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Sustaining and Enhancing Competitiveness in Today's Business Scenario in Globalised India-

A Gender Analysis
Dr. Vibhuti Patel, DIRECTOR, P.G.S. R.
Professor and Head, Post Graduate Department of Economics,
SNDT Women’s University, Smt. Nathibai Thakersey Road, Churchgate, Mumbai-400020
TelL91) (22) 22031879, Ext.243, Mobile-9321040048 E mail: vibhuti.np@gmail.com

(Presented at International Conference on “Sustaining and Enhancing Competitiveness in Today's


Business Scenario” by Datta Meghe Institute of Management Studies, Nagpur on 19-2-2011)

ABSTRACT

No contemporary society has managed to achieve full gender equality, a concept not synonymous with
women, and not a zero-sum game implying loss for men, but a socio-cultural variable referring to that
stage of human development where simply being born female or male does not determine one’s rights,
responsibilities, or the opportunity to develop one’s full human potential. However, the cause of gender
equality has fared much better in some societies than in others. What does the data on economic and
political participation, educational attainment and health say about the progress that has been made in
closing the gender gap and, what are the ingredients that will be necessary to bring this noble ideal into
concrete reality? Might gender equality be a key engine of rising productivity, competitiveness and
sustainable economic growth?
Gender economists aver that gender mainstreaming creates a win-win scenario for gender, trade and
development in every country. Pre-requisites for gender mainstreaming as a global strategy for the
promotion of gender equality are: the generation and use of gender analysis, capacity-building,
education and skill development of women. It also contributes to sustainable development and export
competitiveness.

MDGs and the Status of Women in 2020


Goal 3 of the Millennium Development Goals focuses on Gender Equality and Empowerment of
women. By 2020, women will have gained more rights and freedoms in terms of education, political
participation, and work force equality in most parts of the world, but UN and World Health Organization
data suggest that the gender gap will not have been closed even in the developed countries and still will
be wide in developing regions. Although women’s share in the global work force will continue to rise,
wage gaps and regional disparities will persist.
Although the difference between women’s and men’s earnings narrowed during the past 10 years,
women continue to receive less pay than men. For example, a UN study in 2002 showed that in 27 of 39
countries surveyed both in OECD and developing countries’ women’s wages were 20 to 50 percent less
than men’s for work in manufacturing.
Certain factors will tend to work against gender equality while others will have a positive impact.

Factors Impeding Equality


In regions where high youth bulges intersect with historical patterns of patriarchal bias, the added
pressure on infrastructure will mean intensified competition for limited public resources and an
increased probability that women will not receive equal treatment. For instance, if schools cannot
educate all, boys are likely to be given first priority. Yet views are changing among the younger

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generation. For example, many youngsters recognize the importance of educated wives as potential
contributors to family income.
In countries such as China and India, where there is a pervasive son preference reinforced by
government population control policies, women face increased risk not only of female infanticide or pre-
birth elimination of daughters thro’ new reproductive technologies but also of kidnapping and
smuggling from surrounding regions for the disproportionately greater number of unmarried
males. Imposition of ‘one child norm’ by the state in 1978 resulted into the preference for male children
in China that has led to an estimated shortfall of 30 million women in 2011.
Such statistics suggest that the global female trafficking industry, which already earns an estimated $4
billion every year, is likely to expand, making it the second most profitable criminal activity behind
global drug trafficking.
The feminization of HIV/AIDS is another worrisome trend. Findings from the July 2004 Global AIDS
conference held in Bangkok reveal that the percentage of HIV-infected women is rising on every
continent and in every major region in the world except Western Europe and Australia. Young women
comprise 75 percent of those between the ages of 15 to 24 who are infected with HIV globally.

Factors Contributing to Equality


A broader reform agenda that includes good governance and low unemployment levels is essential to
raising the status of women in many countries. International development experts emphasize that while
good governance need not fit a Western democratic mold, it must deliver stability through inclusiveness
and accountability. Reducing unemployment levels is crucial because countries already unable to
provide employment for male job-seekers are not likely to improve employment opportunities for
women.

The Spread of Information and Communication Technologies: ICTs offers great


promise. According to World Bank analysis, increases in the level of ICT infrastructure tend to improve
gender equality in education and employment. ICT also will enable women to form social and political
networks.
Women in developing regions often turn to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to provide basic
services. NGOs have become even more important to the status of women as shown by the
microfinance movement. SEWA, Annapurna, Working Women’s Forum, MASUM, Mandeshi Mahila
Sahakari Bank have provided emulating examples for women’s empowerment along with successful
business models.

Other Benefits
The stakes for achieving gender parity are high and not just for women. A growing body of empirical
literature suggests that gender equality in education promotes economic growth and reduces child
mortality and malnutrition.

R & D on Women Entrepreneurs:

Although there is a large and growing body of research on women entrepreneurs, the results are far from
conclusive. Let us face the research challenges in explaining gender differences in business ownership.
Generally, gender differences in firm performance are explained in one of two ways: women face
particular challenges because of their gender; or gender issues are the result of systemic effects related to
the nature of women-owned firms.

