The Role of Law in Advancing Women's Economic Empowerment in India

Abstract

Women's economic empowerment is a major part of the ongoing debates related to development and human rights in India today. Neither the translation of constitutional equality guarantees into economic outcomes let alone outcomes for women nor the increasing number of protective laws has been uniform or easy to determine, but remains subject of debate. This paper covers the backdrop provided by the constitutional provisions, labour legislations, property rights, anti-discrimination law and the Supreme Court jurisprudence in matters of women's economic, social and financial participation in India. It examines the shortcomings between formal legal protection and the socio-economic reality that exists on the ground with a special focus on informal protection; enforcement gaps; and intersectional disadvantage. Overall, in the paper, the author has suggested that, though law is an indispensable cornerstone for women's economic empowerment, it remained inadequate in isolation and thus in nature; hence, we need a more coordinated/cumulative approach that should encompass an empowering approach to social policy, simultaneously with legislative/reform measures and a proper institutional machinery.