India losing out heavily on GDP due to gender inequality: Rating "comparable" to Middle-East, North Africa

Gender equity: Incremental GDP 2025 in full potential scenario

By Rajiv Shah
A recently-released study by one of the world’s most prestigious consultants, McKinsey Global Institute (MGI), has estimated that women in India contribute just 17 percent to the Gross National Product (GDP) as against 37 percent global average, as a result of which the country is losing out 1.4 per cent in terms of annual GDP growth.
The study says that, if India were to achieve its “full potential” of gender equity, the country could add an annual GDP to the tune of $2.9 trillion by 2025, which is 60 percent higher compared to what it calls "business-as-usual case."
However, as achieving "full potential" is not possible, MGI report, titled "The Power of Parity: Advancing Women's Equality in India", says, it has worked out another scenario, called "best in region scenario"gender equity, under which India can possibly could "boost annual GDP by $0.7 trillion, or 16 percent, in 2025 compared with a business-as-usual case, adding an incremental 1.4 percentage points each year to its GDP growth rate".
Pointing out that “women are currently particularly under-represented in India’s economy compared with their potential”, the study says, the 17 percent women’s contribution to India’s GDP stands in sharp contrast to China’s 41 percent, Sub-Saharan Africa’s 39 percent, Latin America’s 33 percent.
“Women in India only represent 24 percent of the labour force that is engaged in any form of work in the market economy, compared with an average of 40 percent globally”, the study says.
It adds, “India’s position on share of women in workforce is on a par with countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where, unlike India, legal provisions can restrict many forms of female employment in many countries.”

Gender equity: Incremental GDP growth 2025
in best-in-region scenario

Calculating Gender Parity Index (GPS) on the basis of four categories – equality in work, legal protection and political voice, physical security and autonomy, and enablers of economic opportunity, the study says, on a scale of 0.00 to 1.00, where a GPS of 1.00 indicates gender parity, India’s aggregate GPS is 0.48.
While this is “higher than the GPS of the rest of South Asia, excluding India (0.44), yet, regretfully, it is “about the same as that in MENA (0.48), and lower than the GPS of Sub-Saharan Africa (0.57)”, the study insists.
“The best performing region in the world in terms of overall GPS is North America and Oceania comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States with an aggregate GPS of 0.74”, the study says.
Not denying that “India’s economy would have the highest relative boost among all regions of the world if its women participated in paid work in the market economy on a similar basis to men”, the study believes, “However, it is unlikely that this scenario will materialize” because of the existing “barriers”.
“The below-potential contribution of women to India’s GDP today—measured by their share of paid work in the market economy—contrasts with their higher share of unpaid care work such as cooking, cleaning, and taking care of children and older members of the family”, the study believes.
While globally, women spend “roughly three times the amount of time spent by men on unpaid work”, in India, “the situation is more extreme—women perform 9.8 times the amount of unpaid care work than men”, it underlines.
“If that unpaid work were to be valued and compensated in the same way as paid work, it would contribute $0.3 trillion to India’s economic output. Much of this unpaid work may be done willingly and provide great satisfaction to women and welfare for their families”, the study calculates.
---
Also see http://www.counterview.net/2016/01/gujarat-average-performer-in-female.html

Comments

How Hindutva and the Taliban mirror each other in power and ideology

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak* The recent visit of Taliban-appointed Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi to India and the warm reception extended to him by the Modi government have raised questions about India’s foreign policy direction. The decision appears to lend legitimacy to the Taliban regime, which continues to suppress democratic aspirations in Afghanistan.

History, culture and literature of Fatehpur, UP, from where Maulana Hasrat Mohani hailed

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* Maulana Hasrat Mohani was a member of the Constituent Assembly and an extremely important leader of our freedom movement. Born in Unnao district of Uttar Pradesh, Hasrat Mohani's relationship with nearby district of Fatehpur is interesting and not explored much by biographers and historians. Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri has written a book on Maulana Hasrat Mohani and Fatehpur. The book is in Urdu. He has just come out with another important book, 'Hindi kee Pratham Rachna: Chandayan' authored by Mulla Daud Dalmai.' During my recent visit to Fatehpur town, I had an opportunity to meet Dr Mohammad Ismail Azad Fatehpuri and recorded a conversation with him on issues of history, culture and literature of Fatehpur. Sharing this conversation here with you. Kindly click this link. --- *Human rights defender. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/vbrawat , X @freetohumanity, Skype @vbrawat

Celebrating 125 yr old legacy of healthcare work of missionaries

Vilas Shende, director, Mure Memorial Hospital By Moin Qazi* Central India has been one of the most fertile belts for several unique experiments undertaken by missionaries in the field of education and healthcare. The result is a network of several well-known schools, colleges and hospitals that have woven themselves into the social landscape of the region. They have also become a byword for quality and affordable services delivered to all sections of the society. These institutions are characterised by committed and compassionate staff driven by the selfless pursuit of improving the well-being of society. This is the reason why the region has nursed and nurtured so many eminent people who occupy high positions in varied fields across the country as well as beyond. One of the fruits of this legacy is a more than century old iconic hospital that nestles in the heart of Nagpur city. Named as Mure Memorial Hospital after a British warrior who lost his life in a war while defending his cou...

N-power plant at Mithi Virdi: CRZ nod is arbitrary, without jurisdiction

By Krishnakant* A case-appeal has been filed against the order of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and others granting CRZ clearance for establishment of intake and outfall facility for proposed 6000 MWe Nuclear Power Plant at Mithi Virdi, District Bhavnagar, Gujarat by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) vide order in F 11-23 /2014-IA- III dated March 3, 2015. The case-appeal in the National Green Tribunal at Western Bench at Pune is filed by Shaktisinh Gohil, Sarpanch of Jasapara; Hajabhai Dihora of Mithi Virdi; Jagrutiben Gohil of Jasapara; Krishnakant and Rohit Prajapati activist of the Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued a notice to the MoEF&CC, Gujarat Pollution Control Board, Gujarat Coastal Zone Management Authority, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and case is kept for hearing on August 20, 2015. Appeal No. 23 of 2015 (WZ) is filed, a...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

Creative destruction? The myth of ‘better capitalism’ behind the 2025 Economics Nobel

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak * The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2025 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel to Joel Mokyr , Philippe Aghion , and Peter Howitt “for having explained innovation-driven economic growth .” According to the Nobel announcement on October 13 , one half of the prize goes to Professor Joel Mokyr “for having identified the prerequisites for sustained growth through technological progress ,” while the other half is shared by Professors Philippe Aghion and Peter Howitt “for the theory of sustained growth through creative destruction .”

Caste, employment, and Bihar elections: The tragedy of Musahar child labourers

By Sunil Kumar* Bihar 's biggest festival of 'democracy'—the elections—has begun with its full clamor. The announcements from both the ruling party and the opposition create the illusion that the state's suffering will vanish in an instant, and the lives of the people of Bihar will be greatly enriched. As in every election, this time too, caste and employment are emerging as key issues. Every party is unrolling its bundle of promises. But amidst this electoral noise, there are stories that are deliberately kept 'quiet'—because both the ruling party and the opposition benefit from their silence. One such story is the death of four Musahar children.

Search This Blog