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In major cities, the unemployment rate for women rose from 4.3 per cent to 5.6 per cent between 2004-05 and 2009-10, according to data provided by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. During the same period, the unemployment rate for men was stagnant at 3.4 per cent.
Major cities are those with populations of at least a million, according to Census 2001.
“This (the rise in the unemployment rate for women) is a result of family migration to cities,” said Amitabh Kundu of the Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University. “Earlier, there was distressed migration — only men moved to cities. But now, even women accompany them.” As a result, the demand for jobs among women was rising in cities, he added.
The sharpest rise in unemployment among women was seen in Chennai, where the rate rose 17 percentage points — from 2.3 per cent in 2004-05 to 18.8 per cent in 2009-10. This was followed by Ludhiana (14 percentage points). Ludhiana, along with Agra, recorded saw the highest rise in the unemployment rate among men (five percentage points).
Some experts said higher education levels had resulted in more women looking for jobs and, consequently, a rise in the unemployment rate. “Attainment of higher education is leading to more women offering themselves for more qualified jobs. Therefore, this could be one reason (for rising unemployment rate),” said
S R Hashim, former member of the Planning Commission. He added as a family progressed, aspirations for higher living standards led to women not getting the jobs they desired.
In terms of employment for women, Bangalore recorded the most progress; the fall in the unemployment rate was 10 percentage points —from 13.7 per cent in 2004-05 to 3.6 per cent in 2009-10, showed data released by the National Sample Survey Organisation on Tuesday.
Tanweer Fazal, a sociologist from Jamia Milia Islamia, said, “The traditional values of middle class families are changing, and more women offer themselves to work.”
Kundu said the major employment source for women in cities was the domestic-help segment. “As both members of the family are engaged in jobs, they are not able to manage domestic chores and, therefore, they employ domestic helps, which raises job expectations for women in the market,” he said.
The employment and unemployment data for 2011-12 were released earlier. The NSSO releases various reports based on the surveys and Tuesday’s data were the seventh and the last in the series.
Of the 28 major cities, eleven---Bhopal, Chennai, Faridabad, Greater Mumbai, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Nagpur and Patna---saw a rise in the joblessness rate among women. The highest rate was seen in Patna, where it rose from 18.2 per cent in 2004-05 to 23.9 per cent in 2009-10.
