1. Globalization & Widening Gender Inequality Understanding the Dynamics Through Time Use Studies.
(On-going study)
Project Agency : ILO
Project In charge : Prof. Indira Hirway
Project Associate : Dr. Varsha Ganguli and Ms Mahua Bannerjee
Our study entitled” Restructuring Production and Labour under Globalization: A Study of Textile and Garment Industry in India” (sponsored by the ILO Sub regional Office, New Delhi) has shown that women’s employment has increased significantly in this export-oriented industry under the liberized trade policies. Globalization of the industry has experted a number of pressures on production units in the industry that have led the units to restructure their production and labour, leading to flexible production and flexible labour use. In this process of flexibilization, workers in general and women workers in particular have suffered in multiple ways. On the one hand (1) most of the new employment is generated for informal workers, (2) the wages and working conditions of workers have moved further away from “decent work” conditions, and (3) the workers are more or less deprived of any social protection; while on the other hand, the conditions of women workers have become worse than those of men workers, with the widening of gender gaps in almost all labour market outcomes. In short, gender inequalities are emerging as a serious concern for our policy makers. How to reduce these inequalities and how to improve access of women to developmental opportunities is a major question that needs an urgent answer.
2. From Unpaid Work to Public Job Creation: Towards a Strategy for Pro-Poor Development: Construction of Village SAM for Understanding the impact of public employment Guarantee works on the village economy.
Sponsoring Agency : UNDP, New York
Collaboration with : Levy Economics Institute, New York and India Development Foundation, New Delhi (Dr M R Saluja and Dr Bhupesh Yadav).
Project Director : Prof Indira Hirway
This study has been undertaken with a view to assessing the impact of employment guarantee programmes on the village economy within the framework of National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. Such interventions are expected to have an impact on
- Household income of the poor and improved distribution of income in the economy,
- Production and delivery of public services, which are expected to improve access to basic necessities and poverty alleviation,
- Burden of unpaid work of women (and men) that is particularly taxing for the poor. In order to assess selected dimensions of the above impacts, it is proposed to construct a village level SAM for the village Nana Kotda (Sabarkantha District, Gujarat State), India.
The relevant policy question, subsequently, would be: what is the impact on the state, regional or national level if similar types of interventions were to scaled-up accordingly. The employment guarantee works will be treated as external shocks in the village SAM. These shocks will be divided in to
- social infrastructure (for care, education, health including care services on EGS worksites),
- economic infrastructure (for example, roads),
- natural capital building (related to land development, water augmentation, forestry) and
- assets (farm ponds and other asset building for private farms / enterprises).
The final report has been submitted to UNDP. It will be published by a well-known publisher very soon. We have also developed
- Policy Brief and
- summary of the project for wider circulation.
2005-07
3. Engendering Database in Cooperatives in Asia-Pacific Region
(Complete 2006)
Sponsoring Agency : International Cooperatives Association (ICA), New Delhi
Project Team : Prof. Indira Hirway and Dr. Shital Lodhia
Cooperatives are autonomous associations of people who join together to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs through jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprises. Though women have contributed significantly to the development of cooperatives in the Asia Pacific Region, the database on cooperatives is not engendered promote economic and social development, as they are also commercial organizations with a wider set of values than merely making profit. Each and every member of a cooperative has an equal access to its benefits and services.
4. Impact of Trade and Globalization on Gender in India: A Case of Women Workers in Fisheries.
Sponsoring Agency : Center for Social Research (CSR)
Project Leader : Mr. Anil Roy
This study was based on secondary data as well as primary data collected through a systematic sample survey. The respondents included workers, employers and concerned government officers. The major concerns the fishery sector in Gujarat, as per the study are related to
- over fishing,
- conditions of labour and
- environment related concerns. The study shows that there are good opportunities for fishery in the expanding global market, but efforts are needed to tap this potential..
5. Stock taking Paper
(Complete 2006)
Sponsoring Agency : UNDP, New York
Collaboration with : Levy Economics Institute, New York and India Development Foundation, New Delhi (Dr M R Saluja and Dr Bhupesh Yadav) .
Project Director : Prof Indira Hriway
2003-04
6. Gender Budget Analysis for State of Gujarat
Study In-charge : Dr.Darshini Mahadevia
Sponsoring Agency : National Institute of Pubic Cooperation & Child Development, Department of Women and Child, Government of India, New Delhi
There has been a growing recognition that gender budgeting need to be included in the national and state budgets. The Department of Women and Child Development, Government of India, decided to carry out an exercise to analyze the state budgets from the gender perspective. CFDA carried out the exercise in Gujarat State as per the guidelines use in a similar exercise for the national budget. This budget analysis covers not only women specific programmes but also programmes that are pro-women or have a significant share of women. In this budget analysis a list of women-specific schemes in the State is prepared along with their budgetary allocations and analysis. Also, a list of the schemes with a significant proportion of funds allocated to women is prepared for the state.
Gender Budgeting in Gujarat by Darshini Mahedevia, CFDA, 2003
1999-01
7. Gender Audit in Rajasthan
Study In-charge : Prof.Indira Hirway and Dr.Darshini Mahadevia
Sponsoring Agency : Swedish International Development Agency –SIDA, New Delhi.
The project aims at understanding the issues in gender development in Rajasthan. It examines the socio-economic status of women in Rajasthan in the context of the macro development process as well as sectoral development and micro level constraints and problems. The study has computed gender development indices and gender empowerment indices for Rajasthan state as well as for the districts in Rajasthan. It identifies the priority areas of action for the government and for the civil society in the state. Seminars on the study were organized at Jaipur for government officials, academicians and NGOs, and at Delhi for donor agencies and women NGOs in Delhi.
Output : Gender Audit in Rajasthan by Indira Hirway and Darshini Mahedevia, CFDA, 2000,