The India China Growth Stories with special reference to Impact on Women’s Employment

Devaki Jain, Tang Lixia, Aruna Kanchi and Deepshikha Batheja**

**We would like to acknowledge with deepest gratitude the information and strong support and advice that was given by two eminent scholars and policy advisors -Professor Hans Binswanger, Adjunct Professor, College of Economics and Management, China Agricultural University, Beijing And Dr. Naresh Saxena, Former Member, Planning Commission, Government of India

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Abstract

India and China have been marked out in discussions on economic success stories, for their steady and higher than other countries, GDP growth rates. We trace the elements of GDP growth, China from the 1970s and India from the 1990s – with special reference to its outcomes on the characteristics of women’s employment, using secondary data for the two countries. The paper suffers from the absence of feminist theoretical and political economy analysis of the outcomes. We hope to mend this gap after the conference. It starts with a brief characterization of the intent of reforms in the two countries, a quick look at the sectoral growth within the GDP but then goes on to focus on employment outcomes, including their location, the gender differentiation in both getting into jobs but also wages and other securities.The last section is an assessment of what could be the learning experience from this comparative exercise for the two countries.

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Section I: Mapping the Landscape - China and India

Section II: Women’s EmploymentSection 2.1: Comparison of Post-Reform Changes in Employment for Men and Women in IndiaSection 2.1.1: Growth of Employment in India

Section 2.1.2. Composition of Employment

Section 2.1.3 Gender Differentiated Wages

Section 2.1.4: Social Security in India

Section 2.2: Comparison of Post-Reform Changes in Employment for men and women in China

Section 2.2.1: Growth of Employment in China

Section 2.2.2: Sectoral Composition of Employment

Section 2.2.3. Gender Based Wage Differentials

Section 2.2.4: Social Security

Section III: Lessons from the Comparative Gendered Analysis of Growth in the two countries

Concluding Analysis

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IntroductionChina and India introduced a series of economic measures, variously called as ‘reforms’, ‘liberalisation’ or ‘globalisation’ in the last 3 or 4 decades of the 20th century, which were followed by a period of unprecedented spurt in GDP growth. The growth stories of the two countries, like all else, have had significant gender differential impacts. Further, the two economies though comparable on many levels, differ in ways significant to the outcome of reforms: in terms of their political ideology, socio-economic environment - extant and prior to the reforms as well as the character and trajectory of the very reforms. This paper is a small first step in our efforts to assess the complex and multi-layered impact of reforms on women in the two countries and draw useful policy lessons for sharing. The aims of this paper are modest - to describe mainly through official data the changes in women’s employment that have accompanied high GDP growth in China and India during the reform period in terms of: a) the magnitude and b) quality of growth in women’s employment; c) changes in gender differentials in wages; and d) changes in social security coverage.

Reforms

India and China have emerged as the two most powerful and influential Asian nations in terms of economic capabilities and geopolitical standing. They are both among the fastest growing markets in the world, and have successfully globalised, becoming “locomotives” for other countries. India is an emerging economic power, but still lags behind China. The two countries have followed different paths of growth as a result of their varying degrees of openness and the differing roles and contributions of their manufacturing and service sectors. (Beretta and Lenti, 2012)

China started out on its reform process in 1978 as compared to India, which started in early 1990s. The elements and progress of reforms in the two countries is too complex to describe here. Only two points need to be highlighted here: one that Chinese women, in contrast to their Indian counterparts, enjoyed a long period of relatively greater financial and personal independence prior to the reforms. More than a decade prior to the reforms China had already rolled out steps to enhance rural education accompanied by other initiatives to improve their status such as the right to initiate divorce, ending footbinding, child marriage and opium addiction. Highest priority was given to the urban proletariat for whom

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a welfare state was created.1 Women had also already established themselves as active economic agents with their high levels of labour force participation. Indian women on the other hand still suffer from low levels of literacy and educational attainments as well as low rates of paid employment. Second, though the internal passports system (called the hukou), strictly enforced until recently, restricted migration for urban employment, the replacement of collective farming with the household responsibility system led to unprecedented expansion of agricultural output as well as rural employment, equally for men and women and acted as an initial boost to growth (Huang 2011). Section I: Mapping the Landscape - China and IndiaSince the initiation of reforms in China in 1978, and India in 1990, GDP has shown rapid growth with volatility: China’s GDP ranged from 3.9 per cent (1990) to 15.2 per cent (1984). In the last two and half decades China’s GDP has grown at an average rate of 9.8 per cent (Chandrashekar and Ghosh, nd). India’s GDP has fluctuated between 1.4 per cent in 1991-92 to 9.6 in 2006-07 (Figs 1a & 1b). Thus India has achieved lower rates of growth than China but has also experienced less volatility.In terms of structural change of output China has followed the classic pattern of moving from agriculture to manufacturing and services. India on the other hand has moved from agriculture to services with little increase in the share of manufacturing (Figs 2 a & b).

Figure 1 a. China GDP Growth (%)

1China’s Hegemonic Ambition and Expansionism, Indian Defence Forum http://defenceforumindia.com/forum/china/16307-china-s-hegemonic-ambition-expansionism-2.html (accessed in January 2013)

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Fig. 1b GDP Growth (%) at Factor Cost India

[Source: World Bank Reports http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG (accessed in May 2013) and Economic Survey 2012–13 - Union Budget & Economic Survey (India)]Each pattern of development has had its implications for employment growth. Although agriculture remains the largest employer in both countries, the transfer of labour from agriculture to non-agriculture has been relatively faster in China than in India. In 1980 both countries had between 68 and 69 per cent of the workforce in agriculture. By 2010, China had achieved shares of 37 per cent in agriculture, 29 per cent in industry and 34 per cent in services.2 The corresponding rates for India were 54 per cent in agriculture, 21.5 per cent in industry and 24.5 per cent in services.3

Figure 2a. China: Sectoral break-up of GDP growth

Figure 2b. India: Sectoral break-up of GDP growth2 See Figure 3 in the Annexure

3 See Figure 4 in the Annexure

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[Source: World Bank Reports, Economic Survey 2012–13 - Union Budget & Economic Survey (India)]

