TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES AS A CHALLENGE TO WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

Working class urban Indian women now comprise a large proportion of the urban workforce, however, traditional domestic gender roles remain the same. When we talk of women empowerment it more often than not implies that women who were once at home, tied to domestic work, now have the opportunity to go outside of the home and become an earning member. This is good for the economy, their families, and the society at large. What often gets overlooked in this argument is the fact that while women contribute financially to the home and the economy, it’s not as if their domestic roles have been eliminated. Infact, their duties have just been added to. While before, women had the time to rest in between their housework, now they have housework as well as office work and very little time to rest. The addition of office work for women has not led to a corresponding increase in the proportion of domestic work done by men. This is one of the big challenges in women empowerment as while it has empowered women in many ways, fatigue and physical exertion on account of additional duties has reduced overall wellbeing of women while providing an illusion of empowerment. Traditional gender roles have remained relatively unchanged despite women entering the workforce which has led to an increase in the responsibilities of women and doubled their workload.