#EndEmploymentBias

Easing Barriers for Women to get Employed in Factories of Kerala

India fares poorly in terms of female workforce participation rate, ranking 145th in the world. For Kerala, the southernmost federal state, the anachronistic labour laws including the Factories Act, 1948 and Kerala Factories Rules, 1957, contain archaic provisions, detrimental to women’s workforce participation in the night. The project aims to enable women to work at night in factories and undertake certain jobs deemed as hazardous in the old times, that are presently prohibited. A policy report and a policy brief will be submitted to the Kerala government as a guiding document to initiate these essential labour reforms to expand women’s economic inclusion in Kerala.

The erstwhile Factories Act and the corresponding Rulesrestrict women’s liberty to do night work and their employment in specific industries owing to jobs deemed as hazardous. The restrictions impact women’s employment in one or multiple activities associated with electrolytic plating, manufacture and repair of electric accumulators, glass manufacturing, manufacture and treatment of lead, petrol gas, printing press, pottery, cashew nut processing, solvent extraction, manufacture or manipulation of manganese, manufacture or manipulation of dangerous pesticides, coir and fibre factories and graphite powdering. The Factories Act also legally bans women from working in night shifts in factories, between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.

These barriers to entering the workforce keep a portion of women from accessing viable job opportunities. They not only undermine individual freedom but also carry with it heavy economic and social costs that significantly affect household incomes in poor families, upward mobility of women and even child health and nutrition. The rationale for exclusion of women from these activities is to protect them from occupational health hazards or workplace harassment or violence. However, occupational health hazards are as much a reality and threat to men as it is for women. Although the intention behind such restrictions is to protect women, the inadvertent consequences manifest in the form of lost economic opportunities and a threat to freedom of choice. Moreover, these restrictions are based on a gender bias that makes employers reluctant to hire women in certain jobs despite being qualified to perform it.

The main objectives of the project are:

to identify and assess the viability of provisions that hinder women’s workforce participation,
to propose an improved version of the legislation incorporating alternative solutions, based on a sectoral case study,
to petition the Kerala State government by highlighting the prevalent issues and advocate for reforms,
to bring awareness to the barriers faced by women in gaining economic empowerment through employment, and
to partner with trade and business networks, Civil Society Organisations(CSOs) and Women’s organisations in the state to engage in policy discourse and advocacy efforts.