The Economist-20241123期「Asia」Psychology: Laughing matters
Women in the workforce: Distress or opportunity?
Counting carbs
02 全文梳理
【para1】引出话题👉2018年印度政府首次公布印度女性劳动参与率，数据远低于全球平均水平
【para2】趋势变化👉近年来，印度女性劳动参与率逐年上升，呈进步趋势
【para3】质疑声音👉怀疑者称该进步不过是政府变更计算规则的“数字”游戏
【para4-6】专家从不同视角切入试图解释印度女性劳动参与率上升的原因
-para4 排除性别观念进步👉印度性别不平等观念根深蒂固，女性就业仍受传统文化束缚
-para5-6 解释之一👉经济困境驱动农村女性自营就业增长
-para7 解释之二👉政府支持和微型贷款计划推动女性创业
03 原文阅读 613words
Women in the workforce: Distress or opportunity?
The mystery of India's rising female labour-force participation rate
Women in the workforce: Distress or opportunity?
The mystery of India's rising female labour-force participation rate
[5] For clues about what is driving the rise, economists look at what work women are doing. "A lot of it is an increase in self-employment," points out Ashwini Deshpande of the Centre for Economic Data and Analysis at Ashoka University near Delhi. This includes working on the family farm or running a small shop out of the home, but also things like rolling bidis, a type of cigarette, or making poppadums.
[6] Mr Basole is of the view that the entry of large numbers of women into self-employment is the result of economic distress in rural areas. Rates of female participation in casual labour or fixed employment have declined in recent years even as more rural women work on family farms or on their own account, which "points to people trying to generate some sort of an income in the absence of opportunities," he says. If economic distress is the cause, women's LFPR could fall again as their families' prospects improve.
[7] The other, more optimistic, explanation is that women are taking advantage of new opportunities. The government is serious about getting more women into the workforce, says Ms Deshpande, and has been pushing schemes to promote self-employment. Women have received more than two-thirds of loans under a government microfinance scheme aimed at encouraging non-farm businesses in rural areas. "This initiative likely encouraged more women to take up entrepreneurship, reflected in the growing number of self-employed female workers," reckon analysts at Goldman Sachs, a bank. Yet average earnings from self-employment for women in rural areas remain stagnant. Ms Deshpande counsels patience: "We should give it time." More women in the workforce is good news for India, and for its women. But it is only when they earn more, too, that it will be time to celebrate. ■
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