Working condition of women Artisans in India

Working condition of women Artisans in India

 

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Abstract

 

Various research and studies have revealed that the condition of artisans is very poor and pathetic. In India, a large chunk of the workforce is involved in the informal sector for various reasons – there is the ease of entry, family ownership, small-scale operations, and indigenous resources; not much qualification is required. The artisan industry falls in the informal sector; even being informal, its production capacity is accountable for almost 50 % of the whole economy. The Informal sector concept was first propounded by “Hart”, later ILO dealt with that term and given a wider definition to this. The Indian economy can be divided into two parts ( formal & Informal), where the informal sector is a major contributor in the development of the economy, but it is also plagued by various issues such as no standard operating procedure, no wage rules, etc. Another notable fact is, especially in the artisan industry, women’s participation is always more than men as it provides work from home facilities to some extent, and not much education is required to perform the task. As many as 94% of total women workers are involved in the unorganized sector and face various challenges.

 

“Empowering Women is a prerequisite for creating a good nation; when women are empowered, the society with stability is assured. Empowerment of women is essential as their value systems lead to the development of a good family, good society, and ultimately a good nation” – Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.

 

This present paper aims to understand the women workers’ current situation and how socio-economic measures are taken for their betterment. We would also like to recommend a few measures for the inclusive growth of society by understanding their perspectives.

Keywords: Inclusive Growth, Socio-Economic, Artisan, Empowerment, Informal sector, Development

Introduction

Rural artisans are responsible for taking the handicraft industry to the next level, especially in the Indian Handicraft industry. The contributions made by the rural artisans are nearly about 78 % of total handicraft produced in the country. Indian handicraft industry is especially known for its fine art, the selection of brilliant colors, designs, crafting, which have always been acknowledged and admired by the rest of the world.

 

Here, women have an important role to play as they account for 30-35% of the informal economy workforce, 118 million women workers are engaged in the unorganized sector, constituting 97% of the total women workers. Additionally, women have duties to take care of their offsprings and the well-being of the entire family. They are overly burdened compared to men in our society; despite performing all this house chorus activity, they struggle to get fair treatment at the workplace or home; they are not equally treated as men. Even though putting so much effort, they do not get enough to eat for themselves, and for their dependents, they are not even able to fulfill all necessities like – food, safety, water, and shelter.

 

This paper will help to understand the development of women artisans through policymakers and planners and helps us to give an idea about the importance of building women’s capacities to improve their socio-economical status, which can directly improve their skills, personality, self-concept, leadership, and income.

 

Data from the 66th round of the NSSO indicates that the female work participation rate has decreased between 2004-05 to 2009-10.  The participation share of women in normal status workers has reduced from 28.7% to 22.8%. In rural areas, this has declined from 32.7% to 26.1% and in urban areas from 16.6% to 13.8%, according to XII 5 years plan.

 

         Participation in the Labour Force

Indicators	Rural (%)			Urban (%)			Total Persons
	Male	Female	Total	Male	Female	Total
Labour Force Participation Rate	55.6	26.5	41.4	55.9	14.6	36.2	40.0
Work Participation Rate	54.7	26.1	40.8	54.3	13.8	35.0	39.2
Proportion of Unemployed	0.9	0.4	0.7	1.6	0.8	1.2	0.8
Unemployment Rate	1.6	1.6	1.6	2.8	5.7	3.4	2.0

          Source: NSSO 2009-10 (Usual Status (ps+ss)

The objective of the study

 

This paper establishes that a small action can improve women’s artisans’ working conditions towards a better and sustainable life by giving them better options.  The small steps towards improving their workability might increase their personality, boost their confidence, improve their life skills, provide them self respect, etc. This paper helps us to understand that if the women are properly guided and motivated and given all sorts of support, then they can be a story changer and successful breadwinners, provided given the right exposure.

 

Research Methodology

A field survey was conducted to develop a proper understanding of the workability over three months in the cities where maximum women are involved in artisan work, especially in Uttar Pradesh. For collecting this information, women workers are contacted at their workplaces, be it their workplace or home. For getting a better understanding of their home condition, their residential areas are also being taken care of by visiting them.

 

Women workers are involved in various activities – household activity, weaving, shoemaking, clothes weaving, carpet weavers, wood crafting, Zari Workers, Chicken handicraft, Meenakari, etc. through a semi-structured questionnaire, and based on their feedback; we can understand the following aspect of their profession:

 

• Their working condition and social status
• Wages – fixed or variable
• Gender discrimination
• Basic information such as – age, education, family income, etc.

 

A total of 150 women workers were interviewed, including 40 home-based workers, 30 cloth weavers, 20 shoemakers, and 60 handicraft workers, including ( Chicken work, Zari Work, Meenakari workers ), etc.

