The world of work has changed after the COVID-19 pandemic, in which companies tend to increasingly adopt automation, digitalization, and certain other measures that goes against the workers having lesser level of education and skills. Moreover, women workers are worst sufferers, first on account of their gender and secondly due to low level of education and skills.

The data has also revealed great regional disparities along with the stark inequalities at the national level. There is an urgent need to rectify the anomalies across the country to help women and lesser educated and skilled people to get or remain in job in the post-COVID-19 world of work which is in rapid transition.

The National Statistical Office (NSO) has made several changes in making this bulletin which conceals the ground realities though it emphasizes “the importance of availability of labour force data at more frequent time interval”. However, it does not provide the more correct “current weekly status” (CWS). The definition regarding Secondary education has been tampered to include even middle school education, just to increase the number of workers having successfully completed secondary education. It may serve the purpose of the government to present a rosier picture since the data is intimately connected to Gender Inequality Index, Global Gender Gap Index, and Sustainable Development Goal (SDG), but it is rank dishonesty.

Let it be so. Even the data presented on this basis present alarming situation on the ground, since the percentage of the population of age 25 years and above with at least secondary education as the highest level of education successfully completed is only 49.3 per cent in the country out of which males are 58.7 per cent and females 40.1 per cent. Males and females in rural areas are 51.1 and 30.7 per cent while in urban areas their percentages are 74.4 and 59.6.

At states and UTs level Nagaland is at the top with 78.6 per cent of workers having ‘secondary’ education, followed by Mozoram 77.2, Chandigarh 73.9, Manipur 72.7, Puducherry 72.2, Delhi 72.1, Kerala 71.3, and Lakshadweep 70.7 per cent. Bihar is at the bottom with only 37.7 per cent, just below Andhra Pradesh with 38.1 per cent of such workforce.

This gender gap is even starker when considered the labour force of age 15-64 years in usual status (principal status+subsidiary status) (ps+ss). Females are only 28.2 per cent of the total workforce in the country, out of which 30.1 per cent in the rural areas and 23.6 per cent in urban areas. It is clears how much we have achieved in the realm of financial independence of women or women empowerment for which our government has always been drumming up.

At states and UTs level the gender gap in 15-64 age group is worst in Bihar with only 11.2 per cent women in total workforce, just below Delhi 15.5, Haryana 16.7, and Uttar Pradesh 18.8 per cent. Even the best performing state Himachal Pradesh has only 46 per cent women in their workforce, followed by Chhattisgarh with 40.2, and Sikkim 39.9 per cent.

The ratios of female workers to male workers in usual status working as legislators, senior officials and managers are even worse. At all India level, it is only 23.2 per cent, in rural areas 27.4 and in urban area 19.7 per cent. Best performing state in this regard is Manipur with 51.8 per cent, followed by Meghalaya 51.7, and Sikkim 50.4 per cent. The worst performing state is Assam with only 6.2, Haryana 7.7, and Delhi 9.2 per cent of women working in this capacity compared to men.

The ratios of female workers to male workers in usual status working as professionals and technical workers in the country is 50.1 per cent, out of which 48.5 per cent are in rural areas and 51.1 per cent are in urban areas. The best performing state in this regard is Sikkim with 120.2 per cent, followed by Daman & Diu with 110.7, and Meghalaya 101.5 per cent. Among all states and UTs Ladakh is the worst performing area with 16.6 per cent, just below Jharkhand 23.1, and Bihar 26.2 per cent.

The ratios of female workers to total workers in usual status working in managerial positions in the country are 18.7 per cent, out of which 21.4 per cent are in rural areas and 16.4 per cent are in urban areas. The worst performing states and UTs in this regard are Assam 6.9, Haryana 7.5, Delhi 7.9, Jammu & Kashmir 9.2, and Andaman & Nicobar Island 9 per cent. The Best performing states are Meghalaya with 34.1, Sikkim 33.5, Mizoram 33.3, Andhra Pradesh 32.3, and Punjab 32.1 per cent.

The ratios of female workers to total workers in usual status working in senior and middle management are 18.8 per cent in the country, out of which 21.5 per cent are in rural areas and 16.5 per cent in urban areas. With only 5.8 per cent women in these position Assam is the worst performing state. Haryana with 7.2, Delhi 8.4, Andaman & Nicobar Island 9.2, and Jammu & Kashmir 9.4 per cent women in these positions are among the worst performing states. The best performing states are Meghalaya and Manipur with 34.1 each, Sikkim 33.5, Andhra Pradesh 32.4, and Punjab 32.1 per cent women employed in these positions. (IPA Service)