Gender At Work- Perspectives, Nuances, and Gaps,

 

May 1 is marked as the International Workers Day, globally. This year’s theme “Act together to build a positive safety and health culture”, notes the importance of a cohesive action to address the vagaries of the COVID-19 pandemic. For this edition of our newsletter, we bring a conversation with Dr. Vibhuti Patel, the well-known gender economist, and women’s rights activist. She delves deep into what are the existing trends of female labor participation in India. Read the excerpts from the interview. Her LinkedIn profile here:

All the views expressed here are the views of Dr. Vibhuti Patel, and should not be attributed to Population First.

As per the United Nations, Women constitute ½ of the world’s population, 2/3 of the world’s work force but get 1/10th of the world’s income and 1% of the world’s Wealth.

Q1: How would you define work participation of women in labour force? Why is it important to the economic growth of a nation? What are the various aspects when one studies it?

“Work” can be defined as the physical or mental effort or activity directed toward the production or accomplishment of something. Women all around the world have been doing paid, underpaid and largely unpaid work in homes, factories, fields, forests and mines. Over and above 3 Cs-cooking, cleaning and caring, large number of women do activities such as collection of fuel, fodder and water, animal care, kitchen gardening, raising poultry that augment family resources. If women would not this work; these goods would have to be purchased from the market. Unpaid care economy plays pivotal role in the economic growth of the nation in the developing as well as industrially advanced nations.

For the framing of development policies, national level statistics is the principal data input, but this is largely impaired by the undercounting of women, both as workers and those available for work. The first barrier is of course the definition of work vis-à-vis women’s work. We continue to relate work only to remunerative aspects of work as work. Indian women are engaged in two kinds of work; one that produces an income and other that does not. They are known as paid and unpaid work respectively. Even where women are doing work which is market-oriented, the special characteristics of women’s work make such work ‘invisible’, ‘non-recognised’ as for example, home based piece rate workers. The census concept of ‘work’ overemphasize production for market and although it does include some non-market production for own consumption such as cultivation where men are also involved, it excludes by a strange logic other type of production for own consumption such as livestock maintenance (done mostly by women) and hence these figures do not correspond with the non-market output in the national accounts.

The lack of freedom of choice, power and material resources, traditional gender roles and norms, stand – in the way of women’s development, as is evident in most parts of the world. Intersectional vulnerabilities of caste, class, race, ethnicity, religion, geographical locations and gender keep large majority of women in a precarious economic status. Significantly, even in the pyramid of poverty, women are the poorest of the poor and at the rock bottom. Hence all efforts to reduce poverty are inseparable from action agenda of the gender equity and gender equality based on intersectional justice. Researches indicate that gender equality measures that are gender responsive in the long run leads to reduction of poverty. In fact, unequal power structures for women and men constitute an impediment to economic growth and substantive democratic development. Equal opportunities for women and men to own land and assets, to earn money and to participate in working life, are essential for sustainable development in the long run.

Q2. Recent studies of long-term trends by NSS suggest that female labour force participation rates in India have been hovering around a 20% mark for the past several years. Moreover, there is gap in the rural and urban population’s involvement. What could be the reason for this specially in wake of the various policies being promoted by the government?

As this graph reveals, there has been continuous decline in the work participation rate of women in the Indian Economy from 29% in 1983 to 17% in 2018.

Source: NSSO, 68th Round, Report No. 554, Employment and Unemployment Situation in India, 2011–12 and Periodic Labour Force Survey, 2017–18, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, National Statistical Office, Government of India

The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) recently released results of its Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for the year 2018-19. The estimates show a marginal improvement in overall labour force participation rates, more so for rural women, up from 18.2 percent in 2017-18 to 19.7 percent in 2018-19. According to Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy Not only have more women lost jobs compared to men during the pandemic, but The number of women actively looking for work each month reduced to educed by three million between 2019 and 2021.

