Transcript Document

Female Employment in the Service
Sector: Trends and Patterns
Neetha N Pillai
Centre for Women’s Development Studies
1
• The integration of the economy has brought rapid
changes alongside shifts in employment
• The importance of the service sector as the engine
of growth has been the most highlighted aspect.
• Global market in services- banking, insurance and
transport brought out by the ICT revolution has
been placed at the centre of growth
• The growth within the service sector and its
employment prospects are not uniform, or its its
implications on different categories of workersgiven the informality and precariousness
associated with such employment.
2
Broad sectoral distribution and
shares
• Service sector accounts for about 14 percent of
total employment in rural areas and about 57
percent in urban areas in 2004-05
• About 7 per cent of total female employment in
rural areas and 49 per cent in urban areas
• 18 per cent of total male employment in rural
areas and about 59 percent in urban areas
3
• While in rural areas, there has been an increase
in the share of service sector (both for male
and female workers) in the urban areas there
has been a decline for both categories – much
more sharply for females – from 52.95 to 49.45
per cent
• This is in contrast to the previous period 199394 to 1999-00 where the share of the service
sector increased by about 10 percentage points
for females – for males the increase was less –
about 4 percentage points
4
• Female share of the sector in rural areas increased
from 15 percent in 1999-00 to 17 percent in 200405 and in urban areas the shares almost stagnated
at around 18 percent.
• Thus, the trend seems to dispel some of the
existing understanding of employment changes– a
sharp shift away from primary to service sector
employment and its capacity to absorb large
number of female workers.
• This becomes all the more critical in the context of
an increasing trend of projecting the export
oriented service sectors, especially the ICT driven
ones, as an engine of growth and as a source of
employment, especially for women
5
Distribution of female workers across various
service sector industrial categories – Total
Industrial Category
1993-94 1999-00
Trade, hotels and
restaurants
3.23
(12.84)
Transport, storage
and communication
Finance, insurance,
real estate and
business services
Community, social
and personal
services
2004-05
0.27
(3.06)
0.37
(12.07)
4.30
(12.78)
0.36
(3.01)
0.39
(9.61)
4.11
(12.31)
0.40
(3.19)
0.61
(11.72)
6.96
(26.35)
7.93
(28.94)
8.59
(33.93)
6
Distribution of women across
various service sector categories
• The most important change that needs to be
highlighted, which is quite reverse of the trend
observed during the previous periods is the decline
in the share of women engaged in the trade, hotels
and restaurants
• In the category community, social and personal
services, there is a consistent increase in its share
in total female employment; with female share in
the sector increasing at around 5 percentage
points.
7
Distribution of female workers across various
service sector industrial categories – Urban
Industrial Category
Trade, hotels and
restaurants
Transport, storage
and communication
Finance, insurance,
real estate and
business services
Community, social
and personal
services
1993-94 1999-00
2004-05
10.09
(9.58)
1.30
(3.45)
16.92
(12.38)
1.80
(4.08)
12.19
(10.61)
1.40
(3.44)
2.00
(12.02)
2.50
(12.01)
3.20
(12.87)
29.27
(30.73)
31.73
(32.07)
32.67
(37.41)
8
• The share of trade in female employment
which rose sharply during the period 1993-94
and 1999-00 absorbing part of displaced
workers from agriculture and manufacturing
seems to have lost its importance - resulted
even in an absolute decline in the number of
female workers.
• The share of trade in total employment of
women fell sharply from 16.92 per cent to
12.19 per cent during the period with female
share in employment in trade declining from
12.38 per cent to 10.61 per cent.
9
• The decline in trade is largely accounted by
the drastic reduction in the share of retail
trade - the decline in absolute number of
women is quite sharp with more than 4 lakh
women seen moving away from the sector.
• The sudden decline in the number of
women engaged in trade, after a boom
points to the instability and volatility of
such employment in general and for women
in particular.
10
• Finance, insurance, real estate and business
services show a consistent marginal increase in its
share from 2 to 2.5 to 3.2 per cent
• The category of community, social and personal
services though show only a small increase in
share, the female share in total employment show
a dramatic increase from 32.07 per cent to 37.41
per cent.
