triseriLs I l .13... A: - .v.)vx~ir:9 ! l :21. 1.3;]; p)£.la\.ox(.l: sci ....\¥vl-I!w: . ‘ .it‘h' - ”an... :4! P..."l\ L v. .93: - ca. 1.»! 1. i‘u?‘ ..(:.(.- 43.0.2.1?! 1 it): . ‘ , . . ~ oi! .4! E. ‘ ‘ . t I. . . , 24.! 23.7.0.1} is: . , »Q.2 , A . . ‘ V ‘ .- .»;...!-4.l «I>I:vb010 gull-(l ilgflu.’ fall" 1 1| :5 It... .13. . 1:5 rl.-\17.,PP.‘l-f I L (0:33... :2. 132.5325 3:. Bit :1 5.! Sari?!) .... v7.5}? 1.”)! P.1011‘53‘Du .9...‘ 1|\ It"! .53 (ff; ‘0' (.03.! I! v0. I’IEHOvi Vt n nur‘. I‘ll). vb bat I.Iv{V‘»thO THESE Ilillllll ill!lllllllllllllll L 3 1293 00892 7224 This is to certify that the thesis entitled The Changing Status of Working Women of Kathmandu, Nepal ‘ ‘ presented by Sunita B. Upreti has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Master's Sociology degree in Wiw Major professor [hue August 4, 1993 0.7639 MS U is an Ajfirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution LIBRARY Michigan State University PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. “ DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE __l “fl l MSU Is An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution chH1 THE CHANGING STATUS OF WORKING WOMEN OF KATHMANDU, NEPAL BY Sunita B. Upreti "A THESIS" Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Sociology 1993 ABSTRACT THE CHANGING STATUS OF WORKING WOMEN OF KATHMANDU, NEPAL BY Sunita B. Upreti This study is an attempt to find out the changing status of working women of Kathmandu. Its aim is also to study the socio-economic characteristics of the working women and their adjustment in the dual role of house work and office work. Furthermore, this study is an attempt to provide some insight for the upliftment of the status of working women of Kathmandu. The findings of the study are based on the observation technique, and analysis of the data collected. A total number of sixty women respondents were selected using a simple random sampling technique. A questionnaire technique was used to collect the quantitative information; an interview technique was also applied where necessary. The result was descriptively analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as frequency distribution, percentage and mean. Majority of the respondents had a Master's degree. They preferred the nuclear type of family and a small family too. This finding indicates the change that has occurred among the working women. Majority of the respondents were satisfied with their job and opined that they were independent after taking a job and also argued that their status was equal to that of their male counterparts. Majority’ of the respondents have been able to 'make an adjustment between the house work and office work. This shows that persons who earn a living outside the home occupy a better status in the society. So*women should.be encouraged.to work and prejudices against women should be removed. "ACKNOWLEDGEMEN TS " The completion of this study has to be attributed to a large number of people with whose help it was completed. I would like to express my warmest appreciation to all those who contributed to the completion of this study. My sincere and heartfelt gratitude to the late Dr. Artie, who was my advisor, and a constant source of encouragement. My sincere appreciation to Dr. Vanderpool, my new advisor, for being patient with me and for being a constant source of encouragement. I owe much appreciation to Drs. Gallin for being my committee member. Finally, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the respondents for their cooperation. TABLE OF CONTENTS QHAEIEB_I 1. Introduction 1.1 Introduction to the Study 1.2 Statement of the Problem 1.3 Objectives of the Study 1.4 Importance of the Study 1.5 Limitations of the Study 1.6 Defining the Terms Used in the Study QEA£I§B_II 2. Review of the Literature 3. Methodology 3.1 Research Design 3.1.1 Place of the Study 3.1.2 Sampling Procedure 3.1.3 Data Collection Method 3.1.4 Questionnaire 3.1.5 Interview 3.1.6 Reliability 3.1.7 Method of Analysis ii 10 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 QflAEIEB_I! 4. Discussion of the Findings QHAEIEB_! 5. Summary and Conclusion 5.1 Summary of the Findings 5.2 Conclusion 5.3 Recommendations 5.4 Suggestions for Future Researchers REFERENCES APPENDIX iii 22 58 58 59 60 61 63 66 LI§I_QE_IA§L§§ Table-1. Distribution of the Respondents by Age Table-2. Distribution of the Respondents by Education Table-3. Distribution of the Respondents by Marital Status Table-4. Distribution of the Respondents by Caste Table-5. Distribution of the Respondents by Family Types Table-6. Distribution of the Respondents by Family Size Table-7. Distribution of the Respondents by Fertility Table-8. Type of Employment Table-9. Distribution of the Respondents According to Their Official Position Table-10. Salary Ratio of the Working Women .Table-ll. Recreational Activities of the Respondents Table-12. Time Spent on Household Chores iv 22 24 26 27 29 3O 31 33 34 35 36 37 Table-13. Table-14. Table-15. Table-16. Table-l7. Table-18. Table-19. Table-20. Table-21. Table-22. Table-23. Table-24. Table-25. Table-26. Time Spent in Household Activities by the Respondents Time Spent on Children by the Respondents Domestic Help at the Household Level of the Respondents Views Regarding the Physical Comfort After Holding a Job Communication Pattern of the Respondents at the Household Level Feeling of the Respondents Towards Adjustment with Other Household Activities Perception of the Respondents Towards Their Job as an Asset Job Satisfaction Level of Dependency Financial Position Financial Position Landholding of the Respondents Involvement of the Respondents in the Household Decision Making Process Status as Compared to Their Male Counterparts 