India is on the cusp of surpassing China to become the world’s most populous country, and its economy is among the fastest-growing in the world. But the number of Indian women in the workforce is already among the 20 lowest in the world.
But the number of Indian women in the workforce, already among the 20 lowest in the world, has been shrinking for decades. For 16 years, she had been a social worker in Mumbai, India's frenetic financial capital, and she loved the work. But her family kept telling her she needed to stay at home to take care of her two children. She resisted the pressure for years, but when she found out her daughter was skipping school when she was at work, it felt like she didn't have a choice.
Without Singh’s income, her family can no longer afford to live in Mumbai, one of Asia’s most expensive cities, and she’s now preparing to move back to her village to save money. “But there are no jobs there,” she sighed.EDITOR’S NOTE: This story is part of an ongoing series exploring what it means for the 1.4 billion inhabitants of India to live in what will be the world’s most populated country.
It felt life-changing. “I didn’t have a college degree, so I never thought it would be possible for someone like me to get a job in an office,” she said. Today, she lives and works in Mumbai as an auditor for the Indian Defense Department, a government job coveted by many Indians for its security, prestige and benefits.
Abraham said there is growing recognition among policymakers that the retreat of women from the workforce is a huge problem, but it has not been met with direct fixes like more childcare facilities or transportation safety.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
IMF’s Georgieva: India, China to account for 50% of global economic growth in 2023International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that “the global economy is estimated to grow less than 3 percent in 2
Read more »
Finally, an ambassador to IndiaOn March 15, more than two years after former ambassador Kenneth Juster left the post, the U.S. Senate finally confirmed former Los Angeles Mayor Eric...
Read more »
As tiger count grows, India's Indigenous demand land rightsPrime Minister Narendra Modi announced Sunday to much applause that the country’s tiger population has steadily grown to over 3,000 since its flagship conservation program began 50 years ago after concerns that numbers of the big cats were dwindling.
Read more »
As tiger count grows, India's Indigenous demand land rightsPrime Minister Narendra Modi announced Sunday to much applause that the country’s tiger population has steadily grown to over 3,000 since its flagship conservation program began 50 years ago after concerns that numbers of the big cats were dwindling. But multiple Indigenous groups allege they are being driven out of their ancestral lands to save the big cats. The flagship conservation program, Project Tiger, has received global accolades for its work protecting the endangered animal. At the same time Indigenous groups are protesting their own evictions and are asking for a say in how their ancestral lands are protected and used.
Read more »
As tiger count grows, India's Indigenous demand land rightsProtesters will tell their own stories of how they have been displaced by such wildlife conservation projects over the last half-century.
Read more »