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Impact of COVID-19 on Rural SHG Women in Odisha

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns to curb the virus have had far-reaching impacts globally. The situation in India has been particularly difficult, with the country recording over 8.9 million cases as of November 2020. The nation-wide lockdown announced on 24 March 2020 had devastating effects on millions of people, their livelihoods and income generating activities. Given the scale of the crisis, it becomes imperative to focus on the impacts on already disadvantaged groups, and more specifically, on women and girls. Experiences from past disease outbreaks globally, demonstrate the need for a gendered analysis for preparedness and response.

This report presents findings from the study, ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Rural SHG Women in Odisha’, conducted by the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE) and Project Concern International (PCI). The main objectives of this study were to (i) study the overall impacts on women’s well-being during and post the lockdown period, and (ii) understand SHG participation in COVID-19 response activities. Overall, the study demonstrates that rural women in Odisha have had to contend with rising stress and anxiety, loss of income, and an increased load of household work. Concomitantly, the SHG movement has proved to be an immense source of strength and support for women. The report concludes with a set of recommendations to strengthen the SHG platforms and state- run gender initiatives, and to invest in digital tools as these have proved to be a means through which women have kept in touch with family and friends in difficult times.

Women and Unpaid Work

The methodology involves assessing the causal effect of switching to LPG on women’s outcomes by construction of a comparison group of households that are not eligible for or did not participate in PMUY. The study uses self-reported health status, and a time-use survey of women to measure the effect of LPG usage on time released for other activities. The results from this exercise would be used to design an experiment wherein information on long-term health benefits of LPG usage and the financial incentive under PMUY would be disseminated in randomly selected villages. This would be conducted by Accredited Social Health Activist (ASHA) workers by visiting randomly sampled households in ‘treatment’ villages on a monthly basis, and responses of women in targeted villages would be compared with those of other women at the end of a year. The study is being conducted in Indore region of Madhya Pradesh.

Women and Unpaid Work

This study builds and tests a structural model that explains observed changes in FLFP using data on urban, married women from the Time Use Survey (1998) and various rounds of the National Sample Survey (NSS). The model focuses on women’s work participation, educational attainment, other characteristics, and time spent in the labour market, home production, and leisure.

Women and Unpaid Work

This factsheet is based on a study by IWWAGE and the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), which evaluates multiple constraints on female labour force participation (FLFP) within a macroeconomic framework. Using data from the Time Use Survey (1998) and National Sample Survey (NSS) rounds, the study develops and tests a model to explain changes in FLFP among urban, married women. It focuses on women’s work participation, education, and time spent in the labour market, home production, and leisure, providing valuable insights to inform better policy decisions.

Women and Unpaid Work

This factsheet highlights a study by IWWAGE and the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) focused on the barriers rural households face in switching from traditional cooking fuels to LPG. Conducted in the Indore region of Madhya Pradesh, the study assesses the health and time-use impacts of LPG adoption among women, while also examining the effectiveness of information campaigns on promoting LPG use. The results will inform the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas’ efforts to encourage safer cooking practices, with data collected through time-use surveys and health assessments to measure the benefits of LPG for rural women.

Women in Agriculture

This factsheet presents insights from an IWWAGE and Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) study exploring the impact of structural transformation in agriculture on female employment, with a focus on women farm managers. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (2004-05, 2011-12), the study examines the rise in female farm management, its demographic variations, and key differences between households managed by men and those managed by women. The findings aim to shed light on the evolving role of women in agriculture and its implications for employment.

Digitisation of Self-Help Groups in India

Self Help Groups (SHGs) have become essential for empowering women in India. Digitisation of SHG processes can streamline operations, addressing challenges like inefficient monitoring, data fragmentation, and capacity-building gaps. The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and its state chapters have made significant progress in this area.

This report provides an assessment and roadmap for State Rural Livelihoods Missions (SRLMs) to digitise SHG processes effectively. It highlights current initiatives, identifies gaps, and suggests ways to address them. While Management Information Systems (MIS) have been digitised to some extent, many SRLMs face challenges such as resource shortages and limited IT capabilities, which hinder progress. Additionally, SHGs often lack clarity on the benefits of digitisation, leading to low community ownership.

