Violence against women has a multidimensional effect on the overall health of a country’s economy. The “shadow pandemic” has only added regression to this.
India’s Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) has fallen from 31.2% in 2011-12 to 25% in 2022.
While several factors, such as domestic responsibilities, social norms, and lack of support, have kept women out of the job market, violence against women and girls is considered a prevalent barrier to women’s workplace participation. Crimes such as rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, intimidation, economic abuse, etc. raise fear about safety, discouraging women from joining the workforce.
Fear of violence against women leads to-
1) More women opting not to work in regions (reported with greater violence against women).
2) Changes in behavior or demeanor at work
3) Changes in work productivity or patterns.
4) Lack of connection with co-workers, resources, and power.
5) Dependency on others for financial sustenance
And these supplement the vicious cycle of women taking steps to stay out of the workforce.
This International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, we look forward to how workplaces can address the factors that impede women’s workforce participation rate and practices overcoming the same.
A safe and supportive workplace should encompass a range of measures, policies, and procedures that help to create a workplace with zero tolerance for violence.
- Understand intimate partner violence and its effects on the organization’s workforce and community at large.
- Review guidelines and resources about addressing domestic violence or intimate partner violence in workplace settings.
- Show leaders’ strong commitment to eradicating violence and promoting gender equality.
- Provide access to all the support female employees need to feel safe at work.
- Include intimate partner violence in all mandatory safety training.
- Foster a workplace culture that does not accept, excuse, or turn a blind eye to any violence against women, whether it takes place there or elsewhere.
Violence against women significantly undermines women’s education, employment opportunities, and advancement in the workplace, limiting the realization of their full potential. So organizational responses are key to raising awareness and inducing prevention efforts.