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Determining the validity of each explanation is not straightforward, for several reasons. First, there is a
preponderance of descriptive surveys but few large, comparative studies about gender and firm
ownership. Understanding gender barriers is impeded by a lack of (a) sex-segregated self-
employment/business ownership data and (b) in-depth research on the dynamics of women's business
ownership.
Second, it is difficult to distinguish between the two explanations. There is a need to understand
structural influences (e.g., access to credit, networks), firm characteristics (e.g., age, size, sector,
capitalization) and owner differences as they are reflected in management competencies and decision
making (e.g., growth intentions, operational strategies).
Third, it is not easy to differentiate between historical and current practices. With few studies to draw
on, there is a tendency to cite older, perhaps outdated work. Finally, policy makers and researchers are
challenged by the lack of information about the participation of women in SME programs. As a result,
little is known about the incremental impact of policies and programs aimed at helping women business
owners. This knowledge gap can result in policies and programs based on perceptions rather than facts.

Policy and Gender Analysis and Visioning (PGAV) of Indian Council of Agriculture Research
(ICAR)
The long-term policy measures for sustainable food security and income enhancement assumes critical
importance and is a challenge to the policy makers. The following major activities have been
identified:
i. Framework study and strategies in relation to policy, gender analysis and market intelligence
systems.
ii. Visioning and impact assessment.
iii. Technology forecasting.
iv. Interface with the State System.

Framework Study and Strategies in Relation to Policy, Gender Analysis and Market Intelligence
Systems:
The decade of the 1990s was full of serious challenges to Indian agriculture. The output growth rate for
the first time during the last five decades has started showing deceleration and in several states turned
negative. The food grains growth rate is falling short of the population growth rate challenging the
country’s food security. The earlier growth options of area expansion are no more available.
Institutional reforms and technological breakthroughs, which triggered agricultural transformation in
the past, need renewed attention. While the problems of agriculture need to be addressed primarily at
state level, the Central government’s role is no less important. The Centre is particularly responsible for
providing policy directions and resources for growth and development. In many cases, States do not
provide the priority to agriculture it deserves. Diversion of funds to other areas besides poor
monitoring and implementation of development schemes have led to poor growth rates in agriculture in
the States.

The problem has two dimensions. One, what should be the role of the Centre and the states in different
spheres of agriculture like: R&D, infrastructure development, forging PPPs, taxation, price intervention,
etc. The second dimension relates to hardcore policy analysis like how performance of the agriculture
sector in various states is affected by different policy and non-policy variables. What are the linkages
between agriculture and non-agriculture? Why is employment not growing at the required pace? What
is the tradeoff between subsidies and investments? What are the prospects and possibilities of contract

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farming in various states? And how to reverse degradation of natural resources and ensure their
sustainable use?

There are two more important aspects related to state level agricultural performance. One is how much
of agricultural growth can be achieved by raising productivity of different crops. This requires a yield
gap analysis for all important crops in each state and region. This simple information is not documented
at one place for recent years. The second aspect is about rural distress. Why is rural distress on the
increase in those states where commercialization has grown? These are some of the issues where NCAP
can play a lead role.
Rural women contribute to over 69% of farming operations and these project interventions should
contribute to the analysis of gender issues and result in an increase in women’s participation in decision
making. The specific activities may include creating a credible information base on the status of rural
women’s contributions, gender-based impact assessment activities, capacity building of consortia
members for conducting gender analysis and identifying opportunities for intervention promoting
women groups.

Visioning and Impact Assessment:


The main focus of this program will be on visioning and research planning in the context of
globalisation, and impact assessment of the ICAR schemes and the NAIP. The specific activities are:
• Strengthening capacity for developing a shared vision for agriculture and agricultural science
with all the stakeholders.
• Enhancing the ability to plan and implement research and education programmes to realize the
vision
• Capacity building for agricultural research, extension, monitoring and evaluation and impact
assessment, particularly guiding the PIU-NAIP and CMUs in impact assessment
• Assessing impact of the ICAR/SAU schemes and frontline technologies under NAIP.
• Policy and institutional support required to accelerate the impact of technologies. E mentoring
has become popular.

Breaking the Glass Ceiling


The current trend toward decentralization and devolution of power in most states has increased
opportunities for political participation of women. Despite only modest gains in the number of women
officeholders at the national level, women’s participation in local and provincial politics is steadily
rising. Now, it must translate into economic empowerment of women in the rural and urban areas.
Today’s changing economy requires visionary leadership. The best management practices and latest
strategies for sustaining a competitive edge evolved by women entrepreneurs need to be replicated.
Greater management expertise and the leadership skills provided by them to drive innovation and
enhance synergies across the organization need serious examination. Sustaining and Enhancing
Competitiveness in Today's Business Scenario in Globalised India demands engendering of business ethos
that recognize women’s economic worth and accept them as active agents of economic development. It goes
beyond treating women as ‘beneficiaries’ of Corporate Social responsibilities (CRS).

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