India differs from all other countries at the same level of development, in particular from China, in two aspects - the skill intensity of exports and the variety of products. The importance of services relative to manufacturing in India is widely acknowledged. Further, within manufacturing, India has emphasised on skill-intensive rather than labour-intensive production (Banerjee 2006; Beretta and Targetti Lenti 2011). China, on the other hand has progressively absorbed the labour surplus coming from rural areas into manufacturing and has become a “world factory.” It has been involved in the international segmentation of production processes in manufacturing, specialising mainly in mass exports of cheap goods, progressively becoming a fast-growing exporter of manufactures. (Beretta and Lenti, 2012)

If we look at the poverty levels in the two countries we find that, starting with much higher poverty levels in 1980’s China was able to drastically reduce the number of poor overtaking India in the mid 90s (Fig.5). By comparison, India’s record of poverty reduction has been rather slow.

Fig 5. Percentage of population living below $1.25 a day

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10

30

50

70

90

1 981 198 4 19 87 199 0 199 3 19 96 19 99 20 02 200 5

Ch in aInd ia

[Source: World Bank, http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.DDAY (accessed in March 2013)]

Poverty reduction in China was accompanied by reduction in hunger and undernourishment. China had 254 million undernourished in 1990-92 (21.4% of the population) – higher than the 240 million undernourished in India. By 2010-13, China’s undernourished had diminished to 158 million or 11.5 per cent compared to India’s 217 million (17.5%) (FAO 2012). India is ranked 65th among 79 major countries where hunger is prevalent. In comparison, China managed to consistently lower its hunger index scores from 11.8 in 1990 to 5.1 in 2012. In fact, it has the second best score in Global Hunger Index in the whole world (IFPRI 2012). India’s high hunger index scores are driven by high levels of child underweight - 43.5 per cent of the children under five are estimated to be underweight. The Chinese success in poverty and hunger reduction, has at least in part been attributed the dramatic increase in agricultural output in response the shift to the household responsibility system (Huang 2011). India’s strategy on this front has hinged, since the 1950s, on a variety of public programs including public works programs, a public distribution system, increased access to loans, improving agricultural techniques and price supports, and promoting education and family planning. These measures have helped eliminate famines though the absolute number of poor and malnourished still remains too high.The depth and breadth and growth of inequality too has added to increasing conflict in these and other countries. China Household Finance Survey shows that top tenth of Chinese households took

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home 57% of the income in 2010. The country’s Gini coefficient4

was 0.61, far higher than the previous estimates of 0.41 and 0.48.5

According to Word Bank estimates, the Gini index(%) was around 33.3% for India in 2012 declining only marginally from 37.8% in 1997.6 Inequality is posing to be a big threat in both countries.Section II: Women’s Employment7

China and India have enormous labour forces – around 800 million in China (2010) and 482 million in India (2011)8. Both labour forces have been growing. China added 200 million to her population and 156 million to her labour force between 1990 and 2010. Between 1991 and 2011 India added 364 million to her population and 168 million to her workforce. Rural and urban labour markets are distinct in both countries; the former is much larger than the latter though urban employment has been growing rapidly, more so in China with high rates of migration for work from rural to urban and from farm to non-farm jobs. Agriculture dominates the rural labour market while manufacture and service industries predominate in the urban sector.Men dominate the labour market in both countries with more or less comparable participation rates. However, the position of women is very different in the two economies: there were 443 million men to 357 million women in the Chinese workforce, a ratio of men to women of 55:45 (2010). In India the numbers are 332 million men to 150 million women workers – a more skewed ratio of 69:31 (2011). The most striking difference is that work participation rates for Chinese women has been for long among the highest in the world

4 The gini coefficient is a number between 0 and 1 that measures the income distribution of a country. A coefficient of 0 means that everyone has the same income and 1 means that one person has all the income and everyone else has zero income

5 “To each, not according to his needs: A survey illuminates the extent of Chinese income inequality” The Economist (Dec 18, 2012) http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21568423-new-survey-illuminates-extent-chinese-income-inequality-each-not (accessed in February 2013)

6World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2172.html (Accessed on 3rd December 2012)

7 In comparing employment data it must be noted that employment figures and ratios for China refer to men aged 16 to 59 while for women it is 16 to 54. Retirement age also differs for different segment of the workforce, which is also true for Indian workers. Indian figures and ratios pertain to all ages and are bound to be lower than Chinese ratios by definition. For this reason no straight forward comparison was attempted.8 Data pertaining to China is from http://databank.world.org., while data for India is sourced from India’s Population Census 2011.

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despite the decline in recent years. In contrast Indian women’s participation rate has been low, although the situation is changing.2.1: Comparison of Post-Reform Changes in Employment for Men and Women in India2.1.1: Growth of Employment in IndiaBetween 1991 and 2011 employment expanded faster than population for both men and women, more sharply for women (2.6% CAGR) than men (1.98%), in rural as well as urban areas9. Urban employment expanded faster than rural employment, with women’s urban employment growing fastest at a whopping 5.67 per cent per annum. The (overall) growth of employment slowed down however in the last decade (2001 to 2011) compared to the previous one with the growth rate of women’s employment declining more sharply than men’s, traceable to the big fall in the rate of growth of rural employment (TABLE 1). NSS data also shows a sharp decline in women’s rural employment between 2004-05 and 2009-10. The decline can be only partly explained by the increasing enrolment of women under 25 in education (Kannan and Raveendran 2012). A full explanation will have to await the release of more data from Census 2011.

