would be more open to the idea of relocation.