Outlook: Girls in India: Young, Restless…. and Jobless

How is it to be a girl in India? In the past, I have written about the issues a girl in India faces – that was from the heart, based on my personal experiences. This time around, I thought – why not look at it using numbers, so that it would be objective. How is it to be a girl in India? In the past, I have written about the issues a girl in India faces – that was from the heart, based on my personal experiences. This time around, I thought – why not look at it using numbers, so that it would be objective.

I started by collecting data – it wasn’t difficult to find. I looked at the Indian 10-year census data, the latest of which was done in 2011. I looked at data from the various central government agencies, like the department of health, the department of skill development etc. I wanted the data to speak to me… I ran the data through some analysis modules I had written, and the data did tell me some interesting facts.

FACT: The girl child is not being killed as often as she was

Female infanticide has been a big blot on Indian society for many years. There is a distinct preference for a male child, and in some states, female infanticide is still a big issue. However, the good news is that overall, the chances of survival being born as a girl has slowly increased. As the figure below tells us, the number of women per 1000 men dropped drastically since Independence, but in the last three census, it is showing a strong uptick.

Figure 1: India Sex Ratio – The country is giving the girl child an increasing chance to be born…

FACT: Women are living longer in India

The life expectancy of women in India has been increasing.

Figure 2: India Life Expectancy – Overall life expectancy is on the rise, and women are living longer lives than men

In the 70’s, women had a lower life expectancy than men, but in the last thirty years, women are outliving men by about 4 to 5 years.

FACT: Their fertility rates are dropping

Figure 3: India Total Fertility Rate: Women are having lesser children

The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in simple terms refers to the total number of children born or likely to be born to a woman in her life time if she were subject to the prevailing rate of age-specific fertility in the population. This has been dropping in the last 16 years, and it is a good sign.

I looked deeper to see if the underlying data would reveal anything beyond the averages.

The data was eye-opening. As Figure 4 illustrates, the fertility rates drop as the women get more education. This adds up, since as the girl stays in school, she doesn’t get married off early, and doesn’t have children earlier, and thus doesn’t have more children during her life time. Further, better education while postponing marriage and children, also opens her eyes to contraception and family planning, all of which help her and her family.

Figure 4: India Total Fertility Rate by education of women

The story, until now is all good, right?

But, what about getting a job?

That’s where the bad news starts coming in.

FACT: Girls won’t get a job easily

Figure 5: India Workplace Diversity – It’s tough being a woman in the workplace

Less and less women are being hired into the workplace. While the diversity in 2016 was pretty low, with twice as many men getting jobs as women, it has gotten worse in 2018, according to data available by the Skills development department. In 2018, women have only a one fourth representation in the workforce.

Is there overt discrimination in the hiring process? Most definitely. But I decided to dig further to see if there were other causes.

FACT: Girls need to develop skills to get a job

Figure 6: India Employability by Gender – More than half of job applicants are not employable since they don’t have the necessary skills for the job

This data is alarming. The country is producing graduates at an increasing rate, but more than half of them are not even employable since they don’t have the necessary skills for the job. It is worse if you are a female – 60% of females who graduate don’t have the necessary skills for the job.

What does this mean? India sits on an opportune moment in history – 65% of her human resource pool is under the age of 35, and about 12 million individuals are expected to join the workforce every year. It is estimated that by 2030, India will be the most populated country surpassing China – with the median age projected to be 32 years, versus 43 in China. A young country with enormous potential. However, without the requisite skills, the young will be restless and jobless!

What is one thing you can do as a parent? In my humble opinion – don’t worry about getting your child INTO school – think about getting her OUT to the real world. Help equip her with the skills to be successful in life, and the workforce.

Pay less attention to private-tuitions, after-school cramming for tests. Instead, encourage her to take part in extracurricular activities. Sports helps build character. Volunteering and extra-curricular involvement helps build leadership and responsibility. It helps improve communication. Get her to take up a part-time job, even an internship. Teach her things that are not taught in school. Open her eyes to the world around her, and she will do just all right.

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"Cover" story

Sexual assault. I know what you’re thinking: this topic has been written about to death. Well, then why isn’t there any change happening? It’s easy for us to talk about the thousands of things that are wrong with society, but none of it matters unless there’s any change. And that change starts from the very first level. Sexual assault. I know what you’re thinking: this topic has been written about to death. Well, then why isn’t there any change happening? It’s easy for us to talk about the thousands of things that are wrong with society, but none of it matters unless there’s any change. And that change starts from the very first level.

There’s an inherent problem with the socialization in our society. When it comes to issues of sexual assault, our first thought is to chide the victim. After all, if she wasn’t wearing such a short skirt or such a revealing top, none of this would’ve happened, right? Wrong. This happened because of the abuser. No change in outfit would’ve prevented them from trying to get handsy. No longer pair of pants would have stopped them from trying to take what wasn’t theirs. Yet still, we continue to focus on the victim. How does that make sense?

I live in a society where girls don’t go out at night unless they’re accompanied by a buff boy. Where I have to put a jacket on over my tank top before answering the door. Where people have to carry around pepper spray in broad daylight to ward off attackers. Because the shame in such an incident lies solely on the victim. How can we expect to see a change, if we’re not willing to start changing our own households? Teach your children that touching anyone without their consent is not only a crime, but is shameful and an ugly thing to do. Eliminate the phrase “they were asking for it” from your vocabulary. Listen to people when they tell you that a situation is making them uncomfortable, and make a change. You can’t expect other people to make changes if you aren’t willing to yourself. If we all start small, we have the power to become a society where everyone can truly feel safe and isn’t that what we all want for our futures?

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

I admire people who feel comfortable with their bodies. It seems like they’ve reached a level of self-confidence which sometimes seems unattainable to me. But it’s false that only fat people have body confidence issues. I have friends that have been deemed ‘skinny’ or ‘perfectly curvy’, who have been told time and time again that they have amazing bodies, but the thought of wearing a swimsuit gives them anxiety. I admire people who feel comfortable with their bodies. It seems like they’ve reached a level of self-confidence which sometimes seems unattainable to me. But it’s false that only fat people have body confidence issues. I have friends that have been deemed ‘skinny’ or ‘perfectly curvy’, who have been told time and time again that they have amazing bodies, but the thought of wearing a swimsuit gives them anxiety.

While I do think that confidence is built by (sadly) external validation, this just proves to me that being comfortable with your body comes from within. It’s like that saying, ‘You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’. I’m still searching for the secret to self-confidence, and if I figure it out, I’ll let you guys know. But for now, I realize that validation is not going to be the answer to all my problems, and that if I want to change and feel more comfortable in my skin, I’m going to have to take steps towards that and not depend on others to push me there. And I feel like a lot of that comes from stepping outside of your comfort zone.

So, try wearing that top that you think accentuates your rolls to a party. Or wear those pair of shorts even though you hate your legs. Or wear that dress even though you don’t think you fill it in enough. At first, it’ll be hard. You’ll feel vulnerable and judged, but eventually, you’ll get to a point where you learn to love your body, every aspect of it. Because to someone, somewhere, you are the epitome of beauty. And you deserve to be the epitome of beauty in your own eyes too.

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