Table 1. India - Work Participation Rates & Women's Share in the Workforce ( %) (All ages)

Year Rural Urban All  Men Wom

enWomen

's % Share

of Workfo

rce

Men

Women

Women's %

Share of

Workforce

Men

Women

Women's %

Share of

Workforce

1993-1994

55.3 32.8 35.8 52.1

15.5 21.0 54.5

28.6 32.6

1999-2000

53.1 29.9 34.7 51.8

13.9 19.4 52.7

25.9 31.1

2004-2005

54.6 32.7 36.2 54.9

16.6 21.4 54.7

28.7 32.4

2009-2010

54.7 26.1 33.3 54.3

13.8 18.6 54.6

22.8 27.7

Source: NSS Report on Employment & unemployment 2009-10; Women's share in workforce calculated using Himanshu (2011)Despite the recent growth in women’s employment, women’s worker population ratio (WPR) remains low at 30 per cent in rural and 15.4 per cent in urban areas compared to 53 per cent in rural 9 As a result WPR increased for all sections of workers - rural men, urban men, rural women and urban women, with some decline in the WPR for rural women in the last decade compared to the previous one.

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and 53.8 per cent in urban areas for men10. A higher proportion of marginal workers11 has been the norm for women but in the last two decades, the male workforce is also becoming increasingly marginalized (TABLE 2). Unemployment Rates for women, usually low, have increased in recent years: according to the Labour Bureau Report on Employment and Unemployment Survey, 2011-12, unemployment rates are higher for women (6.9%) than men (2.9%) and highest for urban women (12.9%).

TABLE 2India: Worker Population Ratios by Gender & Location

Worker Population Ratios (WPR) (%)  1991 2001 2011  Male Female Male Female Male Female   MainRural 51.8 18.6 44.5 16.8 41.6 16.7Urban 48.6 7.3 47.5 9.4 48.7 11.9  MarginalRural 0.7 8.1 7.9 14.2 11.4 13.3All 0.6 6.3 6.6 11.0 9.4 10.3  Main and MarginalRural 52.5 26.7 52.4 31.0 53.0 30.0Urban 48.9 9.2 50.9 11.6 53.8 15.4

Source: Primary Census Abstract Highlights 2011

2.1.2. Composition of Employment2.1.2.1 Rural IndiaAs of 2011, agriculture remains the largest employer of women – 94 million or 77 per cent of rural female workers (compared to 70% of men) are in agriculture, 29 per cent work as cultivators and 48 per cent as (hired) agricultural labour12. With title to land in agricultural

10 The reasons for persisting low WPR for women range from under counting to socio economic reasons such as early marriage and childbirth; low education; low status to women working (supply side) as well as discrimination in the labour market and lack of marketable skills (demand side).

11 The Census distinguishes between Main workers (working for the major part of the year) and Marginal workers - those who work less than 181 days a year.

12 According to the National Sample Survey or NSS 72% of female self-employed in agriculture (cultivators) are unpaid family helpers.

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households mostly in the hands of men, most female cultivators (around 72% according to the National Sample Survey, the other major source of employment data) are actually unpaid family helpers although a small percentage works as farm managers. This is reflected in the close connection between changes in numbers of male cultivators and its effect on the numbers of female cultivators as well as female agricultural labour. Outside agriculture, 5% works in household enterprises and 18 per cent in other manufacturing and services (TABLE 3).

TABLE 3India: Percentage Distribution of Main & Marginal Workers

by Occupation/Sector

 Cultivato

rsAgr

Labour HHI NHIS All

Rural Male

1991 51.6 26.0 1.9 20.5 100.0

2001 42.0 27.5 3.0 27.5 100.0

2011 35.2 34.4 2.6 27.8 100.0

Difference 2001-1991 -9.6 1.5 1.1 7.0  Difference 2011-2001 -6.8 6.9 -0.4 0.3  

Rural Female

1991 38.9 48.5 2.9 9.7 100.0

2001 37.1 43.0 5.5 14.4 100.0

2011 28.8 48.5 5.0 17.7 100.0

Difference 2001-1991 -1.8 -5.5 2.6 4.7  Difference 2011-2001 -8.3 5.5 -0.5 3.3             

Urban Male

1991 4.9 7.1 2.5 85.5 100.0

2001 2.5 3.4 3.6 90.4 99.92011 2.7 4.6 3.7 89.0 100.

0Difference 2001-1991 -2.4 -3.7 1.1 4.9  Difference 2011-2001 0.2 1.2 0.1 -1.4  

Urban Female1991 5.1 17.0 7.5 70.3 100.

12

02001 4.1 10.7 12.

8 72.5 100.1

2011 3.1 9.0 8.8 79.1 100.0

Difference 2001-1991 -1.0 -6.3 5.3 2.2  Difference 2011-2001 -1.0 -1.7 -4.0 6.6  

[Source: Primary Census Abstract Highlights 2011]A shift in the composition of rural employment from agriculture, especially self-employment to non-agriculture for both men and women is visible since 1991 (see TABLE 3), with a distinct difference in the magnitude and character of the shift between the two halves of the period. The shift to non- farm sector has been induced by both the restrictive conditions in agriculture (declining public investment, increasing fragmentation in plots as well as diminishing profitability in farming due to increasing input prices led to a crisis situation in the early 2000’s) as well as the increasing literacy and educational attainments of the youth.Between 1991 and 2001, the sharp decline in the proportion of male cultivators was balanced by a major increase in the proportion of ‘Other’ workers (non-household industry and services, NHIS hereafter) and a minor increase in percentage of agricultural labour and household Industry (HHI) workers. For women, the decline in male cultivators not only triggered a decline in the proportion of cultivators but also of agricultural labour. This was offset by a relatively large increase in the proportion of HHI workers and a smaller increase in NHIS workers. In the next decade there was very little shift out of agriculture for men – the cultivators mostly transforming into agricultural labour and NHIS labour. For women the shift out of agriculture continued though more modestly than in the previous decade. HHE appears to have lost the brief momentum and women found employment only in NHIS.NSS data show that between 1993 and 2010 within the non-agricultural sector although women’s employment expanded in manufacture, construction, trade, hotels and restaurants and other services their share in total employment increased only in two sectors, namely construction13 and other services. This implies first, that most of the non-farm jobs except in construction and other services went to men; second there was a deterioration in the 13 In construction the increase was in subsidiary status work – work of more than 30 but less than 180 days.

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quality of employment for women, since jobs in construction and other services are known to be largely informal, temporary, casual and poorly paid.

