Measuring the Employment Vulnerability Among Female Workers in Uttar Pradesh

This article attempts to measure employment vulnerability among women workers in Uttar Pradesh by constructing a multidimensional vulnerability index (MVI). The index is based on 23 dichotomous (binary) variables corresponding to various dimensions of vulnerability related to employment. A composite index of vulnerability is developed for each occupational category, sector of employment and gender. Here, MVI is the average of five indices which are computed for the respective dimensions of employment vulnerability. The findings suggest high levels of vulnerability among informal workers with the MVI values ranging from 0.087 (low) to 0.783 (high).The overall MVI (measured by principal component loading [PCA]) was 0.768 for the construction and domestic workers, followed by tailors (0.629) and garment workers (0.635). Appropriate policies are needed to help lift women from the cumulative neglect that they experience in unorganised labour market.