• Since the category comprises of various sub
categories, the dynamics of the sector and its
implications for women’s overall employment
would be clear only from a sub-sectoral analysis. 11
Distribution of female workers across sub categories
of personal and community services – Urban
Industrial Category
1999-00
Division 75 : Public
12.30
administration and defence; (10.83)
compulsory social security
Division 80 : Education
35.65
(48.45)
Division 85 : Health and
11.67
social work
(38.41)
Division 93 : Other service 21.14
activities
(44.05)
Division 95: Private
16.40
households with employed (64.11)
persons
2004-05
9.48 (12.76)
35.47 (47.74)
11.01 (40.55)
9.17 (30.57)
32.42 (75.62)
12
• The inability of the sector -public
administration to absorb more and more
workers is visible in the declining share of
women.
• Education as always has been the case,
accounted for majority of female workers in
this category. The data shows substantial
increase in the number of female workers
though the share has not registered much
increase.
13
• Health and social work also seems to have
declined in terms of its importance in its share
of women.
• What seems to be striking is the sharp increase
in the share as well as number of women
engaged in private household in employed
persons.
• The more than doubled share of the sector
have positioned it next to and almost close to
education.
14
• For the first time the category of private
households with employed persons has been
sub-categorized and data was collected across
sub-activity classifications.
• The data shows that women are largely
employed as housemaids/servants accounting
for about 70 per cent of women in this
category, with female share as high as 87 per
cent in this category
15
• It seems that employment in domestic service
appears to be the only available option for
many of the disadvantaged groups or sections
that are faced with limited opportunities .
• The growth of the sector is indicative of as to
how women are affected by the development
process- the wages and other conditions of
work in the sector are one of the lowest, with
the sector being even out of the minimum
wages purview in many states.
• Thus, at the overall level the analysis reveals
that there has not been much positive change
in women’s employment in the service sector
in urban areas.
16
Distribution of female workers across various
service sector industrial categories – Rural
Industrial Category
1993-94 1999-00
2004-05
Trade, hotels and
restaurants
2.10
(17.56)
2.00
(13.45)
2.50
(14.57)
Transport, storage
and communication
0.10
(2.47)
0.10
(12.24)
0.10
(1.62)
0.05
(3.27)
0.20
(2.89)
0.10
(7.49)
3.30
(21.81)
3.60
(25.02)
3.80
(29.27)
Finance, insurance,
real estate and
business services
Community, social
and personal
services
17
• Unlike the trend observed in urban areas where
there has been a substantial decline in the share
of women in trade, rural areas show a small
increase.
• Community, social and personal services also
show a marginal increase- with a consistent
increase in the share of women in the sector.
• Overall there have not been substantial
changes across major service sector categories
in the rural areas.
18
Distribution of female workers across sub categories of
personal and community services – Rural
Industrial Category
1999-00
2004-05
Division 75 : Public
11.43 (11.52) 5.26
administration and defence;
(9.04)
compulsory social security
Division 80 : Education
31.43 (29.25) 44.74 (38.42)
Division 85 : Health and
8.57 (34.57) 10.53 (36.16)
social work
Division 93 : Other service 40.00 (30.25) 15.79 (24.11)
activities
Division 95: Private
households with employed
persons
5.71 (69.15)
18.42 (63.28)
19
• The sub-sectoral data shows a declining share
of public administration.
• Education is found to occupy the most
important position in terms of its share in total
employment- increasing from 31.43 to 44.74
percent
• Female share increased sharply over the period
from 29 per cent to 38 per cent.
• The maximum increase in share has been for
private household with employed persons,
which registered more than three fold increase
in its share during the period – indicative of a
desperate entry of women into paid work.
20
• On the whole, service sector do not promise
much potential in terms of employment –
either in number or quality
• Of all the service sectors, IT and ITES
sector has been the focal point vis-à-vis the
discussions on growth and employment
• In view of this, a disaggregate analysis of
employment in the sector is attempted
21
IT-ITES Sector
 Impressive Share in GDP – Around 5 per cent;
Expected to reach around 8 per cent by 2008.
 Fastest growing industry- 37 per cent growth
during 2005-2006
 Prominent export earner – estimated share by
2008 – 35 per cent.
22
Employment in IT & ITES
 As per NASSCOM estimates employment growth rate
between 2004 to 2006 is around 60 percent
 Employs around 1.3 million workers in 2006 (direct)
 Indirect employment –around 3 million
 The estimated direct employment in the sector by 2008 is
around 2.4 million
 Sectoral Distribution of Employment:
 IT Services (68 per cent)
 ITES (32 per cent)
23
• The NSS data could be used to provide some
broad estimates of the sector, though some
overestimation is bound to happen as some of the
disaggregate classification could also capture
employment which fall beyond the IT categories.
