Downsizing Paradox in India: Rise of Females in Public Employment

Abstract

India introduced downsizing of public employment in order to improve its deteriorating fiscal situation following the pay hike of government employees in the late nineties. The method followed was attrition or hiring restraint, whereby the number of new employees was kept lower than the number of persons getting retired. However, it was found that reduction occurred only among males, whereas female employees continued to increase. This paper examinedthe paradox and found that the increase of women in public employment was more in states with higher job appointments during the reference period under study.Further, higher employment was seen in almost all sectors, which means greater competition from females in the job market. It was also observed that attainment of higher education by women had been the most important factorin determining the work participation of women in government service. The study concluded that the proportion of women in public employment in the country was very small and inevitably bound to increase as more women attainedhigher education.