The economic slowdown induced by Covid-19 has caused unprecedented joblessness in India and the world. In India, women, who were slowly breaking the glass ceiling, are among the worst victims of the economic slump. In a recent working paper published by Ashoka University, the noted economist, Ashwini Deshpande, pointed out that a higher percentage of women (39 per cent) lost jobs than men (29 per cent) in April 2020. In terms of absolute numbers, men have lost more jobs but that is also because more men are employed than women. But a gap of 10 percentage points is alarming.

With the gradual withdrawal of lockdown-induced restrictions and the reopening of industry, there will be a slow re-entry of workers in the workforce. The crucial question pertains to the re-entry of women workers in the workforce in the post-pandemic economy. Deshpande has indicated that “Women who were employed in the pre-lockdown phase were 23.5 percentage points less likely to be employed in the post-lockdown phase compared to men who were employed in the pre-lockdown phase.” The likelihood of fewer women getting employment in a post-pandemic situation is rooted in the low participation of women in the workforce in India. Before the pandemic, women’s participation in the workforce had been consistently low (25 per cent) compared to other countries over the last 15 years; the figure was even lower than that of Bangladesh.

The burden of domestic work is an additional obstacle on the path of re-entry for women into the labour force. Significantly, given how inequalities are stacked against women, the gender gap in computing ability is likely to adversely affect women’s participation in work, especially in the formal sector, at a time like this. With the onset of periodic lockdowns, work from home has emerged as a feasible alternative. Several companies are adopting this new norm, which entails a high degree of computing ability. Computing ability combines several skills, including the ability to use the internet, participate in a virtual workspace, and so on. The latest national sample survey data on ‘Household Social Consumption on Education in India’ reveals glaring gender gaps in computing ability across states, sectors and social groups. Despite the proliferation of internet connectivity, computing ability among the women is far lower than men. In India, about 21.96 per cent of males above 14 years of age have computing ability; the figure is 13.12 per cent for women.

There is also a stark rural-urban division. The survey indicates that only about 11 per cent of the rural population above the age of 14 can operate computers and use the internet. The percentage in urban areas for the same age group is 40. In India, among social groups, about 12.02 per cent of scheduled caste men (above 14 years) have computing ability; the corresponding figure for women is 6.11 per cent. About 21 per cent of men among other backward classes possess computing ability, but girls lag behind at 12.41 per cent. Among Muslims, the data are 15.92 per cent for men and about 9 per cent for girls. The gap is the widest among the socially upward classes; 37.51 per cent of men have computing ability to 24.31 per cent of women.

While some forms of gender gap in education have narrowed down, the chasm in computing ability persists. A cross-tabulation of education level and gender would reveal a telling gap in different educational tiers. About 22.91 per cent of males above 14 years with secondary education have computing ability, but only 15.82 females have the similar ability in this category. At the higher secondary level, the figure for male students is 46.53 per cent while 39.86 per cent of female students have similar digital skills. The gap persists, albeit narrowly, among graduates: 74.94 per cent male and 71.52 per cent of female graduates can compute with ease.

For decades, incentives, such as conditional cash transfer or providing bicycles to girl students, have driven policy interventions to promote women’s education and employment. It is high time the government addresses the digital divide by making laptops available to girls and training them to make use of these gadgets. Otherwise, women’s participation in the workforce would remain dismal.