Engendering Economic Policy Feminist Economists Engage with Indias

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Engendering Economic Policy Feminist Economists Engage with India’s Eleventh Five Year Plan Syeda Hameed

Engendering Economic Policy Feminist Economists Engage with India’s Eleventh Five Year Plan Syeda Hameed and Devaki Jain Assisted by Priyanka Mukherjee and Divya Alexander

Introduction This paper reports on an initiative taken by the Planning Commission in India

Introduction This paper reports on an initiative taken by the Planning Commission in India during the preparation of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007 -2012): The constitution of an officially designated Committee of Feminist Economists (CFE). Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Members of the CFE n n n Prof. Bina Agarwal, Professor of Economics, Institute

Members of the CFE n n n Prof. Bina Agarwal, Professor of Economics, Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi Prof. Ritu Dewan, Professor at the Centre for Women’s Studies (Gender Economics), Department of Economics, University of Mumbai Renana Jhabvala, President , Self Employed Women’s Association, SEWA Bharat, New Delhi Prof. Gita Sen, Professor at the Centre for Public Policy, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore Devaki Jain, Former Director, Institute of Social Studies Trust, New Delhi Ratna Sudarshan, Director, Institute of Social Studies Trust, New Delhi Nirmala Bannerjee, Sachetana Information Centre, Kolkata Dr Aasha Kapur Mehta, Professor of Economics, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi Dr. Padmini Swaminathan, Fellow, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai Prof. Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Members of the CFE n n n n n Dr. Mary John, Director, Centre

Members of the CFE n n n n n Dr. Mary John, Director, Centre for Women’s Development Studies, Delhi Dr. Indira Hirway, Director, Centre for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad A. K. Shiva Kumar, New Delhi Dr. Jeemol Unni, Reserve Bank Professor of Economics, IRMA, Gujarat Prof. Indira Rajaraman, Professor Emeritus, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy and Member, Thirteenth Finance Commission of India Santosh Mehrotra, Senior Consultant, Planning Commission of India Maithreyi Krishnaraj, Former Director, Research Centre for Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai Dr. Mridul Eapen, Associate Fellow, Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum Yamini Mishra, Executive Director, Centre for Budgeting, Governance and Accountability, New Delhi Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Outline n The Basic Argument n The Momentum for Strategic Intervention n Women and

Outline n The Basic Argument n The Momentum for Strategic Intervention n Women and the Five Year Plans n Analysis of Outcome n The Difference the CFE made to Engendering Plans n Conventional Feminist Dilemmas n Lessons Learnt Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Basic Argument To illustrate the value of: n The inside-outside strategic combine amongst feminists

Basic Argument To illustrate the value of: n The inside-outside strategic combine amongst feminists n Feminist economists’ collective voice n Nationally-birthed strategies that bypass international dictums n Intervention in design as opposed to financing n Shifting the emphasis on poor women from social actors to economic agents n Recognising the difference in perspectives: North-South Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

The Momentum for Strategic Intervention n Pre-independence (1932): Women’s Role in Political Economy (WRPE)

The Momentum for Strategic Intervention n Pre-independence (1932): Women’s Role in Political Economy (WRPE) – a sub-committee composed of women leaders n Political allies in public policy development n 1951 -1985: The first few Five Year Plans that moved from a social welfare approach to women, to an empowerment and benefits approach to women Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

The Momentum for Strategic Intervention n The Indian Association of Women’s Studies (IAWS) in

The Momentum for Strategic Intervention n The Indian Association of Women’s Studies (IAWS) in 1985: which led to n Economists Interested in Women’s Issues Group (EIWIG) from 1985 -1993: which led to n A network to form an Economic Policy Watch for the UPA government 2004: which led to n The Committee of Feminist Economists (CFE) on the inside (2007 -2009) Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Women & the Five Year Plans 1951 -1978 Moved from Welfare to Empowerment and

