Women and work: issues and concerns

Workplace health assessment is not limited to asking about general illness. It must also examine work-related hazards and their effects, such as exposure to dust or chemicals, heavy lifting, prolonged standing, poor lighting, or lack of protective equipment. Therefore, option A is correct. Information about wages or general illness alone can miss occupational health problems. Exam tip: Link workplace hazards with occupational health when answering such questions.

Family and safety barriers should be addressed in the programme. In exams write access support.

Emotional labour involves managing one’s own emotions at work and helping regulate the emotions of others. Expecting a woman to smile constantly and keep everyone calm is an example of this often invisible work. Equal pay concerns economic equality, not emotional labour. Exam tip: Look for situations where a worker is expected to manage feelings, such as staying pleasant or calming others.

Production targets increase work demands, while a child-care facility is a form of care support. Without this facility, a woman may struggle to manage paid work along with child-care responsibilities. Therefore, the imbalance is between work demands and care support. Wage inequality is a different workplace issue. Exam tip: Match the stated work pressure with the missing support service.

Registration and an identity card provide formal recognition of a woman as a worker. This helps her establish eligibility for social security, insurance, maternity benefits, pensions, and other welfare schemes. Withholding wages is not a benefit; it violates workers’ interests. Exam tip: link registration with ‘identity, rights, and access to schemes’.

Without knowing market rates, a woman may be unable to judge or demand a fair price for her products. A trader or middleman can then exploit this lack of information by buying her products at a very low price, so option B is correct. Receiving a higher price is not exploitation. Exam tip: Market information helps women obtain fair prices and strengthens their economic position.

Collective selling increases market access and price power. In exams write cooperative marketing.

An enterprise needs more than the ability to make a product. It must also know how much is spent on materials, labour, transport, packaging, and other costs; how much money comes from sales; and whether the activity is producing a profit or a loss. Accounting helps a worker record these amounts, set a sensible price, plan future spending, control unnecessary costs, and understand the financial position of the enterprise. Without this knowledge, good production may still fail to become a sustainable business.

Option B is correct because not teaching accounting leaves a gap in financial management ability. Colour selection may improve appearance, and storage space or work time may affect operations, but none of these is the direct missing skill described. The question contrasts product-making training with the absence of financial knowledge. Therefore the main weakness is the inability to manage income, expenditure, pricing, records, and profit effectively.

Work done inside family can also be economic contribution. In exams write unpaid family labour.

Travel to and from a distant workplace or during late-evening shifts can increase risks of harassment, insecurity, and lack of reliable public transport. Therefore, a safety policy should especially provide safe, accessible, and dependable transport in such situations. Low wages are an important labour issue, but they do not by themselves create the main need for transport safety. Exam tip: Link late shifts and distant workplaces with safe mobility.

A confidential complaint channel helps women workers feel safe to report harassment, discrimination, or other unfair treatment. It reduces the fear of exposure, job loss, or retaliation, so genuine complaints are more likely to be reported and addressed. Option B is incorrect because it suppresses complaints instead of resolving them. Exam tip: link confidential reporting with safety and protection from retaliation.

The correct answer is post-training livelihood linkage. Skill training is effective only when a trained woman is connected to employment, self-employment, credit, customers, or markets. An attendance register shows participation in training, but it does not create an income opportunity. Exam tip: Use the term “livelihood linkage” for connection with jobs or markets after training.

Safe accommodation creates access to distant opportunities. In exams write accommodation support.

Cost calculation includes expenses such as raw materials, labour, transport, rent and other overheads. Without it, an entrepreneur cannot set an appropriate selling price. Pricing too low can reduce profit or cause a loss, while pricing too high may reduce sales. Branding may attract customers, but it cannot replace correct cost and profit calculation. Exam tip: before fixing a selling price, add total cost and the desired profit margin.

Intersectionality helps explain that a woman worker’s experience is shaped not only by gender. Factors such as class, caste, age, location and migrant status can combine to affect wages, job security, opportunities and discrimination. Therefore, option B is correct. Option C is incorrect because women do not all share the same social and economic conditions. Exam tip: use the phrase “combined effect of gender and other social factors.”

The correct answer is gender-sensitive and work-appropriate uniform design. Workplace uniforms should suit women workers’ tasks, comfort, freedom of movement, and safety requirements. Choosing only the colour cannot make a uniform safe or comfortable. Exam tip: For questions on workwear, connect safety, comfort, and the nature of the job.

Respectful feedback increases skill and confidence. In exams write constructive feedback.

The opportunity to express one’s views at work reflects a woman’s voice and participation in decision-making. If she is not allowed to speak, she cannot effectively present her needs or influence work-related decisions; therefore, this aspect of empowerment is weakened. Food or clothing choices may be personal preferences, but they are not the same as participation in decision-making. Exam tip: Link the word ‘voice’ with decision-making power and participation.

Women workers may have a double workload of paid work along with household and care responsibilities. Workplace stress, discrimination or insecurity can affect their mental well-being and work performance. Therefore, work policies should include mental-health support such as counselling, support systems and safe grievance mechanisms. Option B is incorrect because it reduces participation rather than providing support. Exam tip: Link mental-health support with workers’ dignity, productivity and a safe workplace.

Product quality training can help a woman worker improve the finish, durability, and standard of her product. A better-quality product may command a higher price, and customer trust can increase sales and income. An increase in production cost is not a necessary outcome; training may also reduce defects and wastage. Exam tip: Link quality training with better price, higher sales, and income.