Most programmes rely on manual data entry, with few using digital tools at the ground level. SHG members and stakeholders beyond SRLMs and banks have limited access to the data. Improved data quality and use are essential for better financial outcomes for SHGs.

Digital linkages for livelihoods and markets are underdeveloped, with innovations remaining small and context-dependent. Additionally, digital platforms for learning are underutilised due to limited smartphone and internet access in rural areas.

The success of digitisation initiatives depends on partnerships between implementing agencies and Technology Service Providers (TSPs). Flexible models, like those seen in Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, offer promising examples for the future.

Addressing these challenges will be crucial for the long-term success and sustainability of SHG digitisation efforts.

Women’s Employment Within an Entrepreneurship Model

The recently released strategy document by NITI Aayog, ‘Strategy for New India @ 75’, recognises the declining female labour force participation rates in India in the last decade as one of the major constraints facing Indian economy. The document recognises the importance of increasing women’s labourforce participation rates for a sustained process of economic growth and proposes to increase women’s employment by encouraging entrepreneurship among women. The strategy proposes to increase women’s engagement in small businesses, micro, small and medium enterprises by facilitating easy access to skill training and credits at lower rates of interest and also touches upon the need for capacity building for women in SHGs in order to successfully implement the proposed business model. It is in this context, the Initiative for What Works to advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE) and the Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST) hosted a half-day roundtable on 21 January, 2019 at the Willow, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi. The event was intended to be a starting point for a platform which would bring together individuals from different sections of the development sector in India, including academicians, researchers, practitioners and corporations to encourage deliberations, collaborations and device future strategies for making entrepreneurship model work towards improving women’s employment opportunities.

 

Note on IWWAGE Findings

IWWAGE promotes, synthesises and generates evidence on ‘What Works’ for women’s economic empowerment in India. The initiative focuses on moving from ‘How’ to ‘What Works’ to improve women’s participation in economic activities through access to decent work and economic resources, strengthen social protection networks, and facilitate gender transformative policies. To take the agenda of evidence generation forward, in the last one year, three studies have been undertaken by IWWAGE in India. This document summarises the findings from the three studies and lists the key policy concerns and recommendations that emerge across each of them. These include:

  1. Study on Centre based Child Care as a solution for Maternal Employment and Early Childhood Development: Recognising the complex and synergetic relationship between access to childcare facilities and women’s economic empowerment, a secondary review of global practices was undertaken to put together evidence on how accessible, affordable and quality center-based childcare can support women by reducing and redistributing the unpaid care work, and how it impacts maternal employment as well as early childhood development for children under 6 years
  2. Study on SHG digitisation: The study highlights that the majority of focus has been on MIS digitisation, followed by monitoring of SHGs. Linking of facilitators and group members to digital tools is in early stages of piloting and digitisation of livelihoods data is a distant goal.
  3. A rapid assessment of 181 Helpline scheme: IWWAGE was commissioned by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to undertake a rapid assessment of the implementation of the helpline scheme across different states in the country. The study was carried out across 11 states and aimed to understand the current status of implementation of the scheme along – i. Functionality of the 181 helpline; ii. State level MIS/databases; iii. Responsiveness of Centre staff, and iv. Integration between 181 Women’s helpline (WHL) and One Stop Centre (OSC).
Social Safety Net for Maternity Protection and Early Childhood Development in India

This paper analyses the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) system (its historical evolution and current form) and other policies that are intended to provide maternity support and early childhood development. In light of the learnings from the second paper, this paper attempts a gap analysis of the ICDS system – capacity and design – to reach the intended beneficiary. It highlights the fact that in an effort to provide integrated services, vertical programmes attempt to deliver their interventions using the common platform of ICDS, without accurately assessing the capacity or design of these platforms. Often the layering of additional inputs onto these platforms causes the system to overload, resulting in diminishing returns or exacerbating the negative feedback loops.

Moreover, human resources for childcare is one of the key features that influences the quality of the childcare centres. This paper includes findings from a qualitative field study on insights on human resources’ motivations and non-monetary incentives that influence their performance and productivity. This is accompanied by articulation of potential research questions and some next steps to further the agenda of early childhood development and maternity support.

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