2.1.2.2 Urban IndiaDespite the rapid growth of the urban labour market in the last two decades, it remains small - less than two-fifths (38%) of the rural labour market, with male and female segments constituting no more than 46% and 23% respectively of the corresponding rural employment (2011). Urban agriculture employs around 7 per cent of the male and 12 per cent of the female workforce while HHI employs around 4 per cent of male and 9 per cent of the female workers. The majority – 89 per cent of male and 79 per cent of female is thus employed in the NHIS. Urban agriculture has been shrinking in terms of employment since 1991. Employment in HHI grew between 1991 and 2001 for both men and women but more sharply for women. However the share of this sector declined especially for women in the subsequent decade. As for NHIS, men’s employment declined between 2001 and 2011, after expansion in the previous decade; for women employment in this sector grew more rapidly, particularly in the last decade. NSS data shows that as in the rural sector, women’s share of total employment increased only in water, electricity, construction and other services.The shift from agriculture both in rural and urban India is good news indeed for women but for the informalisation14 of employment in the HHI and NHIS sectors, with all the disadvantages that it implies: lack of security of tenure, long hours, difficult and hazardous conditions of work, low wages and absence of social security including maternity benefits. NSS data shows that between 1999 and 2005, informalisation of the workforce grew: not only were the additions to the workforce during this period entirely in the informal sector but some workers in the formal sector also moved into the informal sector (Himanshu 2011). In 2004-05 the proportion of informal workers was as high as 77.1 per cent of the female workforce in rural areas and 63.5 per cent in urban areas. However, between

14 Informalisation is defined as the proliferation of both informal enterprises and informal workers. Informal enterprises are defined as unincorporated private enterprises owned by individuals or households engaged in the production and sale of goods and services and operated on a proprietary or a partnership basis and employing less than 10 persons. Informal workers are defined as all those who are working in the Unorganised Sector defined earlier and the workers in the formal sector without any employment security and social security provided by the employer ( NCEUS 2004).

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1999-2000 and 2004-05, informalisation proceeded faster for males than for females: women’s share of informal jobs declined from 22.7 per cent (2000) to 21.8 (2005) per cent in rural and from 19.9 per cent (2000) to 19.7 per cent (2005) in urban areas.Migration for employment, especially of women is not captured adequately by official sources. Internal migrants in India are estimated to constitute 30 per cent of the population. Two types of migration can be distinguished: long term migration or relocation and short term or circular migrants. Circular migration can be rural to rural (accounting for the bulk of the migration) rural to urban; urban to rural as well as urban to urban. Estimates of short- term migrants range from 15 million (NSSO 2007-08) to 100 million (Deshingar and Akter 2009) Studies show higher incidence of migration among the poor, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. Migrant women gravitate towards informal jobs. Agriculture, industry and services employ a very large number of migrants. Major destination sub sectors for female migrants are textiles, garments, construction, brick kilns, crop planting and harvesting, sugarcane cutting, food processing such as fish and cashew processing, sex work and domestic work (Deshingar and Anker 2009). Migrant workers, especially women are the most vulnerable segment of the Indian workforce.2.1.3 Gender Differentiated Wages

Despite two statutes that are aimed at maintaining equity in wages – the Statutory Minimum Act (1948) and the Equal Remuneration Act (1976), gender differentiated wages is a bitter fact of life in India. Gender differentiation is as common in the public as in the private sector though less sharp. Both male and female wages have risen between 2004-05 and 2009-10, female wages, both in rural and urban areas rising faster than male wages. However, the gender gap remains almost unchanged (TABLE 4).

TABLE 4Average daily real wage rate for workers in Rupees ( 2004-

05 Prices)

Year Rural Urban

Male Female Male Female

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Regular Salaried

2004-05 145 86 203 153

2009-10 165 103 260 213

Growth rate (%)

2.8 4.2 5.6 7.8

Casual

2004-05 55 35 75 44

2009-10 67 46 91 53

Growth rate (%)

4.5 6.2 4.2 4.1

[Source: Choudhury 2011]2.1.4: Social Security in IndiaThe existence of a huge informal sector and informal workers in the organized sector implies the sparse coverage under social security. Women particularly in the agricultural sector lack any kind of social security cover. NSS (2009-10) estimates place 98 per cent of the women workers in the non-agricultural sector outside the ambit of any of provident fund, gratuity, pension, health care and maternity benefits. Only 0.2 per cent has access to health care and maternity benefits. As regards maternity benefits, two legislations, the Employees State Insurance Act (1950) and the Maternity Benefit Act (1961) mandate the provision of maternity benefit to all workers. However first, these currently cover only the formal workers and have poor reach. Second, there is a huge divide in terms of benefits even amongst the eligible: government servants get fully paid 180 days of maternity leave for up to 2 children and an additional leave of up to 2 years for taking care of minor children which can be availed of as need arises, until the child reaches 18 years of age; another section, namely, employees of private firms do not always get what they are eligible due to poor enforcement; the last section, that is, informal employees of formal sector, including government are not even eligible for any maternity benefits (Lingam and Kanchi 2013). The large numbers of health and education workers (Aaganwadi

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workers15 and ASHA Workers16) employed by the government are an example of the last.

2.2: Comparison of Post-Reform Changes in Employment for men and women in China 2.2.1: Growth of Employment in China

Table 5 China - Work Participation Rates for Working Age Population*:

1990-2010

Year Rural urban All  Men Women Men Women Men Women

1990 Na Na 90.0 76.3 Na Na2000 Na Na 81.5 63.7 92.5 87.02010 Na 82.0 Na 60.8 Na 71.1

Men - 16 to 59 years; Women-16 to 54 yearsSource: Attane Isabelle (2012) from ACWF

Consistent time series data for China from official sources is difficult to come by. However it is well known that women’s participation rates have for long been high, the legacy of the communist era when women were prevailed upon by the state to take up roles outside the family and in the labour market. Even after the introduction of reforms new opportunities became available to them in the form of non-farm jobs in Town and Village Enterprises (TVE), urban labour units, State Operated Enterprises (SOE), the young private sector enterprises and in the Special Economic Zones (SEZ). Young women are reported to have benefitted from the higher education boom that has enabled them to get jobs requiring more qualifications and paying much better than in the past. A feminine elite is reported to be emerging, consisting mainly of a small number of women entrepreneurs whose social success has become one of the symbols of the Chinese economic boom (Attane 2012).