Since the mode of sample collection was a theoretical, interview basis, and through the unstructured questionnaire, it cannot be analyzed using statistical tools; therefore, qualitative analysis has been performed to analyze the feedback received from the women artisans the conclusion has been drawn.

Table 1.Portfolio of Women Workers in Artisans Industry

Areas / Reasons	Wage / Salary	Gender Discrimination	Working condition	Reason to opt for this job
Shoe Makers	Ø  Bare minimum wage Ø  Commission based	Ø  Nothing was witnessed.	Ø  Self dependent	Ø  Lack of other option available
Wooden Craft	Ø  Not fixed salary Ø  Piece based	Ø  Men are preferred  more than women	Ø  Self dependent Ø  Contractual basis	Ø  Financial deficit Ø  No educational background required
Zari / Meenakari / Chicken work	Ø  Negotiable Ø  Mostly work based Ø  Based on no. of pieces produced	Ø  Majority of women are involved comparatively to men	Ø  Based on demand Ø  Self employed	Ø  Financial freedom Ø  No land for farming Ø  Self dependent
Home based workers	Ø  Totally based on  No. of  pieces produced	Ø  Women participation is significantly more than men	Ø  No Actual information is available	Ø  Work from home option is available

 

Analysis and Discussion

The interview conducted for various women workers for different profiles are summarized and analyzed below:

 

Shoe Makers: The shoemakers are the ones who are facing an economic downturn and by means of this profession, they are supporting their families by earning bare subsistence for their dependents. Here their payment is based on the no. of the piece produced and depends on the market demand and supply. It also gives women financial independence, and they feel a special sense of pride.

 

Wooden Craft: Crafting involves precision; women workers whom all are involved in this profile are not able to devote much of their time. As crafting involves patience and time, women have no responsibilities, so the preference is given to men over women, so gender discrimination occurs. Since it does not demand an educational background so anyone can easily enter and exit. The payment to this job is a piece basis, which they usually call commission, and it varies from product to product.

 

Zari / Meenakari / Chicken Worker: Here, the majority of women workers are involved as it does not require any rules or regulations or compel them to follow the command. They receive payment on the piece basis, and usually, they work under some big manufacturer where they are given the freedom to perform their work, and it is home-based work, so maximum no. of women participation have been witnessed, as getting involved in this job does not hamper their family setup.

 

Home Based Worker: it gives an opportunity for women workers to perform all sorts of jobs in their dwellings. Women turn out to be home-based workers due to no. of reasons – they lack necessary qualifications, lack of formal training, no support from their families, economic compulsion, etc.  It also gives an opportunity to combine work with house chorus and flexibility to perform their task.

 

Review of Literature

 

Shrivsatava (1978), according to her report, it reveals the various aspects of lifestyle changes when it comes to employment. If a woman is working, she is more liberal than any woman confined to her house. She has a broad view in terms of understanding things and wider social interaction. The couple where both man and woman are involved in employment share equal domestic responsibilities and develop greater cooperation. Thus employment leads to various behavioural and social changes.

 

Gulati (1983), in her research, talks about marriages, which take place among the people who belong to the unorganized sector. Since the parents are already working in the informal sector, they get their daughter married to a boy from the same segment, which invites many unsaid challenges in a girl’s life, stops her from various opportunities and stops their girls from doing any better.

 

Preet Rutsagi (1997) has talked about women’s employment in the informal sector and how women’s employment rate has risen due to economic pressure in the unorganized sector. She has focused on the working condition of women and their exploitation in her article. Due to economic pressure, women are taking up jobs in the informal sector, but due to lack of stringent law and policies, they are underpaid and work under miserable conditions, along with household chorus activity. The participation of women in employment is also helping to break various cultural and social taboos.

 

Nigar Fatima Abidi (1996), her study is mainly based on Muslim Women workers, specifically in the textile industry. She reveals that women are working almost 7-8 hrs. Daily in weaving, along with other household choruses, which includes – Taking care of kids, Gardening, Cleaning, cooking, etc. they have no say in any decision in their family; they are just mere assistance to their spouse, where their contribution is huge in this particular industry. The matter of fact is that they are the breadwinner of their family because their family survival depends on their subsistence.

 

Jasani (1990), in her study she talks about male dominance, she says even there is women empowerment and various measures are being taken to boost the employment rate of women, but still, male dominance prevails in this industry. The labour market favors men over women. She talks about the midwives; there is also no equal pay for equal work done in the healthcare sector, even for the urgent work. She also says that the bargaining power of women is also weak due to socio-economic background.

