The best FOP ppt ever

1. Feminisation of Poverty
Prof. Vibhuti Patel, Director, PGSR
(Head), Department of Economics
SNDT Women’s University, Smt. Nathibai Road,
Churchgate, Mumbai-400020
Mobile- 9321040048
Phone-26770227®, (O)22052970 Email-vibhuti.np@gmail.com
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2. Globalisation
• Cheap labour to enhance super
profit
• Marked feature of neo liberal policy
is enlightened self- interest
activated through market forces.
• Coloured women and girls as the
last colony 2

3. The Asian Scenario
• South Asian (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Nepal), South East Asia (Thailand, Indonesia,
Philippines, Malaysia) countries, Indochina (Laos,
Kampuchea and Vietnam) and China is flooded with
Sweatshops, ghetto labour markets and stigmatised
migrant workers.
• To attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), ASEAN
countries have established of Special Economic
Zones, Export Processing Zones, Free Trade Zones,
Coastal Development Zones that would ensure the
labour force that is not covered by protective labour
laws and social security.
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4. New Forms of Plunder
• Primitive accumulation in its classical form
included plunder, slavery and colonialism,
while capitalist accumulation in the contemporary
period includes sweat- shops, labour concentration
camps, stigmatised production processes and
criminalisation of the working class.
• Dr. Arjun Sengupta Committee Report, 2006 on
unorganised workers managing their lives with Rs.
20/- per day among whom women constitute 60%
of the total work force.
• Social Security f0r Workers in Unorganised Sector
Act, 2008. 4

5. Stabilization Policies and SAP
As a result of Structural Adjustment
Programme, sacked/ retrenched formal
sector workers and employees are forced to
work in the informal sector for precarious
wages. Victims of Voluntary Retirement
Scheme have downward economic
mobility. Women in their families are
multitasking-paid and unpaid work.
Rationalisation, mechanisation and
automation have had labour reducing
implications. 5

6. Feminisation of work force
• In the poverty groups, women end up doing
the most demanding and lowest status chores.
E.g. Scavenging, solid waste management.
Young men refusing to do menial chores
• New migrants to the urban centres due to
agrarian crisis.
• Galloping inflation & price rise of essential
survival needs
• State withdrawing from health care and
quality education. Commercialisation of
essential services- “user fees”
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7. Ethnic & Communal Tensions
• Co-existence of high wage islands in the sea of
pauperised working class has enhanced
human misery and social conflict in the
context of massive reduction in the welfare
budgets of the nation states in South Asia and
South East Asia.
• With rising ethnic and communal tension
jeopardising economic activities, visible and
invisible activities of underground extra-legal
economy is displaying a tendency to expand.
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8. Dual Economy Model
• INDIVIDUALS WITH SIMILAR
LEVELS OF EDUCATION &
SKILLS get differential wages due to
casualisation of the workforce.
Introduction of contract system in
public sector has institutionalised neo-
liberal dual economy model.
• Wage differentials
• Segmented markets 8

9. Job & Wage Discrimination
• Immigrants face job discrimination in
pre-entry phase & wage discrimination
in post entry phase. They remain the first
to be fired and the last to be hired.
• Dualistic Models in the Asian region,
promotes differentiation based on
language, caste, religion, ethnic
background and exclusion from informal
network for upward economic mobility.
• Worst victims-Women headed
households 9

10. External Sector
Majority of the toiling poor rot in the external sector in
which real wages change at disparate rates.
Institutions like extended family, caste and village nexus
play an important role in providing safety nets to
migrant workers.
• GHETTO LABOUR MARKETS
• Burgeoning GHETTO LABOUR MARKETS are perpetuating
the law of jungle in the industrial scenario. As a result a
situation arises where legal apartheid faced by micro-
entrepreneurs at the foot of the economy.
• Workers in casual sector are predominantly young and
single men and women, while workers in regular
sector are older and married.
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11. Plight of the Poor Women
• Segmentation begins in the rural areas where
the asset-less poor in the margin of economy
migrate to the cities.
• Dual economy thrives on discrimination based on
gender relations, caste, religion, language, parent’s
education, family occupation, migration status and
age.
• 1. Income differs widely between these segments.
2. Mobility between them is limited.
3. Women are at the bottom of pyramid.
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12. Globalisation has enhanced patriarchal control over women’s
sexuality, fertility and labour by superimposing commercial values
on the conventional values throughout the world.
Feminist economists can play a crucial role in motivating the nation-
states and the global decision-making bodies to be pro-active in
furthering women’s entitlements in the households, economy and
governance.
Women’s groups are making global effort to change macro-policies,
programmes of the nation-state and actions at the local level by the
government and non-government bodies.
Engendering social protection and social security policies-welfare
measures, promotive, income maintenance and protective
dimensions of social security-Right to food, MG NAREGA, Mid Day
Meal, strengthening Public distribution system, implementation of
the social Security Act, 2008. 12