15 Anganwadi centres were set up by the Government of India in 1975 as part of the Integrated Child Development Services(ICDS) program to combat child hunger and malnutrition. A typical Anganwadi centre also provides basic health care in Indian villages and the workers who work at these centres are called Anganwadi workers. They are after all the most important link between the rural poor and good healthcare. 

16 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) are community health workers instituted by the government of India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) as part of the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM)

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However, the relative advantage of Chinese women in the labour market appears to be eroding especially in the last decade. Restructuring of the public sector and the opening up of the Chinese economy have made workers including women, more vulnerable to sudden changes and shocks, both internal and external. In the 1990’s,following the dismantling of labour units and restructuring of State Owned Enterprises (SOE’s) and particularly in the wake of large scale labour retrenchment of 1997, more women than men were made redundant or forced to retire early17. Those laid off as well as new entrants found it more difficult than men to find new jobs. The unemployment period also tended to be longer for women and the probability of re-employment lower due to unequal access in part to social networks and re-employment services. And when they did re-enter the market, women were less likely to get a job of the same quality (Fenglian Du and Xiao-yuan Dong 2009). The problem was particularly acute in certain regions: in 2005, WPR fell to 45 per cent in Jilin and to 35 per cent in Heilongjiang (Attane 2012) Unemployment (2004) amongst women (12 %) was 50% higher than for men (8%). The global financial crisis of 2008 also temporarily affected employment adversely, particularly of migrant women. Fang Cai and Kam Wing Chan (2009), cited in Zhi et al (2012) also argue that most of those who lost their jobs went home and were absorbed in agriculture, made possible by the fact that almost all households in rural China have access to some contracted land.Others point out how retrenched women who fail to get reabsorbed by the formal sector and those unable to wait for the right job are turning to temporary, informal jobs, increasing informalisation of the economy while others are dropping out of the labour market, leading to the decline in the participation rate. As a result of the tight employment situation in the cities and the restrictions imposed by the hukou system, migrant women workers are reported to be returning home in droves (Attane 2012). Although total employment has been increasing, the employment rate for women has declined significantly in the last two decades, especially in the cities: from 76.3 per cent in 1990 to 60.8 per cent in 2010. Although rural women’s WPR has also declined, it remains relatively high at 82 per cent (2010).2.2.2 Sectoral Distribution

17Retirement age in China is gender differentiated: for white-collar workers it is 60 for men and 55 for women; for blue-collar workers it is 50 for men and 45 for women.

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Overall (urban and rural together), in 2000, Agriculture and allied activities employed 69 per cent of women; manufacture employed 12.5 percent and the rest (18.7%) were engaged in the service sector. By 2010 the proportion of employed women in primary, secondary and tertiary sector had changed respectively to 45.3, 14.5 and 40.2 per cent (ACWF 2011). Thus women’s presence in agriculture has been declining while their proportion in manufacturing and service sectors has been increasing, more rapidly in services compared to manufacture. 2.2.2.1 Rural China

Agriculture and allied pursuits continue to remain the dominant source of employment for women in rural China, though there has been a decline over time in agricultural employment for both men and women. Between 1981 and 2000, following the setting up TVE’s together with an increased demand for services in the cities and unskilled labour in the SEZ’s, there was a shift first, to rural off-farm work by both men and women and subsequently to urban areas. A study (1999) Rozelle et al estimated that not only men’s participation rates in off-farm work (more than 25%) far exceeded that of women (less than 5%), but also that women’s participation grew very slowly throughout the 1980’s. During this period, decline in agricultural participation was faster for men than for women raising fears of feminization of agriculture (UNDP nd; Attane 2012) However, there are scholars (Zhang et al 2006), who debunk feminization of Chinese agriculture, demonstrating among other things, that women are spending less time than before in farming activities18. The debate is still on. In 1982, 77.1 per cent of women were engaged in agriculture; this declined to 75.3 per cent by 1990 and further to 69 per cent by 2000. However since male participation declined faster, women’s share of agricultural labour actually increased from 46.8 per cent in 1982 to 48.5 per cent in 2000. As of 2010, 25 per cent of female labour and 37 per cent of male labour are engaged in off-farm work in rural China compared to 10.3 per cent and 19.1 per cent respectively in 2000 (ACWF 2011).2.2.2.2 Urban ChinaAnother aspect of this shift from farm to off farm employment is the shift from rural to urban via migration. In the 1980’s the shift, for both men and women was mostly to rural off-farm work (in one’s 18The reasons for a decline in time and effort spent on work for women include time and effort saved due to smaller plots, use of herbicides and pesticides which have reduced the time and effort spent on weeding – a job, traditionally performed by women; wider use of household appliances, easier access to water and reduction in family size.

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own village or county) but in the 1990’s and 2000’s the target destination increasingly changed to urban. According to Deininger and Jin (2006) by 2004, nearly 125 million persons were in the migrant labour force, of which women constituted around one-third. From less than 1 per cent in the 1980’s women working as wage-earning migrants increased to 7 per cent of the female labour force by 2000 (Zhang, Rozelle et al 2006). In terms of age composition and education levels, it was young (16 to 28 years), better-educated19 and unmarried women who predominate both off-farm work and urban wage earning migrants. Middle aged or older married women with lower levels of education and older men have remained in rural areas, engaged in agriculture. Urban women migrants are also reported to stay for much shorter duration in urban employment (approximately one-seventh of the length of stay of men) implying that they return to rural areas much sooner (China Labour Bulletin Mar. 6, 2004).Employment in all sectors declined from 116 million in 2000 to 114 million in 2005 but increased thereafter to 130.5 million in 2010. Between 2000-2005, women lost 0.9 million jobs bringing their share of urban employment down from 38 to 37.9. Between 2005 and 2010 although the total number of jobs increased women’s share actually declined to 37.2, because the major share of jobs created went to men. Thus during the decade from 2000-2010 women gained proportionately less jobs leading to the worsening of women’s position in the labour market vis-à-vis men. This lends credence to reports of loss of jobs amongst women and the difficulties in accessing new jobs and of droves of women going back to rural areas. In terms of sub-sectors, between 2000 and 2010, women’s share in the State Operated Enterprises (SOE) sector increased while it declined in the collective and other sectors.

