In 1989, Mobile Creches (MC) co-founded the Forum for Creches and Child Care Services (FORCES), a national network advocating for childcare and maternity support for marginalized working women. Since then, MC has tirelessly championed early childhood development and the rights of marginalized children. This legacy of advocacy continues today as India steps into the global spotlight.
In this insightful article, Bhupendra Shandilya, a distinguished member of the National Secretariat FORCES with 17 years of expertise in child rights, scrutinizes India’s advocacy for women-led development during its G20 presidency. Despite the promises made at the G20 Summit and reiterated in election manifestos, significant gaps remain in investing in the care economy, supporting women’s work-family balance, engaging grassroots organizations, and institutionalizing childcare facilities. Shandilya’s analysis highlights the urgency of these investments for the economic empowerment of women, the comprehensive development of children, and the nation’s economic growth.
Dive into the detailed piece below:
Less than a year earlier, on September 9th and 10th, 2023, India hosted the G-20 Summit, marking the culmination of its Presidency. Having assumed the G20 Presidency in December 2022, India took on the significant task of guiding the global economic agenda. During a world grappling with diverse challenges, one of the key focuses of India's presidency has been the promotion for "women-led development and the care economy."
The Reality of Women’s Participation in the Workforce
However, a significant portion of working women remain employed in unorganized sectors. They are mostly domestic workers, family business assistants, and street vendors – professions where their contributions to the economy often go unrecognized. While the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) shows that the labor force participation of women aged 15 years and above increased from 30% in 2019-20 to 37% in 2022-23, this still falls short of equitable milestones.
At home too, women’s labor is not acknowledged as such. Data from the Time Use Survey 2019 highlights a stark reality: women dedicate approximately six more hours per day to household activities than men. In India's social fabric, women predominantly shoulder the responsibility of childcare, which adds to their workload. This triple burden severely impacts their productivity, both in the workplace and at home. To lighten this burden and empower women economically, it is imperative to universalize childcare facilities. By providing accessible childcare, women can enhance their efficiency without worrying about choosing between childcare and professional duties.
Key features of the New Delhi Declaration on Women-Led Development
At the G20 Ministerial Conference on Women's Empowerment, the Countries pledged to1:
- Promote investment in the availability and accessibility of affordable care infrastructure while also addressing the unequal distribution of unpaid care and domestic work to facilitate the participation of all women in education and work.
- Support adequate social, educational, and care services and policies, both from the public and the private sectors, to support women in balancing their careers and family choices and encourage men to share the workload.
- Promote engagement with grassroots women’s organizations to improve nutritional and health outcomes and early childhood care.
The global leaders also committed in the final G-20 Summit to encourage women-led development that would enhance women’s participation as decision-makers in addressing global challenges across all sectors and at all levels of the economy. To this end, they agreed to promote investment in the availability and accessibility of social protection, and affordable care infrastructure to address the unequal distribution of paid and unpaid care and domestic work and to promote the continued participation of women in education and employment. 2
The Missing Links
India recently concluded general elections with BJP securing a third consecutive term. While parties promised some measures to address the gaps in care infrastructure in their manifestos, several gaps remain. It is crucial to understand these gaps and build political consensus by advocating for changes to both – the ruling party, and the opposition.
The BJP's "Sankalp Patra" manifesto emphasized women's empowerment through measures like developing infrastructure such as working women's hostels and creches near industrial and commercial centers. However, the manifesto lacked a comprehensive plan for quality childcare services in rural and non-commercial urban areas. It also failed to address the strengthening of grassroots childcare institutions like Anganwadis and Balwadis, and their associated workforce. While aiming to build a developed India for the youth, the manifesto neglected provisions for children below 3 years and lacked support for women workers in the informal sectors.
The Indian National Congress, which emerged as the principal opposition party, had promised integrating pre-primary and primary education, expanding women's workforce participation through safe workplaces and childcare services, increasing the number of ASHA and Anganwadi workers and their honorarium, ensuring equal wages for women under the 'Same Work, Same Wages' principle, and mandating paid maternity leave for all women in their "Nyay Patra" manifesto.
Other parties like the Rashtriya Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, and Trinamool Congress also promised women's empowerment in their manifestos. However, none of the major parties adequately addressed the institutionalization and strengthening of the childcare facilities system.
While the election manifestos showed some alignment with the G20 commitment to women-led development and the care economy, several critical gaps remain:
- None of the parties advocated for promoting investments in the care economy, a central message of the G-20.
- Manifestos avoided addressing the support required for women to balance their careers and family and means to encourage men to share the workload.
- There was a glaring absence of discussion on promoting engagement with grassroots women's organizations to enhance nutritional and health outcomes and early childhood care.
- Capacity building and skills training for care professionals were conspicuously missing from election manifestos.
- None of the political parties explicitly addressed the need for the universalization and institutionalization of childcare facilities.
As India aims to become the third-largest economic power globally, increased investment in the universalization of childcare services is imperative. Such investment will not only boost women's participation in the workforce but also ensure the holistic development of children from an early age, promising a significant return of 17% in the future economy. The struggle for women's and child rights is still ongoing. To build an equitable society, it is crucial to hold the government and politicians accountable for addressing these critical issues.
