11 Sep Forced To Leave Job After Marriage

India has witnessed a 10 percent drop in the percentage of working-age Indian women who participate in the labor force. This fact, based on the data from International Labour Organization, 2005 to present, marks the largest drop of any country in the world during the same time span. Indian women are quitting jobs rapidly either because of their inability to balance personal and professional life or pressure from family members and in-laws who think married women should leave jobs after marriage.

Where we speak of including more women in the workforce and gender equality in the workplace, the participation of women in the labor force has been a declining curve. After a rise in work-age Indian women from 35% to 37% between 1990 and 2005 the labor participation dropped to 27% at the end of 2014 accounting for the 16th lowest in the world.

What is causing this downfall?

1. Lack of support from family members and spouses: Most females leave jobs after marriage. This is sometimes done willfully and most of the time because of pressures from home to leave their profession.
2. Working hours: Often the in-laws or spouse or both have issues with the working hours of married women. They expect women to be back home by 6:30 pm and get involved with the household chores. Staying outside the home till late hours is considered as breaking the norms and something very unlikely for a woman to do.
3. Lack of self-confidence and assertiveness skills: Some women find it difficult to convince their family members and spouse. While Indian women are gradually becoming more self-dependent, they are still lacking autonomy.

While there can be a lot of other reasons that women leave jobs after marriage, we have more reasons why a woman should work.

Working helps women to-

1. Staying happy and satisfied: It is believed that a persistent effort to find stability between family and profession results in stress and depression for the working lot. However, this has been proved wrong by several types of research that have been conducted stating anxiety and stress are much lower in cases of working women than in those who do not have a professional life.
2. Improved conjugal life: Appreciation at the workplace from seniors and co-workers boosts self-confidence and higher self-esteem according to psychologists. Women become more confident and have a better conjugal life.
3. Be an inspiration: Kids get inspired when they see their mother’s dedication and ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously with ease. Working women managing family and job successfully are able to inculcate values and ethics more efficiently in their children, thus contributing to the child’s better mental development.
4. Financial independence and identity: While earning money can give a sense of achievement, developing one’s own identity helps in the growth of a confident personality. Women working outside the home can be more decisive in personal relationships along with associative and financial issues.

How do relationship management and marital counseling help?

1. Taking help from counseling to enhance assertiveness skills may make it easier for the woman to make her choice more acceptable.
2. Opt for marital counseling to enhance better communication support and understanding between couples.
3. Various communication skills and techniques that help to convince the in-laws and family members may be learned through relationship management with the help of a counselor.
4. Family support and encouragement are very important for a woman to attain work-life integration.