One of the outcomes of the rapid and multidimensional transformation of the economy and the labour market - from fully controlled to partially free – is the informalisation of (urban) employment. In this context employers, permanent employees and employees with contracts are considered formal employees; informal employment is unregistered employment without social security and includes individual self-employed, temporary workers, paid and unpaid family workers, and ‘other’ workers.

19Migrant women are however less educated than their male counterparts.

20

In China evidence is emerging of the growth of informal employment. Since the onset of reforms rural migrants moved in ever increasing numbers to urban settings where they undertook a range of activities such as petty trade, repairs and recycling. Further, workers made redundant in the continuing restructuring of the SOE’s turned to a variety of marginal activities. These activities remain invisible to the official statistical system20. According to Cook (2008) informal workers could make up as high as 50 per cent of the urban workforce. Estimates by Jiang (nd) put women’s engagement in the informal sector in 2004 at 63.7 per cent compared to 49.5 per cent for men. Cook and Jolly (2000) provide evidence in the context of restructuring of SOE’s that show that laid off women tend to turn to a range of temporary and poorly paid jobs in order to provide for the household while men tend to spend time looking for formal employment. Further, the dismantling of public provisions such as child care, health, education and maternity benefits tend to place larger burdens on women reducing their time for formal, regular employment. Estimates based on China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS) in a study by Cook and Ni (2009) show that 22.4 per cent of urban workers were in informal21 employment in 1997 and this increased to 36.5 by 2006. Studies (Cook & Deng 2009) show that women are more heavily represented in the informal sector than men; and that in general, women in the informal sector tend to be younger, less educated than men and not only earn much less than men but the wage difference is more than in the formal sector. 2.2.3. Gender Based Wage Differentials Despite mandates in the Chinese Labor Law regarding gender equality of opportunity and wages, women tend to get lower wages than men. Further, the ratio of female to male earnings fell from 0.84 in 1987 to 0.67 in 2004. In urban areas, migrants workers tend to get two thirds the wage of an urban registered worker, although half of them do get free accommodation. Migrant workers also worked longer hours and got less social security benefits. In fact, during this period the earnings gaps increased more dramatically for

20Migrants who have not changed their hukou status and not registered by employers are dubbed floating population/migrants by the popular press.

21Employers, permanent employees and employees with contracts are defined as formal workers; and individual self-employed, temporary workers, paid and unpaid family workers, and ‘other’ are classified as informal workers.

21

lower deciles (Fig. 4). This lower income group was mainly engaged in agriculture (Dong Xiao-Yuan, 2012).Figure 4. Gender Earnings by gaps decile in China (1987-2004)

Source: Dong Xiao-Yuan, Presented at the IAFFE Annual Conference, Barcelona, Spain (June 28, 2012) “Gender Inequality and China’s Economic Transition”

The study by Cook and Ni (ibid) finds that while wages of men and women are lower in informal employment compared to formal employment, the gender gaps are higher in informal employment. Further while the gender gap remained stable between 1997 and 2006 in formal employment, it increased in informal employment. According to their calculations in 1997, male wage was 1.17 times the female wage in formal employment and 1.34 in informal employment. In 2006 the corresponding ratios were 1.11 and 1.56 respectively. However certain factors need to be taken into consideration in wage comparisons: hours of work may be variable especially in informal employment and recall tend to be poor; wages may be supplemented by payments in kind such as social benefits for formal workers and food and lodging for informal workers.

2.2.4: Social Security Prior to the reforms, in the centrally planned economy of the PRC, employment and income in the countryside were provided by the commune-based production system. The collectively owned communes also provided pensions as well as basic health and education. In the cities, the State assigned workers to SOE’s, where they were guaranteed lifetime employment, centrally fixed wages and a cradle to grave social welfare system. The welfare benefits included childcare, education, healthcare, housing and pensions.

22

Widely available childcare services significantly reduced opportunity costs of labour force participation as well as of early child development (Cook 2009).The result was a system that promoted gender equality and laid the foundations in terms of broad based education and health benefits as well as high work participation for women.During the period of reforms, gender equality was explicitly built into Chinese Labour Law (1994, 2006). However, with the shrinking of the state sector and the increase in privatization and informalisation, first, the responsibility for social security passed from the state to private sector; and second enforcement passed to local authorities. In the highly competitive environment of the reforms, private employers evade paying mandated women-specific social security payments in a variety of ways such as avoiding recruitment of women, not registering women employees, simply refusing to pay or firing women when they get pregnant. There is also a marked preference for young, unmarried women with low levels of education, particularly migrants, who are in general not very aware of their rights. Local governments are on their part, lax in enforcing the law (China Labour Bulletin, 2004a). However, serious efforts are being made to introduce a broad-based social security system based on employer-employee contributing model to equally cover formal and informal workers.Looking only at the proportion of men and women getting medical insurance, overall a lower percentage of women have medical insurance than men, in formal and informal employment. And women in formal jobs as expected have better coverage than women in informal employment. While in 2000, 65.7 per cent of women in formal jobs had medical insurance only 19.2 per cent in informal employment were covered. However, coverage can be seen to have improved especially between 2004 and 2006 with a higher percentage of women being covered than men both in formal and informal employment (Table 6) due to new policy in this regard. From 1998, the China State Council began to set up a basic medical insurance system for staff members and workers in cities and towns. In 2003, State Council guidelines were proposed to extend basic medical insurance to workers in ‘flexible’ employment. (“Guiding Opinion of the State Council about Medical Insurance for Urban Flexible Employment Workers”) and in 2008 a basic medical insurance scheme was extended to dependents of workers.

