i) Job Crowding Hypothesis
This hypothesis suggests that women and marginalized groups are deliberately crowded into a limited number of low-paying and low-status jobs. As a result, the oversupply of labor in these occupations leads to reduced wages and limited upward mobility.
For example, women are concentrated in roles like teaching, nursing, and domestic work, which are undervalued economically. This is not based on capability, but on gendered stereotypes about suitable work.
The theory challenges the idea that wage gaps exist due to skill differences, instead highlighting systemic discrimination in job allocation.
ii) Feudal Society
Feudal society is a historical socio-economic system characterized by land-based hierarchies. Power and wealth were concentrated in the hands of landlords, and peasants worked the land in exchange for protection or a share of produce.
In feudal systems, gender roles were rigid. Women had limited rights, were often confined to domestic spaces, and were considered property of male family members. Patriarchy was reinforced through religious and social norms.
In India, feudal practices included child marriage, purdah, and denial of education to girls, deepening gender stratification.
iii) Women Care Providers
Women care providers are individuals—mostly women—who offer emotional, physical, and medical support to children, the elderly, and the sick. This care work includes both paid (like nurses, domestic workers) and unpaid (mothers, daughters) labor.
Unpaid care work is essential to society but is often invisible and unrecognized. It limits women’s participation in the formal workforce and affects their economic independence.
Feminist economists argue that unpaid care work should be included in GDP calculations and social policies should support caregivers through childcare, health insurance, and flexible work options.
iv) The “Doubly Excluded” in the Informal Economy: Migrant Workers
Migrant workers, especially women, face double exclusion in the informal economy—first as informal workers with no legal or social protection, and second as migrants with no local identity or support system.
They often lack access to healthcare, housing, ration cards, and welfare schemes. During the COVID-19 lockdown, migrant workers in India faced severe distress, exposing the vulnerability of this group.
Gender adds another layer of exclusion, as migrant women face risks of harassment, low wages, and job insecurity, with little voice or representation in trade unions or policy-making.