Source: NSSO Rounds 38th(1983-84), 50th (1993-94), 61st (2004-2005), 68th, 75th) (2017-18)

Even the sectoral profile of women’s employment has changed from 1983-84 to 2017-18. There has been continuous defeminization of primary sector i.e. agriculture and allied activities. In the manufacturing sector also, after 2011, women’s work participation declined from the secondary sector i.e. manufacturing and Industry sector due to automation, mechanisation of labour processes and rationalisation that resulted in the retrenchment of women workers. Only in the tertiary sector i.e. service sector women’s employment has increased. Here, too there is nothing to be jubilant about as large percentage of the employment is in domestic work.

There are multiple reasons for low work participation of women determined by intersectional vulnerabilities across caste, class, ethnicity, religion, location and gender. Researches by women’s studies experts have shown the following reasons:

Triple Burden

Most working women continue to face the triple burden of job, child care and housework with very little support, either from their partners or the government. Despite the fact that women have entered the workplace in huge numbers, their new economic and social responsibilities are often forgotten where family life is concerned.

Source: Paid and Unpaid Work of Women & Men: Time Use Survey, 2019: Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Government of India, 2020

On an average, Indian women spend 299 minutes a day on unpaid domestic services while men spend 97 minutes, according to the 2019 NSS report on time use. Unless gender norms change to sharing of domestic duties by male and female members of the family, women will always be stuck in the private domain.

Sexual Harassment

Women’s Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (WICCI) Council of Ethics released a survey-based report, The Annual Review on the State of Sexual Harassment in India, in March 2022, which found that 50 percent and 55 percent of respondents respectively had experienced “physical contact or advances” or inappropriate touching, including pinching, patting, rubbing, or purposefully brushing up against another person” at least once at the workplace. Of the people who faced sexual harassment at the workplace, 55.2 percent decided not to file a complaint. They felt helpless and reported that that such sexual pressure is unwelcome, it is deliberate, it is about male privilege and dominance. According to India's constitution, sexual harassment infringes the fundamental right of a woman to gender equality under Article 14 of the Constitution of India and her right to life and live with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.27 The Supreme Court has taken a broad interpretation of what constitute “the workplace” too by not limiting the workplace to a certain geographical area.

Public debates on sexual harassment while travelling from home to workplace has also brought to fore the major issue of safe transport for women. Without safe travel facility, it becomes very difficult to take employment that involves long distance travel.

Wage Gap

It is often considered that if women move into male-dominated occupations in larger numbers, the wage gap will close. However, there appears to be a gender-related wage gap in virtually every occupational category. Gender segregation directly influences the work behaviour in the form of wage differentials.

Glass Ceiling, Sticky Floor, Glass Walls, Leaking Pipeline

Women are often in situations where their advancement and promotion within the hierarchy of an organization in terms of their qualification and ability is stopped at a lower level because of some form of discrimination. Glass Ceiling is believed to be an unofficial, invisible barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing in businesses. When working women are at the lower level, due to misogyny in the ecosystem, women themselves do not aspire for higher-level positions. Patriarchal bias in the corporate milieu hampers their career progression as compared to their male counterparts; this is referred to as the “sticky floor”. ILO states, “When women are able to attain higher-level management positions, they often find themselves in management support functions that do not lead to the highest-level management jobs. This phenomenon is also known as the “glass walls”. Even when women do enter the labour force, their participation rates drop significantly with age, which is the time when women are experienced enough to assume higher positions and more responsibilities at work. This attrition or exit of qualified women at higher career levels from companies and organizations is often referred to as the “leaking pipeline”. It leads also to a shortage of women in senior management posts to serve as role models.”

Q3. Are there any sectoral/ profession skews that become evident while looking at the workforce participation of women?

The subordination in recent times is most clearly seen at the overall level in two dimensions: lateral subordination, where female dominated sectors and occupations have lower status and are given lower values than male-dominated sectors and occupations, and subordination in the vertical dimension, where women as a group are to be found at a lower level in the hierarchies than men6. It has been seen that countries with high female employment rates have high segregation rates. As more women enter the labour markets they are recruited into sectors and work tasks that already are defined as ‘female jobs’, and they are doing service jobs earlier performed in the household and now transformed into market work. A consequence of gender segregation is uneven economic conditions. Empirical studies estimate that gender segregation explains a large proportion of the gender wage gap.

