Why to Change Job(s)?
Determinants of Women's Interfirm Mobility in Indian IT-ITES Sector
von Jagriti Tanwar
Datum der mündl. Prüfung:2015-10-12
Erschienen:2015-11-23
Betreuer:Prof. Dr. Karin Kurz
Gutachter:Prof. Dr. Steffen Kühnel
Gutachter:Dr. Arjan de Haan
Zum Verlinken/Zitieren:
http://dx.doi.org/10.53846/goediss-5382
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Name:PhD Dissertation-Jagriti Tanwar.pdf
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Description:Women's Interfirm Mobility in Indian IT-ITES Sector
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Zusammenfassung
Englisch
India has been undergoing a socio-economic transformation over the last two decades. One of the most impressive and visible changes has been the growing presence of girls and women in schools, colleges, universities, corporate and public offices. Women have made remarkable progress both in educational and employment domains during these two decades. Statistics suggest that women’s enrolment has increased at all levels of education, especially at higher education level (Ministry of Human Resource Development 2014). As a result, a large number of educated women have been participating in paid work in the urban labour market. An important change has been the continuation of paid work after marriage and childbirth. It suggests that educated women perform the dual roles of worker and wife/mother. This socio-economic transformation in the lives of women is an outcome of economic changes kicked-off by the liberalisation of the economy in 1991 which resulted in the availability of decent white-collar employment opportunities in the urban labour market, while higher educational attainment of women induced their entry into paid work. In particular, educated women have benefitted most from the expansion of the services sector and the rapid growth of the IT-ITES sector. This sector has provided well-paid decent job opportunities which were largely missing before 1991. Women’s employment in the IT-ITES sector has drawn researchers’ attention to study the changing role of women and the ways in which it is affecting other social processes in the Indian society. A range of topics have been studied; however, little is known about the interfirm mobility behaviour of women, their career development and the effect of family roles on interfirm mobility decisions. In brief, women’s interfirm mobility and career development remains an under-researched topic in the Indian context so far. Hence, the current study aims to fill this research gap by examining the determinants of women’s interfirm mobility. More precisely, the study answers the following main research questions - why do women change job(s)? What are the determinants of women’s interfirm mobility decision? To what extent, do marriage and motherhood affect their job changing decision? The study employs own survey data to answer the research questions. The survey deployed both online and paper based face-to-face interviews among women working in IT-ITES firms in New Delhi and the National Capital Region. The sample consisted of 295 women. All women were married, while 37% of them were mothers at the time of survey. The study employs transition rate models to analyse the survey data. Both individual and firm level determinants were analysed. The individual level characteristics include highest education, migrant status, age at entry in job, higher wages and monetary benefits, marital and motherhood status. Firm level characteristics include flexible shifts, IT-ITES sector, women’s job position, promotion and working conditions. The findings suggest that different types and levels of education, presence of small children, flexible shifts, IT-ITES sector, job position, promotion and working conditions have statistically significant effects on women’s interfirm mobility. Higher wages and marital status, by contrast, do not (statistically) significantly affect women’s job mobility. The empirical findings of the study suggest that women maximize their status and income rewards by changing employers. Women benefit in both monetary and non-monetary terms by changing firms. Consequently, interfirm mobility is one of the strategies of career development for highly educated women. However, children pose constraints in the process of maximizing attainment level. Childcare in addition to family responsibilities makes it hard for mothers to combine work and family due to which they often adjust at work by taking days-off from work. Consequently, the conflict between worker and family role is higher for mothers than women without children. Nevertheless, despite these challenges, the sampled women are career-oriented and prefer working. They are part of the millennial women of India who shape their lives through their educational and employment achievements. These young women are drivers of social change who contribute to the transformation of traditional gender roles and stereotypical images of women in the Indian society. Hence, educated women with English language skills have benefited most from economic transformation and globalisation.
Keywords: Interfirm mobility; India; Women; Event history analysis; IT-ITES Sector; Survey research