13. Rapid pace of economic globalisation and global economic downturn
2008 onwards has brought massive uncertainties in women’s lives.
Multi-faced tragedies due to
•marketisation of poor economies and commercialisation of human relations,
high male unemployment & entry of women as low wage substitutes
•commoditization of women’s bodies especially in sexual trafficking,
advertisements and beauty-contests promoted by the Trans-national
corporations (TNCs) and Multi-national Corporations (MNCs),
•starvation deaths in the rural areas, farmers’ suicides
•havoc played by onslaught of new reproductive technologies, of
both pro and anti-natalist varieties, racist population control
policies, sex selective abortions of female foetuses, surrogacy
violating dignity and bodily integrity of women
•increasing economic disparity, the feminisation of poverty,
•disasters in the name of mega development projects resulting into massive
displacement of peoples, stressful life leading to increasing violence against
women,
• the pandemic of HIV and AIDS, armed conflicts 13
•persistent racism, casteism, sexism, chauvinism and extremism

14. •Gender sensitive strategic thinking can address practical and
strategic gender needs of women. For example, more women in more
areas of economic activities can be gainfully and justly employed.
Information technology can enable women throughout the globe to
share strategies, successes and stress-free and safe life.
• March 8, International Women’s Day-International Women's Day
(8 March) is an occasion marked by women's groups around the
world. It is a gift from working class women to the women of the
world. It symbolizes struggles, strength, and sisterhood of women for
just, humane and egalitarian social order.
Bread and Roses, 1908
•“As we go marching, marching, we bring the greater days,
The rising of the women means the rising of the race.
No more the drudge and idler, ten that toil where one reposes,
But a sharing of life’s glories: Bread and roses, bread and roses.
Our lives shall not be sweated from birth until life closes;
Hearts starve as well as bodies; bread and roses, bread and roses.”
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15. Southern Women’s Perspectives
Feminists wedded to safeguard the entitlements of women have been
trying to convince the international financial, economic and
commercial institutions, namely, World Bank, International
Monitory Fund, World Trade Organisation and Organisation of
Economic Cooperation and Development
•to withdraw existing conditionalities and rules of economic
globalisation, and
•to stop covertly and overtly, promoting the interests of patriarchal
class system, all over the globe, defending the interests of TNCs and
MNCs and imposing unrestrained commodification, thereby
resulting into concentration and centralization of economic,
financial and political power in the hands of the few.
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16. 16

17. Women and Employment
Some Areas of Concern
• Non enforcement of Laws and Schemes(MBA,
ERA, Crèche, EGS
• Violation of basic Human Rights in Informal
Sector( irregular, no social protection, rag-pickers)
• No skills training
• Abuse in Special Economic Zones (FTZs, EPZs)
• Night work
• Sexual harassment 17

18. Recommendations for Employment
Policy for Women’s Employment
• Proper Implementation of Laws, Schemes
• Law Reform(Maternity Benefit Act, Family Leave,
Sexual Harassment at Workplace)
• Legal Protection for Informal Sector- Umbrella
Legislation-Occupational Health & Safety
• Capacity Building and Training
• Social Audits of laws, rights
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19. Employment Guarantee Scheme and Maternity Benefits
The Employment Guarantee Scheme needs to be expanded and
improved for urban workers. The focus of such employment
schemes can be on building infrastructure, slum development and
housing.
The National Renewal Fund should be extended to cover the
unorganized sector and a substantial part should go into the
retraining of workers.
Maternity Benefit for ALL working Mothers irrespective of the
number of employees. Crèches should be provided for children of all
workers and not merely women workers irrespective of the number
of employees. There could be a common fund for each industry.
Social Audit of Workers rights
Measures to curb suicides among indebted women of MFIs. 19

20. Recommendations for strengthening the SHGs :
• Groups formed by experienced and trained NGOs
or WDCs should be given bank credit and loans.
• Nurturing grants be released at regular intervals
• Pension-linked insurance scheme
• Curb bullying tactics and defrauding of poor women
by commercial minded MFIs
• state level agency to be appointed to train NGOs
• initiatives and training to bankers for improving
programme delivery mechanism and promoting
gender sensitivity. 20