When building families, men are usually learning their trade or occupation, and establishing their position in the labour market. Women still have responsibility for care, both at home and in the market. She therefore plans a larger part of her life around combination of gainful employment and her responsibilities in the home and for the family. She does these using different strategies for both caring for the family and maintaining her employment.

Q4. What is vulnerable employment and what are the reasons for women to be bearing the burden of the phenomenon?

Women are over-represented in the informal sector worldwide. This basic fact has several dimensions. Firstly, the informal sector is the primary source of employment for women in most developing countries. The majority of economically active women in the developing countries are engaged in the informal sector. In India, the informal sector accounts for nine out of every ten women working outside agriculture. The proportion of women workers in the informal sector exceeds that of men in most countries. Thirdly, women’s share of the total informal workforce outside of agriculture is higher than men’s share in 9 out of 21 developing countries for which data are available.

However, women opt to continue in the informal sector not necessarily because of a lack of choice, but because of the flexibility of working arrangements and a wider range of opportunities.

• the majority of women in the informal sector are own account traders, vendors and producers or casual and subcontract workers; relatively few are employers who hire paid workers.
• men and women tend to be involved in different activities or types of employment even within the same trades: in many countries, for example, male traders tend to have larger scale operations and to deal in non-food items while female traders tend to have smaller scale operations and to deal in food items.
• average incomes of both men and women are lower in the informal sector than in the formal sector.
• the gender gap in income/wages appears higher in the informal sector than in the formal sector and exists even when women are not wage workers as markets are socially constructed to favour men.
• the relatively large gender gap in income/wages in the informal sector is largely due to two interrelated factors: informal incomes worldwide tend to decline as one moves across the following types of employment: employer – self-employed – casual wage worker – sub-contract worker women worldwide are under-represented in high income activities and over-represented in low income activities (notably, subcontract work)

Here it is important to note the links between being a woman, working in the informal sector, and contributing to growth. Even though the average earnings of women in the informal sector are low, the female informal workforce contributes significantly to gross domestic product (GDP). Women informal traders contribute a significant share (20-65%) of GDP in the trading sector. The contribution of women in the informal sector to total GDP is greater than their share of employment in the informal sector. This is because women are more likely than men to engage in multiple activities in the informal sector. For many years certain assumptions existed like women either could not do a job or that they did not need to do it. The consequence of this kind of thinking has been that gender segregation has affected women’s and men’s concentration in different occupations, industries and levels in workplace hierarchies. This has led to gender discrimination and has perpetuated gender inequality within the world of work.

Issues of rural development and women's empowerment receive critical attention in various debates due to efforts of Mahila Kisan Adhikar Manch (MAKAM). Trends and patterns of agricultural development in the post liberalisation period has intensified marginalisation of women farmers and agricultural labourers. Transformations in rural India have ushered in water and fodder scarcity that have undoubtedly increased the drudgery of rural women’s life.

Increasingly, they also face greater livelihood insecurity on account of market forces and liberalization policies, and greater restrictions on access to resources such as land, water, forests and village commons. With livelihood insecurity, there is food insecurity as well. Given the complementarities of patriarchy, caste and class, women of the poorest classes of marginalized Dalit and tribal communities bear much of the brunt of these insecurities, even as they also face severe restrictions on mobility and myriad forms of violence. With the greater participation of civil society organizations, engaged in gender transformative approaches and participatory development, some favourable outcomes have been derived, but it is hardly sufficient to address the scale and dimensions of the problem. Challenging issues of livelihood and food insecurity, efficacy of micro-credit and other kinds of interventions demand urgent attention.

Q5. A study by IIM-A released earlier this year suggests that the income gap increases as the women rise in their careers in India. How does one explain this trend?

A number of studies show, that women are more often overqualified for their job than men. Other studies show that women have less influence over their work organisation and content than men. Women also generally have a greater degree of monotonous, repetitive motion in their work. Further, studies show that occupations where women predominate have a lower status than male dominated occupations, even if the occupations require equivalent education and training. In workplaces with as many women as men, in apparently the same occupation, the women often perform different tasks, which most of the time are classified differently in status and pay. The work women almost always perform is valued lower.