Women & the Five Year Plans 1951 -1978 Moved from Welfare to Empowerment and Benefits: PLAN First Plan (1951 -1956) ACTIVITY Set up the Central Social Welfare Board APPROACH Welfare: voluntary organizations and charitable trusts Second Plan Supported Mahila Mandals to Rural Development work at the grassroots (1956 -1961 Third, Fourth & Provisions for women's interim plans education; maternal health provisions (1961 -1974) Women as “targets” of family planning and social sec. “beneficiaries” Fifth Plan Programmes and schemes (1974 -1978) for women in development Shift in the approach from welfare to development Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Women & the Five Year Plans 1980 -2007 PLAN ACTIVITY Sixth Plan Separate Chapter

Women & the Five Year Plans 1980 -2007 PLAN ACTIVITY Sixth Plan Separate Chapter on Women (1980 -1985) in the Plan APPROACH Thrust: Health, education and employment Seventh Plan Working Group on Women’s Bringing women into the (1985 -1990) Employment; Statistics on and mainstream of national quotas for women development Eighth Plan Education, health and (1992 -1997) employment: Outlay for women Rs. 4 crores to Rs. 2, 000 crores Paradigm shift from development to empowerment and benefits to women Ninth Plan 30% of benefits from all dev. (1997 -2002) sectors go to women Strategic objective: Empowerment of women Tenth Plan Self-help groups (2002 -2007) Specific strategies for women’s empowerment Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

The Haunting Question After decades of what appears to be a vibrant and ostensibly

The Haunting Question After decades of what appears to be a vibrant and ostensibly effective partnership between policy-makers and the women's movement, ground data worldwide reveals a disjunction between rhetoric and reality. Why? Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

A Comment by Bina Agarwal “Gender inequality did not just emerge fifty years ago,

A Comment by Bina Agarwal “Gender inequality did not just emerge fifty years ago, nor did the attempts to challenge it. But Independence brought new opportunities for transformation. What have we accomplished? Too little: Whether it is the macro situation of the Nehruvian Model or post-reform Manmohal economics, there is a steady decline. ” [Agarwal, Bina. “Women: Still Mostly Poor and Landless. ” India: 50 Years. Times of India. Dated August 14, 1997] Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

What was the Difference? n n Tenth Plan Three-fold strategy No Best Practice references

What was the Difference? n n Tenth Plan Three-fold strategy No Best Practice references Women bracketed into one chapter of the Plan Data only from Census of India Boston, June 2009 n n Eleventh Plan Five-fold strategy Inclusion of Best Practices throughout Gender perspective across sectors Data from Census, UN bodies, academics and civil society orgs. Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

What was the Difference? Difference in Mechanisms Used n Tenth Plan and before: Steering

What was the Difference? Difference in Mechanisms Used n Tenth Plan and before: Steering Committees and women’s networks at the grass-roots level n Eleventh Plan: The CFE – a collection of women scholars, highly visible and known for their academic contributions and government participation Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

The Value of a Feminist Leader Dr. Syeda Hameed: n A feminist as a

The Value of a Feminist Leader Dr. Syeda Hameed: n A feminist as a Member of the PC n Long and deep experience with the field, women’s rights, and civil society actors n Interactions with eminent feminists in India n Formation of the CFE n Arranged for the CFE to meet with the PC and submit their recommendations Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Conventional Feminist Dilemmas n The broad-based women’s networks that originally assisted the PC see

Conventional Feminist Dilemmas n The broad-based women’s networks that originally assisted the PC see CFE as a betrayal n Within the CFE itself, the play of diverse political and personal attributes challenge unity n Yet - the broader feminist strum of working for justice worked; a set of proposals emerged that were uniquely directed towards the underprivileged Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Lessons Learnt n Value of working and designing from within national spaces n Value

Lessons Learnt n Value of working and designing from within national spaces n Value of networking with women economists who have engaged with women n The importance of shifting the location and roles of women from the social sector to the economic, when dealing with women’s poverty n The need to differentiate between the North and South in poverty and women’s work Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Questions and Discussion Thank you Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan

Questions and Discussion Thank you Boston, June 2009 Engendering India’s Eleventh Plan