 

According to Singh and Viltanan (1985), one of the papers presented by them in a conference in Delhi focused on women taking care of home-based work. They say the women’s home-based work always stays invisible; their work never comes in any of the statistics. Besides, women have accepted that the entire household stuff is only their whole sole responsibility, not the men’s, and as a result, home based work is just a peripheral. This paper also talks about the everyday work-setting challenges for women; it says it has several flaws: erratic work schedule, unorganized work settings, low wages, lack of legality, etc.

 

Jaya Kritika Ojha and Binod Mishra (2013) have discussed women empowerment, successful capacity building, and inclusions of women in the embroidery industry with special reference to Rajasthan, THAR. Despite the odd and challenging lifestyle, THAR women have still successfully managed to accelerate their artisan industry participation. They can talk against discrimination, their knowledge about their right, have a say in the decision-making process in the family, etc. This paper also talks about one of the non-governmental organization called “URMUL Seemant” this organization provides training; they work on quality improvement in terms of design, colours, new trends, etc.; they have created a platform of socio-economic development of rural women and women who especially are involved in handicrafts.

 

Crafting the way Forward – Women in Artisan Industry

 

According to Frank Wilson, the hand’s importance has been mentioned in one of his books, which states, “The Hand – how its use shapes the brain, language, and human culture.” Here we are discussing such industry, which is mostly into hand-operated known as a handicraft. The life in handicraft begins with an individual’s birth in a family whose descendants are already working there for decades. This industry can increase the employment rate and enhance the economic opportunity not just for men but also for women.

This sector is sometimes also understood as a diverse one as at one point, one will find a skilled workforce and at other unskilled or practitioners. Sometimes, there are self-employed people running their business successfully, and some are daily wage workers. This industry has ample opportunity, but the only problem lies with its regulation and formality. It has given an opportunity for women workers who can earn their livelihood and bread for their families.

 

However, the result has shown some different pictures; the Economic survey 2017-18 says that women workers’ employment has reduced from 36% to 24%. There are various reasons underneath: poor environment, sexual abuse, the unsatisfactory condition of work, lack of awareness, discrimination between men and women, low literacy rate, lack of family support, women are doubly burdened as there is no childcare support, etc. Because of such things, various agencies have come into the picture to protect the laws of women workers, protect their rights, and provide them all sorts of benefits and security, paving the way for their betterment.

 

AIACA  ( The All India Artisans And Craftworkers Welfare Association) is mainly in the craft sector and deals with issues pertaining to the growth and benefits of people who are associated with this industry. They have currently dealt with environmental issues, health and safety issues and paved the way for the inclusive development of this sector. They assist in –

• Sales of the handicraft
• Production
• Providing Training
• Help Product design
• Strengthening back end production

 

They are helping women artisans on various fronts, such as creating wage parity, enabling work condition, helping them to start their own business, etc. this way, they are helping them to promote, though these issues require proactive research, supportive policy, need to redesign the mechanics of work, and creating a sustainable model for inclusive growth.

 

Integrating Family and Work – Work-Life Balance

 

Here to better understand the concept of working women, it is important to understand the way both men and women have encountered the responsibilities; the problem which women encounter is way different from men, even in case of social taboos. Society generally perceives that women are economically or financially dependent on men, and they should be confined to their house taking care of their kids and families and making no economic contribution at all, and as a result, they lag behind men. Women face specific problems and issues, so even the process should be specific and unique to deal with such situations.

In some cases, if a woman is taking an opportunity of employment, they have to keep their relatives at home to take care of their children or some domestic help to do the same by taking care of their home and family, so that they can give 100% to their work effectively.

 

However, now the trends are shifting gears for working women on various fronts, new techniques, experiments, and initiatives, and gradually people’s perception of working women is also changing. Women are more empowered than they were ever before. The 20^th century was a period of tremendous change that diminished gender discrimination by bringing into the picture of sex ratio by 1991 census, which was falling at higher speed and hence set an alarming situation for all.

 

Today women are independent and more empowered; they take the opportunity and are establishing herself as equal by taking care of the entire responsibilities well. They get motivation, support, and guidance from the family and society since they have realized their capacity and power. Various active organizations – Government and non-government have taken initiatives to guide and empower those women who are deprived and have less access to the opportunities by giving them a platform and providing them an equal opportunity as their counterpart gets.

 

Conclusion

 

Women Artisans mostly work in traditional and unorganized sectors in which they are vulnerable to exploitation and low wages, sexual harassment, extreme working conditions, and erratic work schedules, which is very difficult to manage their work life. Due to such conditions, they have to choose home most of the time compared to work and become financially dependent on their counterpart. However, time is taking a major shift and turning the table for working women.

 

Based on the above study, it can be seen that the handicraft and artisans industry has brought significant change in the lives of women artisans; they get full support and timely payment, they are the successful breadwinners of their families, and have established themselves as change agents and leading a successful life. The poor women have realized their potential and have become self-reliant. It is found that they are easily managing the work and their families.

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