• In spite of these limitations, these estimates could
help in understanding the broader sectoral patterns
and trends. Accordingly in this section, the
composition of women in the IT Sector and
changes over time are analyzed
24
Distribution of workers across IT industrial categories and
Sex-1999-00 – 2004- Total
Industrial Category
Male
Female Total
Male
Female Total
Hard ware Consultancy
5.37
(70.37)
13.36
(29.75)
6.53
3.90
(99.65)
0.05
(0.35)
3.08
Soft ware Consultancy
46.12
(88.30)
35.90
(11.70)
44.63
47.16
(77.64)
50.48
(22.36)
47.86
Data Processing
20.31
(82.80)
24.80
(17.20)
20.97
13.81
(85.86)
8.45
(14.14)
12.67
Data Base Activities
11.42
(92.61)
5.35
(7.39)
10.54
6.34
(59.28)
16.20
(40.72)
8.43
Maintenance and repair
of computers etc:
6.42
(87.75)
5.27
(12.25)
6.25
14.60
(93.55)
3.74
(6.45)
12.30
Other computer related
activities
4.79
(73.35)
10.23
(26.65)
5.59
6.11
(67.56)
10.91
(32.44)
7.13
Provision of value
added telecom services
5.57
(86.53)
5.09
(13.47)
5.50
8.08
(74.73)
10.16
(25.27)
8.53
Total
(85.46) (14.54)
(78.80) (21.20)
25
• Decline in the share of hard ware consultancy
both for men and women- Male share
declining from 5.37 to 3.90 female share
declining sharply from 13.36 to 0.05
• The data shows that software consultancy
accounted for the maximum share of male and
female workers during both the time periods
• For females the share has grown substantially
from 35.90 to 50.48 percent.
• The sector is followed by data base activities
and provision of value added services.
26
• Women’s share in the IT industrial sectors have
increased over the period from 14.54 to 21.20.
• Share of women workers in the hard ware
consultancy sector has shown a drastic decline
from 29.75 per cent to 0.35 which is indicative
of the growing male domination in this sector.
• There is a substantial increase in the share of
women in data base activities from 7.39 per
cent to 40.72
27
• With the available NCO data it is impossible to
arrive at a definite number of workers in the sector
as it is difficult to segregate from one given
category those associated with the IT industry or
otherwise.
• In this context, to get a rough picture of the
various IT related occupations, occupational
categories which prima faci are found to have
some link to IT industry are extracted and
analysed.
28
Distribution of workers across IT occupational categories and Sex1999-00 – 2004 – Total
Male
Total
Male
Female
Total
8.68
14.61
(89.02)
8.36
(18.98)
12.80
24.07
9.60
(57.63)
17.25
(42.40)
11.82
37.32
(78.75) (21.25)
30.36
42.68
(66.29)
53.01
(33.71)
45.68
Telephone
and 38.57 28.79
telegraphic operators
(86.50) (13.50)
36.88
33.11
(79.09)
21.38
(20.91)
29.71
Occupational
Categories
System analysts
programmers
Female
and 9.64
4.09
(91.86) (8.14)
Stenographers
and 22.87 29.80
Steno typists, Card and (78.59) (21.41)
Tape
Punching
Operators (excluding
stenographers)
Computing
Operators
Total
Machine 28.91
(82.71) (17.29)
(70.95)
(29.05)
29
• Computing machine operators account for the
largest share of male and female workers
• Male share increased from 28.91 per cent to 42.68
per cent while for females it has increased from
37.32 to 53.01 per cent.
• This category obviously represents the IT enabled
service occupations and increased concentration of
workers in this sector has been highlighted by
many empirical studies as well.
• System analysts and programmers also show
increase both for males and females 9.64 to 14.61
for males and 4.09 to 8.36 for females
30
• The share of female workers has almost doubled,
which is true across most categories of
occupations.
• The highest increases are in occupations such as
system
analysts
and
programmers
and
stenographers and steno typists, card and tape
punching operators (excluding stenographers).
• The substantial share of women in the categories
computing machine operators and system analysts
and programmers which are completely IT linked,
points to the trend of increased entry of women
into these occupations.
