Care Work and the Careers of Educated Women

Role of the Care Diamond in India

Bibliographic Data

ID22262154
AuthorsAmeeta Motwani (0000-0002-6952-6858, University of Delhi, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume3
Issue2
Pages08-14
Publication date2023-08-08
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Gender Culture and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2754-3293 • E-ISSN: 2754-3293
PublisherAl-Kindi Center for Research and Development (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.32996/jgcs.2023.3.2.2
OpenAlexW4385655097
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited4

The data on women’s education and labour force participation in India suggests that though the gender gap in education (particularly higher education) has almost disappeared, the gender gap in employment remains significant. The paper links the burden of double responsibility (paid work plus unpaid ‘care work’) with the low labour force participation rates among the highly educated women in urban India. Based on primary and secondary sources, the paper analyses the lived experiences of women who had to either leave their careers or who continued by managing to balance the two sets of responsibilities. Interrogating the care diamond in India, the essay examines two recent provisions of the government of India for working mothers – an increase in Maternity Leave and the provision of Childcare Leave. It finds that though these provisions seem to be in the right direction as they bring recognition to the care burden of employees, given the prevailing social norms on gender roles, they are insufficient (in their present form) to bring gender parity in the labour market

Care work · Child care · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Gender balance · Gender equality · Gender gap · Labour economics · Political science · Sociology · Employment and Welfare Studies · Gender Studies · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Medicine · Nursing · Work-Family Balance Challenges

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access