Occupational Segregation in the Indian Labour Market

Abstract

This article measures the extent of occupational segregation for gender and social groups in India. It is based on a recent round of a nationally representative employment and unemployment survey of the Government of India. We use overall and local measures of occupational segregation. We find that occupational segregation for both genders and social groups is higher in the urban sector than in the rural sector. Females are more segregated than their male counterparts in both sectors. Among social groups, scheduled caste and scheduled tribe groups have higher levels of segregation. Furthermore, we find that regular workers and the elderly are more segregated when we examine segregation, respectively, by nature of employment and across age groups.Cet article mesure l'étendue de la ségrégation occupationnelle en fonction du genre et du groupe social en Inde. Cet article s'appuie sur un sondage représentatif à l'échelle nationale sur l'emploi et le chômage, récemment réalisé par le Gouvernement Indien. Nous utilisons des mesure générales et locales pour la ségrégation occupationnelle. Nous trouvons que la ségrégation occupationnelle pour les deux genres ainsi que pour les divers groupes sociaux est plus importante dans le secteur urbain que dans le secteur rural. Dans les deux secteurs,les femmes sont plus susceptibles de subir la ségrégation que leurs homologues masculins. Parmi les groupes sociaux, les castes et les tribus les plus basses sont les plus affectées par la ségrégation. De plus, nous trouvons que les ouvriers routiniers et les personnes âgées sont plus ségréguées lorsque l'on examine la ségrégation selon la nature de l'emploi ou selon différentes catégories d'âge, respectivement.

Understanding young women’s experiences of gender inequality in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh through story circles

“…These restrictions limit women to taking jobs close to home, and coupled with little education, result in domestic and home-based work that is poorly compensated and encourages little empowerment. Gender segregation in occupations for women has been documented in India, emphasizing domestic and service jobs (Agrawal, 2016). These professions are also more concentrated among women of lower socioeconomic class and with less education, reinforcing the cycle of poverty through limited economic opportunity and low-paying work (Sarkar, 2015).…”

Variations in the Occupational Structure and Gender Segregation in India and the States: Analysis Based on Census of India 2001 and 2011

“…The extent of occupational segregation for gender and social group in India was examined by Tushar Agrawal [15] and concluded that occupational segregation and social group segregation were higher in urban sectors than in the rural sectors especially among females. Across the social group, the segregation was higher among scheduled caste and scheduled tribes.…”

The Role of Social Enterprises in Building Inclusive Social Capital: Evidences from Multi-Case, Qualitative Field Study

“…However, many of these debates have been theoretical or have used anecdotal evidence rather than being substantiated by recent empirical data (Agrawal, 2016;Cotterill et al, 2014;Vaid, 2014) by Dalits and Adivasi tend to be very small, less likely to employ labor from outside the family, and more likely to belong to the informal or unorganized sector.…”

“…Similarly, in most of the villages, the same caste (Vaishya, e.g. Mahajan) also has complete control over credit, and they charge a usurious interest rate from illiterate and helpless lower castes (Agrawal, 2016;Shah et al, 2007). Moreover, as caste structure is deeply entrenched, most of the government officials, including Gram Sevak, 25 do not provide any support to lower castes, and in many cases actually exploit their ignorance and gullibility.…”

“…Many scholars believe that this observation of mobility is only valid for the occupations that are at the same level and normally performed by the upper castes, something labelled in the literature as horizontal mobility. There is a lack of evidence about whether upper caste members have ever taken up occupations traditionally performed by the lower caste members or by harijans(Agrawal, 2016;Jodhka, 2015; Vaid, 2012;.…”