why should we care that women have jobs today the 45yearold jaibunisha is a trained woman qazi who travels across the country to conduct women empowerment workshops in january this year giri had to reluctantly quit some say that more young women are studying so they are not looking for jobs also if i came even a bit late they would expect me to stay back late so i quit says giri who later tried for various jobs but in vain both rich and poor women were getting thrown out of the job market in rural india the slide has been much worse as agriculture fails to absorb them some argue that marriage makes all the difference while others think caste is the crucial factor apart from parts of the arab world everywhere else more women are working others believe that families are becoming more prosperous so women are no longer going out for work clearly something is wrong somewhere in our society that prevents women from working india was ranked 136 among 144 countries on the economic participation and opportunities index in the global gender report 2015 the female workforce is rising in most parts of the world so what explains its slide in indiawhy should a woman have a job they cook care for the children and elderly do multiple domestic chores and in rural areas tend to animals and gardens and while her husband and inlaws did not illtreat her it was clear that going outside to work was out of the question devayanis choice to put her career on the back burner is predicated on her concerns for her childs security perhaps its because my resume states plainly that i am a mother looking for a parttime job so it is not as if women who are housebound do not want to work it was a much better gig than her deskbound stint as a receptionist at an electronics company that she did for four years during her teens i worked so hard to convince them and they finally agreed she says recalling the nervousness with which she took the trip all these lead to women not getting paid jobs said thomas because it makes a dramatic difference to her life i even delivered to actor ram kapoors house once says giri my mother was worried about my safety and didnt want me riding a scooter especially in the monsoon i didnt want security cameras around the house she explains because a labour force that fully represents half the population is likely to be more robust but i do feel the vacuum the restlessness in the indian subcontinent nepal and bangladesh are miles ahead of us in urban areas the decrease in working women of 32 pct points was more evenly matched by an increase in enrolment of 23 pct points economist jayan jose thomas of iitdelhi who has extensively researched indias employment problems told toi that chinese society has quite similar patriarchal attitudes as in