ENGENDERMENT LABOUR
FORCE SURVEYS:
INDIAN EXPERIENCE
Dr. S.K.Nath
CSO-INDIA
MEN AND WOMEN: OLD THEORY
 WOMEN – WOMEN
 LADY – LADY
 MADAM – MADAM
DO WE BELIVE THIS THEORY THAT WOMEN
HAS TO DEPEND ON MAN ?
NO MORE “MEN AND WOMEN” SAY
“ WOMEN AND MEN”
“ It is important to walk a mile in
another person’s shoes. As it
possible to grow up in the same
family, neighbourhood, school…
And yet have totally different
experiences depending on
whether you are a man or a
woman”
- Retd. Supreme Court of Canada
WHY ENGENDERING STATISTICS
What is the opinion of Statisticians
What is the opinion of Gender specialists
What is the opinion of Civil Societies
What is the opinion of Policy makers
HOW TO ENGENDER




Re-engineering of Surveys
Use of effective tools
Study the societal needs
Positive outlook in developing Data
Tabulation Policy
 Look at Gender Blind data and make their
effective use through appropriate Data
Analysis
PROBLEM OF ENGENDERING
Lack of understanding
Lack of Vision
Deliberate avoidance
Misleading arguments
HOW TO OVERCOME PROBLEM
Evidences
Appropriate advocacy
Marketing Ideas
Taking appropriate assistance ( from
whom ?)
Let us see how India overcome this problem
LABOUR FORCE SURVEYS IN INDIA
 THE FIRST LFS WAS CONDUCTED IN 1955
(May – September)
 QUINQUENNIAL SURVEYS STARTED IN 197273
 LAST SUCH SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED IN
2004-05
 EMPLOYMENT STATUS – USUAL STATUS,
WEEKLY STATUS AND CURRECT STATUS
Survey Design
Multistage Sampling with area frame
Villages / Urban blocks ( with various town
classes) are FSU
Households are the SSU
About 0.14 million households selected
and surveys in four subrounds with two
sub samples each.
SYSTEM FOLLOWED: CONSULTATION
 DECISION MAKING PROCESS : GOVERNING
COUNCIL ( now called Steering Group )
 REPRESENTATION OF NONOFFICIAL MEMBERS-
professors and civil societies
 DETAILED CONSULTATION PROCESS THROUGH
BRAINSTORMING SESSIONS
 WORKING GROUP ON LFS – WORKS ON
METHODOLOGY AND SCHEDULE OF ENQUIRY AND
TABULATION POLICY
 WORKING GROUPS ARE ALSO REPRESENTED BY
OFFICIAL AND NON-OFFICIAL EXPERTS
DATA SYSTEM SINCE INCEPTION
SEX-SEGGREAGTED DATA ARE AVAILABLE
ACCORDING TO
A) STATES / UTs PLUS URBAN/RURAL
B) MPCE CLASSES
C) AGE-GROUPS
D) SOCIAL CLASSIFICATORY VARIABLES
E) JOB –STATUS ETC.
F) ISIC / ISCO CLASSIFICATION
G) LAND POSSESSED
H) ETC.
SENSATISATION OF GENDER ISSUES:
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
 ANNUAL CONFERENCE ON GENDER
STATISTICS –NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL
 IMPORTANCE OF INFORMAL SECTOR
 BEIJING PLATFORM OF ACTION
 IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN OF ACTION AS
PER FOLLOW UP OF NATIONAL ACTION
PLAN (NPA)
 IMPORTANCE OF UNPAID WORK
 KATHMANDU DECLARATION
MAJOR ENGENDERMENT PROCESS
COLLECTION OF DATA ON DOMESTIC
DUTIES PERFORMED WITHIN
HOUSEHOLD
CONDUCT OF TIME USE STATISTICS
COLLECTION OF DATA ON “PLACE OF
WORK”
CONDUCT OF INFORMAL SECTOR
SURVEY IN NON-AGRICULTURE
SECTOR
Data on Economic Activity


All the market activities performed for
pay or profit which resulted in
production of goods and services for
exchange
Non-market activities not covered under
WPR
Non-market: Primary Sector
All activities relating to the primary
sector (Div 01 to 14 of ISIC 3.1) which
resulted in production ( including free
collection of uncultivated crops, forestry,
firewood, hunting, fishing, mining,
quarrying etc.) of primary goods for own
consumption
Non-market : Own Account Production of
fixed Assets
Activities relating to the own-account
production of fixed asset (Own-account
production of fixed assets included
construction of own houses, roads, wells etc.,
and of machinery, tools etc., for household
enterprise and also construction of any
private or community facilities free of charge.
A person may have been engaged in ownaccount construction in the capacity of either
a labourer or a supervisor.)
KATHMANDU DECLARATION
Resolution of the South Asian Meeting on
Women Workers in the Informal Economy
Sector: 18-20 October 2000
“There are at least 50 million home based
workers in South Asia out of whom around
80% are women. They include own
account or self employed workers as well
as those who do work for contractors at
piece rate.”
Discussions of Home Worker
 POLITICAL WILL PLAYED AN IMPORTANT
ROLE
 Issue was discussed at length with nonofficial experts and observed that Indian data
system do not make Home Based Worker
fully visible
 Visibility of Home Worker in the data system
does not necessarily engender system since
home workers are “outworkers” which are not
necessarily gender sensitive
India initiatives
SAARC Gender data-shop with UNIFEM
CSO formed of Independent Group with
UNIFEM
Involving a number of non-official
members including women groups.
( SEWA and Other Civil Societies )
Key issues for defining HBWs
 Debated on three consecutive meetings
 Should we adopt extended definition of HW ?
 Will it be Gender responsive ?
 Worked on existing data on self employment
CSO views
 Involved in the production of goods and
services, in their ‘home’ for the market and
 Work in their ‘home’ for remuneration, resulting
in a product or service as specified by the
employer(s)
Outcome
Conceived an agreed upon definition pending its
testing in the field by re-engineering the LFS
schedule of enquiry
This initiative may bring a sea change in
engendering the Labour Force Survey .
Gender responsive Labour Force data on
informal sector will help in making policy
decision regarding several pro-informal sector,
having 90% employment ) measures like social
security for which a High Power Commission is
looking into the problem.
DATA DISSEMINATION
Women and Men in India
Micro-data are put on public domain
immediately after release of data
Thanks