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 49 51 52 53 Table-27. Table-28. Table-29. Adjustment Between Housework and Office Work 54 Value on Job 55 Value on Job 56 vi CHAPTER I 1. TRODUCT O 1-1 Waite—92m In Nepal, due to conservative tradition, illiteracy, ignorance, poverty and superstitions, women have been treated as second class citizens. Thus women had less prestige, power, and privileges than their“male counterparts in the society. In the past education was not considered necessary for women and working outside the home ‘was not considered honorable. Economically and socially women had very little prestige in the society and their traditional role was that of the housewife and mother only. This had led to a state of limited opportunity for female education and employment. Though females constitute 49.7 percent of the total population, the 1981 census shows that only 11.5 percent females have received education (Population Monograph : 1987, p. 128). In the modern developing society, men usually do not perform a dual role. They think that the housework is only for women. In modern society women frequently have to play the dual role of a working woman and a housewife. In today's context there is a high rate of inflation, so the added source of income by the women is very helpful indeed. Society should try to encourage women who want to work to do so on their own terms (Musgrave and Wheeler : 1972, p. 10). Once women start, earning income, their economic condition too will improve and their earnings will help them maintain a normal standard of living. For these reasons women have started to take work outside the house while continuing to perform their traditional role of a housewife. Nepalese women are beginning to know that they have equal legal rights as men, women in the rural parts of the country too are aware of the legal rights .The new civil code of 1963 and the sixth amendment of the new civil code have given them equal rights (Shrestha : 1982, P.4). This change has given them self confidence too. With this confidence women can use their legal rights to solve their problems. This is only possible when they are educated; with the help of good education women would be better able to use their skills and talents. From the new Nepalese society has emerged.a new'group of women who perform a dual role, that of a housewife and a working women. This is a emerging social phenomenon in our country. This change has infused self confidence among this section of the human population (Social Change : 1985, p.29). 1-2 WM There has been a steady increase in the number of economically active females between 1961 to 1971. The primary occupation of the females of that period was in fact of a housewife. It was just 10.31 percent in 1961 and in 1971, 32.29 percent. From 1971 to 1981 the economically active females increased by 66.2 percent (Population Monograph: 1987, p.203) . Hence women started becoming conscious of their ability and joined the work force outside their home. In Nepal an urban area is that area which has a population over 10,000. Kathmandu town has a total population of 235,160 out of which the female population is 105,634 (Statistical Pocket Book: 1986, p.18). There are more educated females in urban areas than in rural areas. In Nepal 31.48 percent of the urban labor force are females (Population Monograph: 1987, p.210). With these facts in mind, I would like to investigate the changes taking place among women in Nepal. Changes have taken place in all spheres of the life of women: social, economical , political and educational and others. This study mainly attempts to study the changes that have come about in the women of Kathmandu who have are employed. It examines the changes in their role and the adjustment they have made. In most of the families a woman has to perform multiple roles and has to face the situation and adjust in the society.It is a problematic phenomenon and hard to distinguish all the complex factors involved. However, this study will try to find out the changing status as well as the adjustment pattern in a complex situation, dominated by the prevalent patriarchal attitudes of men. The traditional conception regarding women as a child bearing machine and a houseworker is changing in Nepal because of education and modernization. Actually it is the new economic pattern which is mainly responsible for this trend. The new economic pattern has emerged in two phases. In the first phase, a woman had to choose between her career and marriage; and because of culture and tradition she opted for marriage and family. In the second phase of the economiijattern, there is no question of choice, but to combine work and family (Kapur: 1970.p.4) . This trend became more common in our developing society. Now that the educated have come out of the house to work outside, problems have started to arise in the family. This change has confused the working woman because it is not easy for them to combine the traditional role and the new role. This study attempts to answer the following questions: (a) What are the socio-economic characteristics of the working women of Kathmandu (e.g. age, education, marital status)? (b) Whether there is change among the working women in terms of their working pattern in the household chores, washing, cooking, looking after the children and family. (c) How do the working women asses their job ? Do they see it as an asset to meet their household expenses? (d) Has the working woman made an adjustment between the dual role? Do they manage well with both the work, by keeping a helper at home to do the housework so that they can work freely at work. (e) What are the ways that will help improve the status of working women in Kathmandu? 