IIMA report on women's empowerment points to challenges posed by unpaid domestic labor in India

By Jag Jivan

The Gender Centre at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has released a pivotal report shedding light on the state of women’s empowerment across India. This study focuses on the subnational (district) level in alignment with Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5), which aims to promote gender equality.

The report, titled “Women’s Empowerment at the Subnational Level: Towards Achieving Gender Equality (SDG 5),” was launched by Professor Satish Deodhar, Dean (Faculty), and Professor Vidya Vemireddy, Chairperson of the Gender Centre and a co-author of the study. It introduces the Women Empowerment Index, which provides an in-depth analysis of women's empowerment across various districts in India, offering new data and insights to further gender equality initiatives.

Utilizing a comprehensive database from trusted sources, the report evaluates women’s empowerment across four key areas essential for achieving SDG 5:

1) Decision-making autonomy and physical mobility,

2) Control over financial resources and economic empowerment,

3) Educational and informational empowerment, and

4) Work-life balance.

These domains reflect the diverse facets of women's empowerment, including decision-making capabilities, financial independence, and the balance between professional and domestic responsibilities. By examining district-specific data rather than broader state-wide trends, the report highlights the distinct challenges women face in various regions. These challenges range from limited access to education and economic stability to difficulties in achieving a sustainable work-life balance.

The analysis draws on data from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) and NFHS-5 for women aged 15 to 49 across 705 districts, revealing a complex and varied landscape of women's empowerment.

Key findings from the report include:

In 67.5% of the districts, women reported progress in decision-making and mobility. There has been a notable rise in women's roles in decisions related to healthcare, household expenses, and the management of husbands' income, with increased percentages of women making decisions independently or jointly.
The ownership rights of women over assets such as land or housing rose from 29.09% in NFHS-4 to 35.00% in NFHS-5.
Despite improvements in literacy rates, only 46.1% of districts noted educational empowerment, and just 32.25% of women felt they achieved work-life balance, pointing to ongoing challenges posed by unpaid domestic labor.
The proportion of women completing higher education increased from 11.43 per 100 women in NFHS-4 to 14.42 per 100 women in NFHS-5, while primary and secondary education statistics showed modest improvements.
Engagement with mass media saw a rise, increasing from 69.12% in NFHS-4 to 76.24% in NFHS-5, indicating greater exposure among women to various media platforms.

During the report's launch, Professor Satish Deodhar emphasized the importance of men's involvement in household responsibilities to facilitate work-life balance for both genders. He noted, “Of the four parameters studied, work-life balance shows the least progress. Only about 32% of women reported they managed work-life balance effectively. Women's participation in the workforce is closely tied to men sharing household duties. The lack of equal household responsibility hinders women's engagement in the labor force. This report serves both as a measure of progress and a guide for future interventions aimed at enhancing women's empowerment.”

Professor Vidya Vemireddy highlighted the initiative's significance, stating, “At the Gender Centre, our goal is to provide a replicable methodology that allows various stakeholders to generate localized insights. This data-driven approach is crucial for tracking progress in women's empowerment and gender equality at local levels in adherence to SDG 5.”

The launch was complemented by a panel discussion on 'Women’s Workforce Participation,' featuring experts including Meha Patel from Zydus Foundation, Dr. Ranjitha Puskur from the International Rice Research Institute, Amrita Kumar from Dayal Group, and Rumjhum Chatterjee from the CII Centre for Women Leadership.

Additionally, a stakeholder dialogue titled “Realising Women’s Potential in Agri-food Systems” was held, addressing the specific challenges faced by rural women in agriculture and exploring transformative solutions to empower them across different regions of India.

Comments

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

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...

The cost of being Indian: How inequality and market logic redefine rights

By Vikas Gupta We, the people of India, are engaged in a daily tryst—read: struggle—for basic human rights. For the seemingly well-to-do, the wish list includes constant water supply, clean air, safe roads, punctual public transportation, and crime-free neighbourhoods. For those further down the ladder, the struggle is starker: food that fills the stomach, water that doesn’t sicken, medicines that don’t kill, houses that don’t flood, habitats at safe distances from polluted streams or garbage piles, and exploitation-free environments in the public institutions they are compelled to navigate.

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...

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Search This Blog