31
Distribution of workers across IT industrial categories and Sex1999-00 – 2004- Urban
Industrial Category
Male
Hard ware Consultancy
5.83
13.39
7.00
(70.25) (29.75)
3.62
0.25
(100.00) (0.00)
2.95
Soft ware Consultancy
48.46
35.99
46.52
(87.96) (12.04)
46.21
(83.43)
40.15
(16.57)
45.09
Data Processing
20.49
24.61
21.13
(81.87) (18.13)
14.38
(85.15)
10.97
(14.85)
13.74
Data Base Activities
12.36
5.36
(92.59) (7.41)
7.00
(59.28)
21.03
(40.72)
9.61
Maintenance and repair of
computers etc:
5.39
5.28
5.38
(84.72) (15.28)
13.96
(92.64)
4.86
(7.36)
12.27
Other computer related
activities
5.21
10.26
5.99
(73.35) (26.65)
6.18
(73.40)
9.80
(26.60)
6.85
Provision of value added
telecom services
2.26
5.10
2.70
(70.59) (29.41)
8.65
(74.14)
13.19
(25.86)
9.49
(84.44) (15.56)
(81.40)
(18.60)
Total
Female Total
11.27
Male
Female
Total
32
• Though the aggregate do reveal the broader trends
in the industry and women’s employment in the
sectors, in the context of its increased impact on
urban areas it is imperative to examine the urban
data.
• Hard ware consultancy show decline in its sharedrastic decline for females
• Soft ware consultancy is found accounting for the
largest chunk of workers 46 per cent for males and
40 per cent for females
• For males the share declined from 48 per cent to
46 percent while for females it increased from 36
to 40 percent.
33
• The share of data base activities shows a drastic
increase from 5.36 to 21.03, while declined for
males which reiterates the growing presence of
women in data base activities which are largely
centered to be centered around call centres.
• Value added telecom services: paging, email,
cellular phone, video conferencing, internet etc.
the only sector which registered an increase as far
male workers are concerned
34
• Women’s share in the aggregate employment in
the sector has increased though the same has not
been uniform across sectors.
• Only two sectors registered an increase in share –
soft ware consultancy and data base activities. In
some sectors women’s share has declined
substantially, especially the hard ware and
maintenance and repair industries.
• The most important change is the drastic increase
in the data base category from 7.41 per cent to
40.72 per cent over the period, which is largely the
call centre oriented work – which has attracted
much attention in terms of the labour process and
social impacts.
35
Distribution of workers across IT occupational categories and
Sex-1999-00 – 2004 – urban
Occupational
Categories
Male
Female Total
Male
Female
Total
10.02
14.97
(78.64)
10.57
(21.36)
13.75
Stenographers
and 27.15
30.32
27.77
Steno typists, Card (78.59) (21.41)
and Tape Punching
Operators (excluding
stenographers)
10.45
(63.20)
15.82
(36.80)
11.94
Computing Machine 34.32
37.97
35.03
Operators
(78.75) (21.25)
46.72
(70.19)
51.59
(29.81)
48.07
Telephone
and 27.09
27.55
27.18
telegraphic operators (80.13) (19.87)
27.86
(76.68)
22.03
(23.32)
26.24
Total
(72.22)
(27.78)
System analysts and 11.45
4.16
programmers
(91.86) (8.14)
(80.40) (19.60)
36
• The shares of system analysts and programmers
and computing machine operators register an
increase both for males and female workers.
• Computing machine operators accounts for more
than half of the women workers in the sector 51.59 per cent in 2004 and accounts for the
largest chunk of male workers – 47 per cent .
• Data on male- female shares shows that female
shares have increased in all the occupational
categories.
• However, the highest increase is seen in the
category, system analysts and programmers, which
registered an increase from 8.14 to 21.36 per cent
37
Emerging Issues
• The analysis suggests that IT and ITES do show a
promising trend in employment – with significant
share of female workers.
• However, when the low base of such employment
is accounted, they contribute only to a negligible
proportion of total employment.
• Thus while the proliferation of ICT based jobs
will certainly draw more into paid jobs, it would
not bring about any major transformation in
aggregate employment patterns in the near future
• The overall scenario of service sector employment
is determined by other categories – such as trade
and personal and community services which do
38
not offer much hopes.