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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: India Women Workforce
HEADLINE: India’s Expanding Economy Fails to Pull Women into the Workplace
TEASER: Entrenched Cultural Norms, an Unemployment Crisis and lack of Skills are Holding Women Back
PUBLISHED AT: Wednesday, 10/18/2023 at 11AM
BYLINE: Anjana Pasricha
CONTRIBUTOR:
ASSIGNING EDITOR: pcd
DATELINE: New Delhi
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: pcd
VIDEO SOURCE: Original, Reuters, AFP, AP
PLATFORMS: WEB _x__ TV __x_ RADIO _x__
TRT: 3:20
VID APPROVED BY: MAS
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: There is an accompanying WEB))
((INTRO))
[[India’s expanding economy was expected to bring more women into the workforce, but in the world’s most populous nation, their low participation continues to pose a challenge. While demographers hope that the country’s huge working-age population will propel economic development, they say women need to be included to reap the benefits of growth. Anjana Pasricha has a report.]]
((NARRATOR))
Isha Khanna loved her job at a bank. But she quit after 12 years when she had twins four years ago.
((Isha Khanna, Gurugram Resident)) ((female in English))
“In the bank, we have to reach by nine and the customer timings were till six. After six there are lot of work to do in the banks. It takes almost two hours to finish. So eight o’clock with the kids to come home, it was very difficult for me.”
((NARRATOR))
Khanna’s case is common in India where no matter their economic class, millions of women either drop out of the workforce or do not work at all.
[[FOR RADIO: Leela Devi is a stay a home mother.]]
((Leela Devi, Stay-At-Home Mother)) ((female, in Hindi))
“I came here hoping to work and make a house in the village……but my kids were small and there was no one to look after them.”
((NARRATOR))
India’s fast-growing economy was expected to pull more women into offices and factories. But at around 30%, their participation in the workforce is much lower than in other major economies.
Entrenched cultural beliefs are part of the reason.
[[FOR RADIO: Poonam Muttreja is the Executive Director at Population Foundation of India.]]
((Poonam Muttreja, Population Foundation of India [female in English))
“Whether you are illiterate or you are very literate, social norms in India actually almost dictate that a woman’s role is to be a homemaker, is to run the home, take care of the children, take care of the elderly, take care of anyone who is not well or needs support in the family. So, a lot of women go in and out of the workforce.”
((NARRATOR))
There are other challenges, such as high unemployment. Millions of women from lower income groups struggle to get jobs -- like these women waiting outside a garment factory on the outskirts of New Delhi. Some have come from villages, hoping to get casual work.
((Sangeeta Kumari, Looking For Work [female in Hindi))
“It is really tough to find a job. Without an income, it is very difficult to provide for my family and children.”
((NARRATOR))
Those who are not educated face more hurdles.
((Muskan Khan, Looking for Work (female in Hindi))
“If I get a job, my life will be good. My entire future hinges on finding work.”
((NARRATOR))
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has cited the passage of a recent law reserving one third seats in parliament and state legislatures for women as his government’s commitment to women’s empowerment.
((NARRATOR))
But experts say that can only happen by changing gender norms and giving women better education and training, especially in the country’s vast rural areas.
[[FOR RADIO: Poonam Muttreja of the Population Foundation of India.]]
((Poonam Muttreja, Population Foundation of India - female in English))
“One in every four girls gets married below the age 18. That kills her opportunities to educate, skill and work. We have to not just do skilling of women, we have to do upskilling, upgrading their skills”
((NARRATOR))
While India, now the world’s most populous country, hopes to reap an economic dividend from its huge working age population of over 700 million, that may not happen if its women are left behind.
((Anjana Pasricha, VOA News, New Delhi))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateOctober 18, 2023 13:27 EDT
BylineAnjana Pasricha
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