The structures in a work organisation are often seen as gender-neutral, as independent of whether the organisation’s members are women or men. However, it has to be considered as to how gender affects the processes and structures of the organisations. Organisational structures must be understood and analysed as gendered systems. Different forms of organisation have different gender-political effects. The so-called gender power systems, i.e. underlying conceptions, standards and practices in modern companies, are constituent conditions ‘invisible’.

A comparison between hierarchy and network organisations shows that a hierarchical organisation limits people’s exposure to new challenges. On the other hand, a network organisation offers considerable, in principle limitless, challenges. Hierarchical organisations are likely to make women invisible as bearers of knowledge, and isolate them, often at the bottom of the hierarchy. A hierarchical organisation promotes a gender order where men are given pride of place over women. Network organisations become more female-friendly, largely by virtue of their flexibility. Network organisations are more amenable to change, make women visible as working individuals and allow all employees to take on greater challenges. Network organisations are also more female-friendly because they better reflect women’s attitude to work, women’s values and their general way of being.

Different forms of organisation have different gender-political effects. However, gender-based power structures are not static since society, norms and values change over a period of time. Structures arise out of social relations and are therefore the result of actions by individuals and groups. Gender is thus viewed as something that is being constructed, by ourselves and by others in constant interaction, within the framework of the structures that surround us.

The following verses (continuously getting improvised in the training sessions on gender sensitization) succinctly bring out double standards at the workplace:

Gender at work

The family picture is on HIS desk.

Ah, a solid, responsible family man.

The family picture is on HER desk.

Umm, her family will come before her career.

HIS desk is cluttered.

He's obviously a hard worker and a busy man.

HER desk is cluttered.

She's obviously a disorganized scatterbrain.

HE is talking with his co-workers.

He must be discussing the latest deal.

SHE is talking with her co-workers.

She must be gossiping.

HE's not at his desk.

He must be at a meeting.

SHE's not at her desk.

She must be in the ladies' room.

HE's having lunch with the boss.

He's on his way up.

SHE's having lunch with the boss.

They must be having an affair.

The boss criticized HIM.

He'll improve his performance.

The boss criticized HER.

She'll be very upset.

HE got an unfair deal.

Did he get angry?

SHE got an unfair deal.

Did she cry?

HE's getting married.

He'll get more settled.

SHE's getting married.

She'll get pregnant and leave.

HE's having a baby.

He'll need a raise.

SHE's having a baby.

She'll cost the company money in maternity benefits.

HE's going on a business trip.

It's good for his career.

SHE's going on a business trip.

What does her husband say?

HE's leaving for a better job.

He knows how to recognize a good opportunity.

SHE's leaving for a better job.

Women are not dependable

Q6. What do you see the role of various agencies- government and non-government as well as corporate sector in ensuring a shrinking gender gap amongst the workforce in India?

As a consequence of the overall growth of the economy, some of the marginalized groups in a society that is already characterized by a high level of inequality in opportunities and segregation along lines of, gender, caste, and social status, are widely reckoned to not have benefited from overall growth. To enable women to expand their livelihood opportunities, a vast range of government programs need to be initiated and large amounts of resources must be channeled to poor areas. An increasingly popular approach to do so relies on the concept of Community Driven Development (CDD) whereby resources are made available to encourage formation of savings groups at the local level and, once they have attained a certain degree of maturity, the channeling to such groups of funds (either as a credit or a grant) which they can use for small projects aimed to improve their livelihood. Transformative Financing for Gender Equality and Gender Responsive Budgeting are imperative for bridging the gender gaps in the areas of health, education, skill development, employment, safety, decision making and gender mainstreaming in all flagship programmes of the state & non-state ventures.

AMCHI: Kitchen Gardens - An Answer to the Undernourishment Problem

 Twelve villages of Vashind Beat 2 transform the community’s nutritional status through kitchen gardens

“The kitchen garden hase become a very important part of my life. I have very little income to purchase vegetables from the market so for the last two months my family has depended more on the vegetables from my kitchen garden. With summer coming up, I was worried how I could grow the vegetables and how I would manage the crops. But the training helped me solve all my problems and I now understand how to manage a kitchen garden in the summer.”