Table 6 China - Percentage of Formal and Informal Employed Having

Medical Insurance by Gender: 1997-2006  Formal Informal

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Year Male Female Total Male Female Total1997 70.93 67.55 69.4 19.1 25.75 22.322000 65.7 65.7 65.62 20.12 19.16 19.762004 71.02 65.78 68.75 19.92 16.96 18.672006 75.2 79.41 76.93 33.2 36.22 34.53

Source: Cook and NI (2009) based on China Health and Nutrition Surveys

Section III: Lessons from the Comparative Gendered Analysis of Growth in the two countries

From the previous section we know that China provided not only much more employment especially formal employment to women in all the sectors and in rural areas in the manufacturing enterprises, securing them with good wages. The flipside was that women worked hard to claim that earning. They had to not only manage the wage work but simultaneously had to do all the work related to the three C’s – cleaning, cooking and care.22 Rural-urban migration has become a major feature of the Chinese economy since the mid-1990s. Women’s share of paid and unpaid work has increased in both the farm and off-farm sectors, and migration is a critical determinant.As economies have downturns, as jobs move from being legally supported by wage and other security covers to being in the open market, the burden on women has increased in India too.23 So, whether it is China or India, the over-arching power of tradition which makes women mainly it responsible for household chores- cooking , cleaning, care work, whatever maybe the nature of their livelihood earning profile, wage work, formal, informal, farm, off-farm, city both in India and China were increased pressure on women, the classic dilemma faced due to women’s engagement in formal work.  China’s strong investment in agriculture as well as on health and education gave women a head start over women in India. Whatever maybe the flipside of the regimes in China, such as limiting the family, “one child “ norm, pressures of patriarchy resulting in “double duty” for women in form of income-earning work and household work. Despite all these challenges common to

22 Jianye Liu and Li Xu, “Labor division in household in China: change of trends between 1989 and 2006” http://iussp2009.princeton.edu/papers/92990 (accessed in May 2013)

23 Ghosh, Jayati 2010, “Uncovering women's work” IN Missing: half the story – journalism as if gender matters /ed. by Kalpana Sharma.- New Delhi: Zubaan

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both patriarchal societies, women in China had a head start over Indian women in terms economic and social well-being. It is difficult to draw a lesson from this for emulation of the process in India because some of it had a beginning in political ideologies. The shift of time from the unpaid farm to paid farm or off-farm sector may have positive implications for the wellbeing of women, given that it is associated with wages, which may increase women’s bargaining power and ability to influence the intrahousehold distribution of resources. In addition, the decline in the overall total time use gender gap may signal an improvement in women’s relative well-being. A 2011 study24 by Chang, Hongqin, Xiao-Yuan Dong and Fiona MacPhail finds that economic development has contributed to the “feminization of labor,” defined as an increase in women’s share of household work time, in both the unpaid farm and paid off-farm sectors in rural China, for the period 1991–2006. The study also found that the migration of household members increases the time spent on farm work and domestic work for the left-behind elderly, and the migration of parents increases the time spent on farm work and domestic work for the left-behind children in China. Importantly, migration has striking gender differentiated impacts with the increase in work time being greater for elderly women and girls than elderly men and boys.25Women’s perceptions of the rise in total work time needs to be investigated including dimensions such as time stress and lack of leisure to have a better picture of the quality of life of working women. Another important aspect is that women’s importance in agricultural production both as workers and as farm managers has been growing in the last two decades, as more men move to non-farm jobs leading to an increased feminization of agriculture. These women are often managing land and livestock and providing subsistence to their family with little male assistance. Hence agricultural productivity is increasingly dependent on the ability of women to function effectively as farmers.

24 Chang et al (2011) investigates the impact of economic development on the feminization of labor in rural China between 1991 and 2006. Using data from the China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS; 1991–2006), this study estimates time use in three sectors (farm, off-farm, and domestic) and analyzes the contribution of four features of economic development to changes in time use.25 Chang, Hongqin, Xiao-Yuan Dong and Fiona MacPhail. “Labor Migration and Time Use Patterns of the Left-behind Children and Elderly in Rural China.” World Development 39(12): 2199-2210, 2011. This paper examines the impacts of labor migration on time use patterns of the left-behind elderly people and children in rural China, using data derived from the China’s health and Nutrition Health Survey (CHNS) for the period between 1997 and 2006.

25

However ownership of land is concentrated mostly in male hands. In China, according to figures from the All-China Women’s Federation, 37.9 percent of women and 67.1 percent of men owned real estate, including joint ownership, in 2010. (Didi Kristen Tatlow, 2012)

Similarly, it has been estimated that in India, landownership in favour of women is not more than 2 per cent (Agarwal 1995). Lack of entitlement to land (and other assets such as house, livestock, and so on) is a severe impediment to efficiency in agriculture for women cultivators because in the absence of title women cannot get credit or be entitled to irrigation and other inputs, especially technology. To correct this, in India the legal framework have been amended in favour of women as recently as 2005 with the deletion of the gender discriminatory clause on agricultural land in the Hindu Succession Act and this Reform of inheritance laws provides an interesting natural experiment to explore whether and to what extent such efforts have been effective, thus providing potentially important lessons for India (where similar changes have been made, in 2005, on a national scale), and for other countries where inheritance rights remain severely biased against women.India also has legislative structures such as reservation of seats in the local elected bodies. In India the 73rd Amendment Act (1992) aimed at decentralizing the political and economic management of development and also removing the gender imbalances and bias in the institutions of government. The Union Cabinet of the Government of India, on 27 August 2009, approved 50% reservation for women in PRIs (Panchayati Raj Institutions). Presently, out of approx 2.8 million elected representatives of Panchayats, 36.87% (around 1 million) are women.26 In the two upper houses of the country, it is observed that the participation of women has reduced drastically mainly due to lack of legislative laws supporting or mandating the participation of women. The 15th Loksabha, lower house of the parliament (2009 to present) had 60 women, which is about 11% of the total members.27

Similarly, data on MPs in the upper house of the Parliament, Rajya Sabha as on 23rd September 2012 shows that there were 26 women members accounting for 10.6% of the total membership.28

26 “Roadmap for the Panchayati Raj (2011-16):An All India Perspective”(2011) Ministry of Panchayati Raj

27 Lok Sabha official website http://164.100.47.132/LssNew/Members/lokarchive.aspx?lsno=14

28 Rajya Sabha official website http://164.100.47.5/Newmembers/women.aspx

26

However, they are a widespread presence with legitimate place and potential power in the Indian political scenario, especially at the local level.

