Gender Perspectives on Industry 4.0 and the Impact of Technology on Mainstreaming Female Employment

Almost all economies have, or are at least starting to, understand the significance of examining and mainstreaming gender issues in the world of work. Sociocultural evolution and various other factors have helped these developments, but there is still so much more work to be done. Technology has played a substantial role in decreasing the gender divide as more households than ever before have access to technology, and the revolution of access to information across most societies has become gender neutral and empowering. While technology can hold the potential to significantly expand the job market and open opportunities for all job seekers, questions surrounding automation and availability of jobs and the accessibility to secure the necessary qualifications and education needed to fill paid jobs rage on, especially when examining those who are typically marginalized.

Gender Perspectives on Industry 4.0 and the Impact of Technology on Mainstreaming Female Employment discusses gender perspective and its impact on the fourth industrial revolution, particularly in the realm of employment structure, and analyzes the impact of technology on mainstreaming women in paid employment. In the present environment, organizations are beginning to realize the importance of looking more critically at their workforce and structure and how to better cater to the diversity, equity, and inclusion movement while also productively managing the advancement of new technologies. Covering topics such as sustainable development and the future of work, it is ideal for policymakers, practitioners, professionals, consultants, managers, researchers, academicians, educators, and students.

About the Author

Shashi Bala, an economist is Fellow at V.V. Giri National Labour Institute, NOIDA (An Autonomous Body of Ministry of labour & Employment, Government of India). She was awarded PhD from the Centre of Study for Diplomacy, International Law and Economics, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. She was the Visiting Researcher in 2008 at the Korean Labour Institute, Seoul, South Korea. Presently, she is coordinating the activities of the Centre for Gender & Labour Studies and Centre for Agrarian Relations, Rural Labour and Behaviour Studies at the Institute. She organizes training programmes and conducts research on various dimensions pertaining to Labour economics & development policies; Skill development; Social security; Gender budgeting; Behavior skill management, etc., with the central focus on gender and related issues. She has been a member of the Task Force on Gender Equality in the World of Work, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Government of India, INDIA.

Puja Singhal is Assistant Professor at National Centre for School Leadership (NCSL), NIEPA, New Delhi. She is a gold medalist in Economics and has a Doctorate from the Jai Narain Vyas University, Jodhpur (Rajasthan). She has also worked with V.V.Giri National Labor Institute (Ministry of Labor and Employment) and was involved in policy-oriented projects. Now she organizes workshops, training programs on gender and leadership at NCSL and works as a National Coordinator of five states of India. In 2015, she presented her paper at 4th European and International Conference for Learning Innovations and Quality (LINQ), at Brussels (Belgium). She has published extensively in the form of books, research papers, and articles in peer-reviewed and reputed academic journals, like Emerald, IGI Global, Inderscience, etc., and also received the best paper award twice. Her areas of special interest are Vocational Education, Gender issues, E-Learning and Innovation in education, Skill Development, School Leadership. She can be accessed at pujasinghal@niepa.ac.in.