• Sanchita Bohir, Mother of adolescent girl, Velholi

Kitchen Gardens have become a key activity for the PF team. This activity was first introduced in our School-in-Development projects previously, where the aim of the activity was to reuse the grey water from kitchens, thereby developing it as a solution for wastewater management. 

However, under the JSW Foundation funded project the activity has been taken up as a solution to improve the nutritional status of vulnerable groups such as children and adolescent girls. This would ensure that the families have a sustainable and free access to locally and naturally grown vegetables and help improve the nutritional status of children and Hb levels especially of adolescent girls. 

 

Fig 1 to 4: Kitchen Gardens in Vashind Villages

PF had proposed to establish 50 kitchen gardens in 5 villages. Instead, due to the popularity of the activity as well as the training received by the adolescent girls and the family, more families established the kitchen gardens with additional support from PF. Currently, a total of 71 kitchen gardens across 7 villages have been established. 

“As women we received a lot of benefits from kitchen gardens. In my village most women are vegetarian and most of them are from poor economic backgrounds. Since we are short on money to purchase good quantity vegetables, we end up eating pulses only. But because of the kitchen garden, now we can eat a good quantity of fresh and quality vegetables daily. I am thankful to PF and JSW Foundation who have taught us how to cultivate our own kitchen garden and helped us improve our nutrition status.”

• Ashmita Gurunath Bhoir, Kajalvihir 

All the kitchen gardens are producing quality vegetables. Consequently, adolescent girls, young children and their families have started consuming these vegetables as part of their daily diet as compared to before which mostly consisted of rice and lentils alone. Each village has its wadis and padas which are usually inhabited by tribal communities. While kitchen gardens in other wadis and padas have been established, those adjacent to Waalshet and Madh villages could not have been established because of lack of land. Therefore, the PF team recommended the families of these two villages who have their own kitchen gardens to share their produce with the tribal families daily especially with those families who have malnourished children, pregnant and lactating mothers.  

Fig 5: New round of kitchen garden training

In the month of March, another round of training was also conducted for all the families where kitchen gardens have been developed with special focus on how to maintain the gardens in the coming summer and monsoon months, and also how to harvest and preserve seeds from their produce to ensure that there is a sustainable supply of good quality of seeds for them to continue with their kitchen gardens even after the exit of PF as the project comes to an end in the month of July. 

“We needed the training to understand how to manage kitchen gardens in summer and rainy seasons. We also learnt which crops we have to grow in summer and in rainy seasons. I thank the PF team and the trainer who conducted such a wonderful training in my village.”

• Yogita Sambre, Mother of 0-6 years child, Baudhpada

“I was a little bit worried about how to grow tomatoes, brinjals and other green vegetables in summer because there is a water issue in my village in May. But today I understood how to manage the watering in summer and which crops/vegetables can grow with less water in summer.”

• Kavita Vekhande, Mother of 0-6 years child, Baudhpada 

     

Fig 6 & 7: New round of kitchen garden trainings

A Success Story 

In order to address the objective of providing nutrition security among the vulnerable groups, establishing kitchen gardens among families with adolescent girls and children under the age of 6 years was the PF team's goal. The follow up meetings on kitchen gardens observe the attendance from the girls and mothers of 0-6 years of age children and also their family members. It is during these sessions that the PF team understands the progress the families are making with their kitchen gardens, observe if there has been change in their dietary habits and also note if there has been improvement in the nutritional status of the children and adolescent girls such as their weight or Hb levels.

During one such session, Jayati Bohir’s* mother-in-law, Ganga Bohir *said, “Although we received important information on how and why vegetables are important for our nutrition and health, especially the leafy vegetables, we did not have enough income to purchase such vegetables and make them part of our daily diets. However, PF team’s kitchen garden activity has made it easier for us to access these vegetables. I am growing a kitchen garden in my own home because of the training I received from PF. I am harvesting the vegetables from my garden and feeding them to my grandson.  Also, I have been attending all the meetings conducted by PF. As a result, I am learning about new recipes, how to cook vegetables, and also how to take care of my grandson’s nutrition, hygiene and overall health.” 

