Bringing Up a Child

Context:

The Supreme Court's recent judgment on child care leave (CCL) for women has significant implications for female employment, emphasizing the constitutional entitlement to women's participation in the workforce.

Importance of Child Care Leave (CCL) in Workforce Participation

• Participation in workforce: The Supreme Court's ruling underscores the centrality of CCL in facilitating women's participation in the workforce.
• Absence of state-level provisions: A plea by a government college assistant professor denied CCL highlighted the absence of state-level provisions, leading to policy review initiated by the Court.
• Constitutional entitlement: Recognizing women's workforce participation as a constitutional entitlement, the Court mandates policy changes to address the special concerns of women employees.

Challenges in Women's Workforce Participation

• Challenging responsibilities: Despite a rise in female labour force participation rate, significant care responsibilities impede women's career growth.
• Compulsory career breaks: Women in India undertake a disproportionate amount of unpaid care work, contributing significantly to the economy but often leading to career breaks.
• Compromises: The burden of childcare, housekeeping, and elderly care often forces women to drop out of the workforce or compromises their professional advancement.

Addressing Challenges and Fostering Gender-Neutral Policies

• Investments in infrastructure for affordable and specialized child and elder care are crucial, especially with the expected rise in the senior citizen population.
• Adopting a gender-neutral approach to care work is essential to dismantling stereotypes and accommodating evolving family structures.
• Extending CCL to all employees, irrespective of gender, can be a progressive step towards fostering gender equality in the workforce.