21. Property and Land Rights
• Need for a global campaign
• gender bias in property laws. Need for gender-just
family laws in matters such as marriage, divorce,
custody and guardianship of child, maintenance,
women’s right to stay in the parental or
matrimonial home
As per the UN
“Women constitute ½ of world’s population,
do 2/3 of world’s work, in return get 1/10 of world’s
income and 1/100 of world’s wealth. 21

22. Social Audit of Budgets
•The Budget is an important tool in the hands of state for
affirmative action for improvement of gender relations through
reduction of gender gap in the development process. It can help
to reduce economic inequalities, between men and women as
well as between the rich and the poor.
•Pro-poor budgeting, bottom-up budgeting, child budgeting
• Green budgeting, local and global implications of pro-poor and
pro-women budgeting
•Alternative macro scenarios emerging out of alternative
budgets and inter-linkages between gender-sensitive budgeting
and women’s empowerment.
•SC & Tribal Component plan must be judiciously executed.
•Women’s Component Plan to assure at least 30% of
funds/benefits from all development sectors flow to women.
•Capacity building workshops for women in governance
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23. Recommendations
• Testamentary powers that deny the daughters rights
should be restricted
• Allow daughters full right of residence in parental dwelling
houses
• Women must be given ‘the right to residence’
• putting private household property in the joint names of
partners, with precautions against misappropriation by the
male partner
• 10% of all houses in the housing schemes(in both, public &
private sector) must be reserved for Women Headed
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Households.

24. Budgeting, Auditing and Planning
• budgetary policies to consider gender, class, caste
dynamics operating in the economy and civil society.
• need to highlight participatory approaches to pro-poor
budgeting, green budgeting, local and global implications
of pro-poor and pro-women budgeting,
• Women’s Component in all anti poverty schemes and
programmes to assure at least 30% of funds/benefits
from all
• Tax benefits be extended to women who are only
earners in household.
• mandated approach of convergence of services at all
levels of governance, through inter-sect oral committees
of all Ministries/Departments at the Centre ,States with
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specific responsibility to Councils and Municipalities

25. Affirmative Action
• Every ministry at the Centre and State levels to have a
women’s division
• Women and Child Development Department must be
separated
• Training and capacity building workshops for decision-
makers in the government structures, village councils,
parliamentarians and audio-visual media for planning,
budgeting, implementing and monitoring.
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26. •Strengthening of Public Distribution System (PDS)- Food
Security
•Visibility of women in statistics and indicators-gender
disaggregated data
•Recognition of women’s work in the Systems of National
Accounts
•Access to critical resources ( fuel, fodder, water, health-
care, nutritious diet)
• Organizing the unorganized women workers 26

27. Important issues for Global and local level
Advocacy to Empower Women:
a.Strengthening of Food Security and Right to Food Top down and
bottom up initiatives to stop malnutrition and starvation deaths
created by stabilisation programmes resulting into withdrawal of
state from food security commitments.
b. Public Health issues must be highlighted thro’ a national network,
People’s Health Assembly. The Nation States should follow the UN
mandate of 5 % of the GDP for budgetary allocation on the public
health.
c. No to dumping of unsafe contraceptives for coloured and poor
women.
d. Ban sex-selective abortions of female foetuses in South Asia and
China. 27

28. f. State Support for Women’s Education not only at the primary
school level but also at the secondary and high school level. Forum
for Child Care has demanded that one room of the school should be
converted into crèche so that girls who have to look after their
younger siblings can also join the schools. More budgetary allocation
and actual funding for girls’ education.
g. Free Legal Aid and People’s Court: Justice and Peace
Commission, a network of community organisations working in
Mumbai provides free legal aid to poor women to deal with marital
disputes, divorce, maintenance, custody of children, alimony,
property, right to stay in the parental or matrimonial homes. This
model must be replicated everywhere.
h. Housing Rights are the most important. NCHR
demanded that in al1 housing societies and state
supported housing schemes, 10 % houses should be
reserved for female-headed households. 28

29. i. Sanitation, Public toilets: There is an urgent need to take up the
issues of urban sanitation in terms of higher budgetary provision
from the state and municipal funding.
j. Safety nets for women in the subsistence sector of the economy in
terms of loans, infrastructure, storage and transport and state
subsidy and support price for agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy
development, horticulture and floriculture.
k. Environmental Issues: Natural resources, being humankind’s
common heritage, must be preserved for the use of actual and future
generation with the perspective that each human being has an access
to water, air, energy, etc. according to her or his needs.
l. Commercialisation and privatisation of these resources must be
stopped. Biological diversity (flora, fauna, forests, ecosystems) must
be preserved and indigenous women’s collective wisdom must be
recognised, respected and valued. 29

30. Women United
Will Never Be Defeated
Thank you 30