Fig 8: Ganga Bohir at her kitchen garden

It is not just the kitchen garden activity though, that has encouraged Ganga to be involved in her grandson’s growth and well-being. The holistic approach that PF has taken in this project where the children between the ages of 0-6 years are regularly weighed and are also invited to attend health camps for check-ups, has encouraged the parents and all the family members of the children to engage with the healthcare service providers and take active part in their children’s development. “I have also been observing that my grandson’s weight is improving consistently; and I make sure that I take him for community weighing every month. I strongly believe that PF has greatly helped my grandson and my family!” 

Listen to Poorva, a young girl from Vehloli village talk about her health

transformation here.

AMCHI: Vashind Villages eke out a New Beginning for its Undernourished Children

Regular health checks, advocacy programmes and medical supplements contribute towards bettering the health of vulnerable groups

 

“My son was in the yellow colour zone in the growth chart and he was very weak as well. My family is from a tribal community and we have no money to spend on medical treatments. I am very thankful to PF and JSW Foundation that they organised a health camp in my village and my son got treatment and medicine. As a result, I observed his weight has increased and his illness has also reduced. He looks healthy and has been in good form for the last two months.”

• Jayshri Waghe,Mother of Ritesh Waghe, Sherewadi

Population First’s healthcare extension project supported by our long-term partner, JSW Foundation in Vashind Beat 2, of Shahapur also continued in the Jan-Mar 2022 quarter. The objectives of this project are to reduce malnutrition among children between the ages of 0-6, provide nutrition security, and optimize healthcare services for adolescent girls, pregnant and lactating women. 

Under this project, in this quarter, PF team completed 9 health camps across 12 villages, reached out to 208 children cumulatively, and provided them with medicines. These health camps not only provide an opportunity for tribal children to improve their weight through regular examinations and supplementary medications available at health camps but also, assist the healthcare service providers and even PHCs in addressing illnesses. 

One such situation occurred in the month of March when the healthcare service providers reported scabies cases among children. The PF team immediately reached the villages to confirm. Post a video consultation with Dr. Kapadia before the health camps, the PF team immediately purchased the medicines which were made available to the children who were affected. During the March month’s health camps, a handful more cases of scabies were reported. The PF team had informed the Medical Officer at Vashind PHC about the same. However, the latter informed that there were no stocks of medicines for scabies available at the PHC. 

“I really thank the PF team for identifying scabies and quickly providing medicines to control the situation, otherwise the entire village could have been affected. We had no medicine stock for scabies at our PHC at the time. If the disease had spread in the villages, it would have become very hard for us to provide the medicine and control the situation.”

• Dr. Devalkar, Medical Officer, Vashind PHC

Fig 1 & 2: Scabies identified among children during this quarter

Additionally, as a part of this project, state government-initiated Immunization Days or Aarogya Dins are celebrated regularly. Across the 12 villages every month children, pregnant and lactating women participate in this day. The goal of this day is to provide immunization to infants as well as pregnant women. Cumulatively 199 children have been immunized, 135 ANC and 127 PNC mothers attended the health days where their Hb levels, blood pressure are checked, immunization and supplemental medications such as intake of IFA and calcium are followed up with. Population First in collaboration with the healthcare service providers utilize this day to create awareness and provide information on immunization, nutrition, health, hygiene and most importantly on topics important for ante-natal and postnatal care. 

Fig 3 & 4: Health Camps with Dr. Kapadia

In this quarter, sessions on contraception were also introduced to the adolescent girls during the adolescent reproductive sexual health meetings. Learning about contraception is key for adolescent girls' understanding about their own bodies and also life choices. 

“I thank the PF team for giving me information on family planning and contraception. I can share this information with my sister-in-law. She was pregnant within the first year of her marriage and then again, was pregnant in her second year. I know it is very hard for her to manage two children. She was not aware about contraception and family planning methods. I was worried; I thought if the same would happen with me how would I manage. But today I understand the importance of family planning and contraception.”  

• Harshada Chandrakant Nicite from Walshet

It was through the adolescent girls that the team confirmed that during the pandemic, many women in the rural areas did not receive any information regarding contraception products and services. As a result of which, there was an increase in pregnancies in these villages. 

