It is important to define what is understood and meant by terms and words like ‘Urban’ and ‘Consumers’. How is the Indian consumer specifically different from other consumers in today’s globalised economy? Added to this is the dimension of the urban Indian woman and her varied, complex, and hence, interesting profile.
In general, the consumer profile has changed radically over the last century. The literacy factor, and the rapid strides made by the process of urbanisation of the Indian society has also influenced the growth of the female graph.
The following factors have supported and added to the growth and change, especially in the urban Indian woman’s consumer profile:
Defining the urban Indian woman
How can the urban Indian woman be defined? More than anything else, the urban Indian space reflects the emergence of educated, economically independent, and self-sufficient women consumers in India. Corporations have been developing and marketing products specifically for this consumer sector. Women are increasingly not only making purchase decisions for the family, but for themselves as consumers.Indian markets are now increasingly dominated by products specifically aimed at the female consumers. The modern urban Indian women now have the purchasing power generated by their own earnings.
The working woman to some extent has specific needs, especially in the readymade garment sector, as also in the cosmetics sector. Globalisation and the rapid rise and accessibility of the media in its many forms (print, newspapers, magazines, radio, television etc.), have greatly influenced the ‘dress sense’ of urban women. More and more urban Indian women are now seen in jeans, palazzo-pants, or dresses. They perceive these dresses as smarter, and more comfortable than the traditional sari. In work places, these dress norms are accepted as wearable. The ready-made garments market has not lagged behind in making these available at affordable costs.
Urban Indian women consumers, thus have available cash to spend on themselves, and also more occasions to do so.
As per a survey by the NSSO (National Sample Survey Office), India’s urban female work-force participation rate is annually growing at 5.6% since 1991, in comparison with 2% for rural females, and 3% for urban males.
The number ofwomen working and seeking work grew by 14.4% annually between 1991 and 2011, even though the population of urban women grew at only 4.5% during the same time period, according to the 2011 Census. The total number of women in the work force increased more than three-fold, from nine million in 1991 to 28 million in 2011, while the number of women seeking or available for work increased more than eight-fold, from 1.8 million in 1991 to 15.5 million in 2011.
This means that the number of women in the workforce in 2011 would have been higher by more than 55%, if these 15.5 million women were able to find jobs.In comparison, the male workforce would have increased by only 13% if the 14 million men seeking or available for work found employment. This indicates a significant shift in women’s participation in the labour market in urban areas since 1991. But it’s also true that while educated urban women are increasingly seeking work, they are unable to find opportunities that meet their expectations, or their education level.
Illiterate and semi-literate women have a very low unemployment rate. A possible explanation; they are absorbed in the informal sector that requires low skills and offers low remuneration in sectors such as services, manufacturing, wholesale trade and construction at low wages. Close to 20% of urban women work as domestic help, cleaners, vendors, hawkers and sales people, hence, 43% of urban women were self-employed.
Will schemes like Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Skill India Mission’ benefit the women? Ironically, these schemes may fall short because while India has transitioned to a $2 trillion economy in the past two decades, it has not created adequate and secure jobs for its large, mostly-unskilled labour force.
The current government is attempting to address this issue through two related sets of interventions. First, by promoting the industrial sector in India through the ‘Make in India’ campaign, and second, through the recently-launched ‘Skill India Mission’, which aims to train 400 million workers over the next seven years.
In their current form, these policies do not reflect the reality of the work force, particularly in relation to women, who comprise half of India’s potential work force. Hence, there is a need to reconsider these policies.
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Roopa Vajpeyi
Roopa Vajpeyi is a consumer activist, and currently works with an NGO called Consumer India. [/column]