How Development Affects Women: Insights from India’s Policies

Development policies have long promised to uplift communities and create equitable growth opportunities. However, in India, the story of development has unfolded quite differently for women. Despite their significant contributions to the economy, women have often found themselves on the margins of progress, bearing the hidden costs of economic transformation while receiving few of its rewards. Understanding how development impacts women requires examining the gender biases embedded in policies, the changing nature of women’s work, and the effects of globalization on their lives.

How development policies overlook women’s contributions 🔗

Development policies in India have historically treated women’s work as supplementary rather than essential. One of the most overlooked aspects is unpaid domestic work, with women spending an average of 352 minutes per day on unpaid labor. This invisible labor includes cooking, cleaning, childcare, and caring for elderly family members. Yet, these critical contributions remain absent from economic calculations and policy frameworks.

The legal framework in India perpetuated gender inequalities, with married Hindu women being denied the right to adopt children independently, as fathers were considered natural guardians. Traditional gender roles were reinforced through state policies that portrayed women as part-time earners supported by men, rather than independent economic agents. When policies fail to recognize unpaid work, they effectively exclude women from accessing credit, social security, and other benefits that formal workers receive.

This gender-blind approach to policymaking has resulted in India ranking 123 out of 189 countries in the UNDP Gender Inequality Index and 140 out of 156 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index. These rankings reveal a persistent gap between constitutional promises of equality and the lived realities of millions of women.

Women’s participation in the economy 🔗

The economic landscape for women in India presents a paradox. While women’s participation in agriculture has increased significantly, their economic empowerment has not kept pace. According to the National Sample Survey Office, women constituted around 43% of cultivators and 52% of agricultural laborers during 2010-11, with these numbers continuing to rise.

This phenomenon, known as the feminization of agriculture, has emerged largely due to male migration from rural to urban areas in search of better employment opportunities. As men leave farming, women have taken on greater responsibilities in agricultural work. However, this increased participation has not translated into empowerment. Women comprise 42% of agricultural labor but own only 9% of land, severely limiting their access to credit, government schemes, and decision-making power.

The gender wage gap persists 🔗

Despite doing similar work, young women are 59% less likely to have regular salaried jobs than young men. This employment inequality reflects deeply entrenched gender norms that restrict women’s mobility, limit their access to education and training, and confine them to lower-paying, less secure work. The labor market remains heavily gendered, with certain occupations deemed appropriate for women while higher-paying sectors remain male-dominated.

Nearly 150 million women were part of India’s workforce, representing about 20% of the labor force, far below the global average of 40%. This figure dropped further to 16% in 2020 during the pandemic. At 17%, India has a lower share of women’s contribution to GDP than the global average of 37%, indicating massive untapped economic potential.

Globalization and market liberalization 🔗

The New Economic Policy of 1991 marked a turning point in India’s economic trajectory. Introduced to address a severe balance of payments crisis, the policy embraced liberalization, privatization, and globalization. While these reforms spurred overall economic growth, their impact on women has been mixed and often problematic.

The New Economic Policy’s effects on women 🔗

The 1991 reforms included reduction in public investment and expenditure, cuts to food and fertilizer subsidies, and increased emphasis on capital-intensive activities. These structural adjustments had disproportionate effects on women. Reduced subsidies and public spending increased urbanization while creating fewer job opportunities for women in the formal sector, pushing many into the informal economy where wages are lower and working conditions are precarious.

With increasing global economic competition, employment conditions declined and government spending on social and welfare services decreased. Policymakers assumed that the burden of reduced social services could be transferred from the productive economy to households, effectively to women, without any economic cost. This assumption ignored women’s multiple roles in both production and reproduction.

Casualization and informalization of women’s work 🔗

Globalization has led to the casualization of women’s labor, meaning more women work in temporary, contract-based, or informal arrangements without job security or benefits. Women are often preferred for such positions because they are perceived as willing to accept lower wages and less likely to organize for better conditions. This increased the country’s dependence on global market forces, making it more susceptible to external shocks and economic crises.

The agricultural sector provides a clear example. After 1991, the government removed some restrictions on imports of agricultural products causing price crashes while cutting subsidies for farmers. Small farmers, many of whom were women, faced volatile global markets without adequate support or protection. This exposure to market forces without corresponding access to resources has been termed the feminization of agrarian distress.

Real-world implications 🔗

The cumulative effect of these policy choices manifests in concrete ways in women’s lives. Only 21% of women use mobile internet, preventing them from accessing financial services, education, and job opportunities. Women face barriers in accessing technology, training, and markets. Agricultural machinery and tools are typically designed for male physiques, making them difficult for women to use effectively.

Decision-making power remains largely in male hands, even in areas where women do most of the work. Extension services and agricultural training programs predominantly reach men, excluding women from knowledge about improved seeds, sustainable practices, and market opportunities. This exclusion perpetuates cycles of lower productivity and limited economic mobility.

Moving toward inclusive development 🔗

Recent policy initiatives have begun to address some of these gaps. Programs like MGNREGA have provided women with opportunities for economic independence, social inclusion, and participation in decision-making. The National Rural Livelihoods Mission adopts a women-centric approach to poverty alleviation. However, implementation remains inconsistent, and many women still lack awareness of their entitlements.

Effective solutions require addressing multiple dimensions simultaneously. Women need secure land rights, access to credit and markets, appropriate technology and training, and participation in decision-making at all levels. Gender-responsive budgeting can ensure that public spending addresses women’s needs. Social protection programs must account for women’s unpaid care work and provide support systems like childcare facilities.

Understanding the path forward 🔗

Development that ignores gender dynamics cannot achieve inclusive growth. When policies fail to recognize women’s contributions, overlook their specific constraints, or assume their labor is freely available, they create patterns of inequality that persist across generations. The feminization of agriculture without corresponding feminization of rights exemplifies this disconnect.

True development requires moving beyond gender-blind policies to gender-transformative approaches that challenge existing power structures and social norms. This means recognizing unpaid work, ensuring equal access to resources, creating decent work opportunities, and amplifying women’s voices in policy design and implementation. India cannot achieve its full economic potential while half its population remains marginalized from the benefits of growth.

What do you think? How can development policies be redesigned to genuinely empower women rather than simply increasing their workload? What role should communities play in ensuring that economic growth translates into real improvements in women’s lives and opportunities?

References

1. https://india.un.org/en/172095-empowering-people-communities-and-institutions
2. https://www.ispp.org.in/unveiling-the-impact-of-public-policies-on-womens-equality-in-india/
3. https://drreddysfoundation.org/feminization-of-agriculture/
4. https://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/blog/whats-holding-young-women-india-back-closing-gender-gap-accessing-decent-work
5. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/24081203_India's_New_Economic_Policy_of_1991_and_its_Impact_on_Women's_Poverty_and_AIDS
6. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277539599000357
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_liberalisation_in_India