Fig 5&6: Hb testing of adolescent girls (left) & session on contraception (right) during ARSH meetings

On interacting with the women, it was identified that many women wanted to have a spacing between two children, but could not do so during the pandemic because of the lack of information and services for contraception. Therefore, it was important for PF to help address this information gap for the women in our project areas.  As a result, the PF team in the month of February focused on contraception and family planning. This session was conducted in 10 villages. Consequently, four women from Shei undertook the Copper T procedure. 

Fig 7: Meetings with pregnant and lactating mothers in Shei

A Success Story 

Under this project, ante-natal and postnatal care for the mothers was considered under two activities – a) training of family members in building an ecosystem for the new mothers and b) celebration of Arogya dins. It is during the celebration of Arogya dins, that pregnant and lactating mothers receive the right information regarding ANC & PNC care and also undergo check-ups from the PHC doctors. Sunita Vekhande*, was one such pregnant mother from Shei, who got herself registered in her fourth month of pregnancy. The PF team suggested that she get herself examined at the PHC. However, Sunita had gone for examination at the PHC in her sixth month only. During that examination it was identified that her Hb was 7 gms/dl. “I was a high-risk patient and was immediately asked to get admitted. But I returned back because I did not have enough funds for admission or for the injection,” Sunita said.

Fig 8: Sunita Vekhande, high-risk mothers

When she returned to the healthcare service providers, ASHA taai – Ranjana Tarmale and ANM Riddhi Bohir, ANM followed up with her. They used the funds available with ANM to take care of such high-risks cases, and got Sunita admitted. 

“The very next day, we took her to the doctor at the PHC once again and ensured that she started her Orofol medication. Through the week, we ensured that she received her injections and that she consumed the medicines that were provided to her,” ANM Riddhi said. Because of ANM and ASHA taai’s insistence and their dedicated efforts with Sunita, her Hb levels have now improved to 9 gms/dl. That is the kind of linkage PF team aimed to develop between the direct beneficiaries and the healthcare service providers which will ensure a stronger community for the future. 

 

Note: (*) indicates a change in name to protect their identity. 

AMCHI: Enhancing Women's Livelihood through Vermicomposting

“I am very happy to see the manure in my vermicompost production pits. It is like black gold for us.” 

- Vaishali Baghwan Desle, VC Group member, Vehele VC group

AMCHI, saw the conclusion of a 15-village project funded by Fiserv in collaboration with United Way Mumbai in the final quarter of financial year 2021-22. AMCHI team has been able to mobilise and train 150 women in the art of vermicompost production and sale.

• Each group has earned an average of Rs. 21,000 to Rs. 25,000 over the last five months of the project initiation. 
• At least 190 unique farmers and farmhouse owners have been linked to our 15 vermicompost livelihood groups
• Conducted 13 farmer melavas/exhibitions
• Completed 40 marketing visits
• Established 62 demonstration plots in 12 villages for the farmers to understand and gain first-hand experience on the positive impact vermicompost has on their crops, soil, production cost and income. 

• Among 46 of 62 farmers there has been a 28% decrease in average production and 10% increase in average total income since the usage of vermicompost on those plots

The aim of this project was to provide rural women with a sustainable and viable secondary source of income through vermicompost production and sale. And in doing so, Population First is also heading towards its broader vision of popularising organic and natural farming in Shahapur and converting it into the organic farming taluka. 

 

“Through the organization I received VC which I have applied for my red pumpkin crop this season. I have noticed there is a big difference between chemical fertilizers and VC. I have observed that previously for the same crop and on the same plot of land I had to apply chemical fertilizers for at least 7-8 days. With VC, however, I have applied for it only once. It has been 25 days since we sowed the seeds the vegetable crop is healthy and the leaves look fresh and green” 

• Prakash Pawar, Demonstration Plot Farmer, Pawale

Fig 1: Lady finger plot grown with chemical manure (left) & vermicompost (right)

With 15 new vermicompost livelihood women’s groups, the villages in itself and its neighbours now have access to good quality vermicompost for their farming activities irrespective of the crop they grow. In order for the women to be able to reach out to these customers and expand their own market, PF conducted several farmer exhibitions and melavas across major market areas in Vehele, Doplepada, Saplepada, Sapgaon, Mhasa, Kinhavli, Kudus, etc. 