In China, Women’s incomes are falling relative to men’s; traditional attitudes are relegating women to the home; and women’s net wealth may be shrinking. While female parliamentary representation elsewhere is rising, the percentage of women in China’s national legislature, the National People’s Congress, has stagnated for decades at just over 20 percent. There is no woman in the inner circle of power in Chinese politics i.e., the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Communist Party, which has seven members; there is one woman among the 25 members of the Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China (CCP) and one in 16 full members of the Communist Party’s Central Committee is female. Also, just one of 120 centrally run state-owned companies, the most powerful economic sector, is run by a woman, Bloomberg Business News reported in 2011.29

In the 1950s, women in China enjoyed top-down gains bestowed by the Communist Party and Mao Zedong’s maxim that “whatever male comrades can do, female comrades can do too.”However, China, home to one in five of the world’s women, is among the few countries, according to Didi Kirsten Tatlow’s research, where women are experiencing a “rights rollback.” She questions the success of economic growth in alleviating women in China.“The blinding shimmer of the last 35 years of economic gains obscures the fact that while Chinese women have benefited from the rising tide lifting all boats, they are in fact losing ground.” (Didi Kirten Tatlow, 2012) Raising concern over the status of women in China, Feng Yuan, a feminist academic and head of the Anti-Domestic Violence Network, Beijing, said “China doesn’t have any independent social movements.”

It is troubling to notice that while India has had an extraordinarily rich experience of a lively women’s movement with government 29 “Women Knowing China Men Rule Prove Mao’s Half the Sky Remains Unfulfilled,” Bloomberg News, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-22/women-knowing-china-men-rule-prove-mao-s-half-sky-unfulfilled.html (accessed in May 2013)

27

support for path-breaking status reports such as “Towards equality” report of the Committee on the Status of Women [2012]30 and Shram Shakti Report [1988]31, and also one of the most widespread and well established women studies movements with a large network of Women Study Centres in the universities across India, and women are in the forefront of most campaigns for justice [Rising of the young post-16th December 2012 gang rape, Right to Information – Aruna Roy etc.] – it is troubling to find that despite such a widespread vivid women’s movement in India, which is not part of Chinese history in the same strength and depth, - the actual situation of ‘women in terms of unequal economic’ social and political power remains almost the same as, if not worse than the situation in China.

Concluding Analysis

There are strong differences in the outcomes, which can be expected not only due to the particular priorities in choosing the engines of growth, between the two countries but also due to the difference between political ideology underpinnings between the two countries.  Recent trends in the nature of employment scenario reveals that there is a stronger push in both countries – outmigration from rural areas as well as increasing presence of women as self-employed. The movement of the workforce increasingly to the informal work, the pressure to move to the cities (migration) – the “loss” of employment due to the slowing down of global economic engine, as well as the increasing corruption point to the failure of the particular growth model followed by China and India, amongst others. Whatever be the downsizing of the current trends due to the second crisis the global economy, the base that was set in China in terms of hunger, poverty, health and education provides a foundation that cannot be over shadowed or easily dislodged. India has many miles to walk to get that basic platform and needs to rush with greater investment on public health and quality and spread of education at all levels including higher education. Another aspect is that China is now looking inward to try to replace the loss of international market by stimulating domestic demand. India needs to do this even

30 “Towards Equality Report Of The Committee On The Status Of Women In India,” (2012) Author: National Committee on the Status of Women, Publisher: Pearson Education (Singpore) Pvt. Ltd., Indian Branch31 National Commission for Self Employed Women and Women in the Informal Sector: Shram Shakti Report 1988

28

sooner, rather than wait to learn the lessons from China as the economy is still be dominated by domestic demand. India will also have the advantage of not only the population dividend but also having the largest number of women in the world. (Nanda 2013). While it is not within the realm of possibilities for India to catch up with China, several dimensions of this comparative story have leads for policy interventions in both countries. In China, at the overall macroeconomic policy level, attention to agriculture, to building food availability to the masses is worthy, and so is the conscious inclusion of women into the labour force. The building of opportunities in the non farm sector of the rural areas, for women and for the young has also been a valuable support.India has a system of legal rights including the right to inheritance which should enable women to claim assets, something that is missing in China India also has legislative structures such as reservation of seats in the local elected bodies, massive spread of support for infants and children through state schemes such as Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), missing in China.What the paper has taught us is that there is need to focus more on the post-crisis era namely 2008-2013 where there are similar patterns emerging in the economies and therefore some similar patterns in gendered outcomes. Unfortunately we have not gone into this period as deeply as we would have liked to. We hope this paper provides a template for deeper work with much more referencing of sociological and institutional processes.

Strong collaborative research in both countries, followed by advocacy into public policy as well as bilateral meetings, are called for to learn and mend the unequal benefits that women have had during the unfolding of these “success” stories. The exercise also leads to questions on the design and delivery of economic growth as signalled by the GDP rates, in the context of gender justice.

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33. Kapoor (2013) ‘Inequality Matters’ Economic & Political Weekly, Review of Women’s Studies, Vol 48, No 2

ANNEXUREFigure 3: Sectoral Composition of Employment (%) in China

[Source: NSBC, China’s Statistical Yearbook, various issues; and China Rural Statistical Yearbook, various issues, World Bank Data http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS (accessed in May, 2013)]

Figure 4: Sectoral Composition of Employment (%) in India

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[Source: RBI Report http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Publications/PDFs/37DRGSN0611.pdf (Accessed in December, 2012) Economic Survey 2012–13 - Union Budget & Economic Survey (India)http://pib.nic.in/archieve/esurvey/esurvey2011/eng2011.pdf (accessed in May 2013 ]

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