Introduction
Gender inequality is a subject of debate because it seriously undermines the opportunities of a wide swath of the population. In urban conditions, work is a mandatory factor that a person must have in order to provide financial security and establish a stable life. The Indian city of Bangalore has a highly developed social system that contributes to economic growth and increased quality of life (Saha, 2014).
However, these elements are not available to everyone, as gender inequality makes women’s lives more difficult and deprives them of a more significant share of their opportunities for well-being. Disadvantages and injustices towards women can be seen from the inside through a case study of Jyothiamma, who regularly faced the problem of harassment, but no one could influence her situation (Saha, 2014). This paper will cover this topic so that the root problems can be addressed and people’s lives can be made better.
Urban Conditions for Women
Bangalore is a city with a developed industry, which creates many jobs that can provide residents with a decent level of income. However, in most cases, this concerns predominantly men since inequality in the professional sphere is perpetuated by many factors. One of them is the traditional nature of Indian society, which has been patriarchal for many centuries (Haridarshan, 2021). This situation significantly aggravates the situation in the labor market for many women, preventing them from fully performing their duties and receiving financial security.
Despite sufficient infrastructural facilities, women cannot find better working conditions in the suburbs as inequality manifests itself in the same way (Biswas & Joshi, 2021). In addition, everyday interactions are also very complex, as gender stereotypes are significant in Bangalore (Haridarshan, 2021). Given this, a focus on gender inequality is imperative in order to increase awareness and understanding of the causes of this situation.
Case Research
One of the cases that allows us to fully consider the situation with the ordinary everyday life of a dumb woman in the city is the story of Jyothiamma, who works in the garment industry. She reported significant harassment of her rights as an employee, including being denied work for being a few minutes late and subsequently being forced to work overtime, as well as having no security of tenure or insurance (Saha, 2014). This situation reflects operational working conditions that can have a significant impact on mental and physical health.
Ensuring rights for workers is not carried out in full, which harms women to a greater extent since they cannot influence the situation. Researchers Menon & Sharma (2020) note that male workers, in most cases, have fewer disadvantages and may be provided with certain guarantees that are not available to women. The case of Jyothiamma also shows that they were not provided with any quality facilities like ID cards and information about pensions (Saha, 2014).
This situation in the future may affect how a woman will be able to provide for herself in old age. The fear of permanent dismissal is another significant aspect that affects working women. When one of Jyothiamma’s female colleagues began to protest against critically unsatisfactory working conditions, she was fired (Saha, 2014). This practice shows that solving the problem in this way is not possible, and women are left without help from employers.
Globality of the Problem
Wrongful dismissals, failure to provide essential working conditions and guarantees, and excessive penalties for minor offenses create significant problems for women. Thomas (2021) argues that these problems are not specific to any industry and can plague women in modern employment as well. This correlates with the case of Jyothiamma as it shows a pattern of constant violation of women’s rights and oppression of their opportunities and desires for self-realization.
A similar situation is observed with regard to young people in the city in question since one of the central aspects of their lives, education, also has unequal treatment along gender lines. Researchers Haridarshan & Rose (2022) found that girls are more likely to drop out of school at an early age due to stereotypes and excessive pressure from teachers. This attitude deprives them of opportunities in the future to obtain well-paid jobs with guarantees and respect for rights. This can subsequently lead to the need to take on any job, as happened in the case of Jyothiamma.
Different Dimensions of Inequality
Significant inequalities for women are a pressing issue in India. Evans et al. (2022) emphasize that this situation is the cornerstone of creating a prosperous society that could develop sustainably. Jyothiamma’s case is not an isolated one, as 16% of women in the country stated that they had experienced restrictions on their opportunities and discrimination based on gender (Evans et al., 2022). Such statistics indicate that the issue of creating high-quality conditions in all areas is not considered at a sufficient level.
Despite the fact that Bangalore is a modern, developed city, the general tendency of stereotypes and condemnation of women persists, which puts pressure on them and does not allow them to fully realize themselves. This situation in the city contributes to the level of poverty among women, which is excessively high and brings dangerous disadvantages in old age (Pani, 2022). The younger generation, without sufficient opportunities for education and employment, may move to other regions in the future to find better options, which will create a demographic threat.
All the studied factors of the lack of opportunities for women cause an increase in the level of poverty, which affects well-being and neutralizes all the amenities of the city’s infrastructure. Gender inequality, which is clearly demonstrated in the story of Jyothiamma, is an imperative aspect that perpetuates stereotypes and contributes to the further deterioration of the situation in the future. This is possible because the lack of full attention to ensuring women’s rights leads to the understanding of local authorities that this problem can be ignored (Saha, 2014).
This is also beneficial for employers who can set conditions that will bring them more profit without regard to the state in which they leave working women. The situation is acceptable in non-profit organizations, which are the only option for women in Bangalore (Mount, 2022). They direct their activities to many aspects that need to be regulated in society, but due to insufficient funding, they also cannot have a significant impact.
Conclusion
The case study of Jyothiamma showed the sacrifices women have to make to be able to maintain their economic status. Constant infringement of rights at the workplace, unpaid overtime, lack of security after retirement, and the risk of unfair dismissal make the situation of women in Bangalore extremely uncomfortable.
This example and many others presented in the paper show that the situation is unequal in all areas, traced back to youth in the absence of conditions for obtaining an education. This further leads to low-paid jobs in poor conditions where workers are not adequately cared for. This state of affairs does not allow society to develop normally, achieving progressive goals and sustainability.
References
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Evans, J., Sahgal, N., Salazar, A., Starr, K. & Corichi, M. (2022). Views on women’s place in society. Pew Research Center. Web.
Haridarshan, P. (2021). Voices of women within the Devanga community, Bangalore, India. Education Sciences, 11(9), 1-9. Web.
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