Fig 2 & 3: Kudus Farmer Exhibition (left) & Sapgaon Farmer Exhibition (right)

A major characteristic of these exhibitions conducted by PF is the presence of organic farming experts that allows the customers, especially farmers to interact with them, gain more knowledge and find solutions to their questions regarding organic farming.

“This is our good fortune that Population First organized such a wonderful event in our village. This is a different kind of melava. I have attended many farmer melavas before but I have never seen any question answer session in these melavas. Here, however, the farmer has the opportunity to talk and question the experts directly. And I see that all the farmers are happy and satisfied because they got the answers they were looking for and cleared their doubts. And I believe they understand the benefits of vermicompost much better now.” 

• Mr. Pundalik Pradhan, Ex-Sarpanch,    Vehele     

Fig 4: Vehele Farmer Exhibition (Right)

Mr. Mahesh Salve, Mr. Santosh Dinkar and Mr. Datta Urmude, have been our long-time collaborators who have participated in these sessions for their expertise in agriculture and special emphasis on organic farming. In addition to that, support from agriculture department officers at Block level has also contributed towards the popularity of the vermicompost produced by our women’s groups. 

 “I know that vermicompost is the best manure for farming and it benefits the farmers in a lot of ways. I, therefore, thank the PF team for starting their work in Murbad block and for organizing such a wonderful exhibition here in Mhasa. This is a big marketing place and about 300 farmers come here from 40 villages to set up their shops of vegetables. I am also impressed to know that products are made and sold by women. My department is with PF and will support the VC women

in every possible way” 

• Mr. Kute, Agricultural Department Extension Officer, Murbad Panchayat Samiti, Mhasa Exhibition

Fig 5: Mhasa Farmer Exhibition (right)

 

Fig 6 to 9: Marketing Visits to Farmers and Farmhouse Owners 

A Success Story

The aim of the Enhancing Women’s Livelihood through Vermicomposting project was to not only provide a viable and sustainable livelihood opportunity but also to build capacities of the rural women and transform them into entrepreneurs and decision-makers at various levels. And Population First was confident that the humble earthworm and the simple vermicompost will help in delivering just that for the women across 15 villages of Shahapur and Murbad. 

For the women who participated in this vermicompost livelihood intervention, it is not only about the money they earn but also their decisions on how the money can be used makes all the difference. As the report has indicated, the money earned through this intervention was largely invested back in purchase of family household & other expenses, family health and travel, personal health and travel, children’s education. 

One such story is that of Manda Gajanan Gorle of Raogaon. “This is the first time I was involved in the income generation activity and earned money. In the last three months my group earned Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000, which is a big amount for us and we keep the money in the group,” when the PF team asked her about how she was making use of the money. And this process is not new for the team to come across. “We decided that we will distribute the money as per the needs of the women,” she had said. This project was implemented post the pandemic, and it has contributed in addressing challenges that the pandemic had presented to these women like loss of income, help address family and personal health and access to education for children. For Manda, it was providing access to quality education that was the need of the hour. “Now that the colleges and schools have opened, my daughter wanted to take admission in 12th standard in Murbad college but my husband refused and said we have no money to spend on her education,” she had said. “But I took the decision to strongly support her education. I took Rs 6,500 from my VC group and paid her fees.” 

Supporting one’s own children by providing for their education or supporting oneself to become financially independent, both are stories of empowerment that will propel our women from Shahapur and Murbad further in their lives. For Gulab Ganpat Ghude of Umberpada, it was her dream of opening her own bank account. “I earned Rs. 3,000/- from my VC business. I always wanted to open an account in the bank but my family always told me why should I open an account when I have no money to keep,” she told the PF team. “But through the VC business I started earning and as a result, I opened my bank account. I am very happy to have an account in a national bank,” she shared excitedly. “And I have decided that I will save the money and purchase a scooty bike for myself which will help me for marketing of the VC business,” she added. For the PF team, all the work is validated when we see the enthusiasm and confidence of women like Gulab who have learned to take decisions and make their own path, or getting to know that the daughter of Manda praised her and said “I am proud of you mother”.