1.3 ijegtiyes 9f the Stggy Generally this study will attempt to find out the changing role of working women of Kathmandu Nepal. More specifically, the following are the specific objectives of the study: 1. To develop a socio-economic profile of the working women of Kathmandu Nepal. 2. To isolate the changes in their working pattern in terms of the household chores. 3. To study the attitude of the working women towards their new job situation. 4. To study the working women's adjustment pattern within the dual role of house work and office work. 5. To suggest some viable means to improve the status of working women of Kathmandu Nepal. 1.4 ta ce 0 t e Stud Women, who constitute half of the total population, have been largely ignored politically, socially,and economically. In virtually every type of society males have more power, prestige and privileges than females. If women are economically independent, their position will become better. According to Shrestha, employment. of 'women is of vital importance for increasing the status of‘women in the family or in the society. Since the woman becomes an earner too her ideas and role cannot be ignored by the family in matters of important decisions made in the household (Shrestha : 1982, p.65). Once women start working, their status becomes better because of 'their earnings. Yet.in Nepalese society, an ideal woman is the one who spends most of her time at home, doing the household works, pleasing her husband and her in-laws. The Nepalese society does not object if she happens to take a job or enter the labor market, but they equally expect her to perform the traditional role of a housewife and a mother. The change in societal attitude towards women employment has occurred because of the economic strains of the time and with this change as well as with the change in the attitude of educated women, employment of women has increased. Women in the past were driven by poverty to work. Now this has changed. Women may work out of economic necessity or out of their own choice too. According to Kapur (1970, p.10), the process of industrialization and urbanization has brought about socio- psychological changes in the attitude and values of the people of Nepal especially among the urban population. And this has brought about change in the attitude of the educated women. Due to this change in their attitude, the joint family system has changed to a.nuclear family system in the urban areas. The working women have increased in number and have challenged the old view of "men for the field and women for the hearth”. Now this trend has changed and women, whether out of economic necessity or out of their own choice, have come to combine the two roles of home and work. However, this is not an easy task. In Nepal, the average work in and out household for women in labor force is 10.81 hours per day and 7.51 hours per day for men (Acharya and Benette: 1982, p. X). Women in our society work harder than men. Thus we know that women have not been able to lead an easy life. Given these long hours of work, it is very important to study the changes that have taken place in women's role and the adjustment made between the housework and outside work. 1.5 ' ' a ' s o t e Stud This study is limited to the changing status of working women of Kathmandu Nepal, and how these women have adjusted between the housework and outside work. All research problems have limitations due to error of logic, measurement and omission. For the purpose of the study sixty respondents were selected by the random sampling method . 1.6 e ' ' erms U ed ' t Stud The different terms and concepts used in this study are defined as follows: a) ASE Age refers to the age of the respondents at the time of the interview. mm Education refers to the years of schooling completed by the respondents at the time of the research. c) Marital Status Marital status means whether the respondent was married or single, widowed or divorced at the time of the research. mm This refers to the ability to produce a child. So this study refers to the total number of children of a respondent at the time of the research. elSize__9_f_th_e_E_emilx This refers to the number of persons living together in a family. So in this study the number of individuals livingrwith respondents at the time of study,has been considered. f) figgsehgld Chores This refers to the activities done in the house to maintain it. So in this study the various activities like cooking, washing clothes, washing the dishes, looking after the children has been considered. mam The study also investigated certain kind of attitude of the respondents toward the job, family; like their feeling towards their job and adjustment with the family. CHAPTER II 2. ev ew o the 'te t e Status of women is an important factor which affects the socio-economic development of a country. As we know that status is not a fixed rigid concept, it changes with time. So the status of women also changes with time. Status has been defined in different ways. As cited by the population monograph -- the United Nations has given the definition of womens' status as " the conjunction of position a woman occupies as a worker, student, wife, mother daughter,....... of the power and prestige attached to these positions and of the rights and duties she is expected to exercise" (Population Monograph:1987, p.243). The study of Biswa Nath Mukherjee opined that the term "status" will denote not only the conjunctions of the rights and duties as reflected in woman's several roles as mother, wife and daughter-in-law but also the degree of her subordination in home, her education, the number of sons she has, the economic status of her family as measured by numbers of utility items found in her house, her degree of participation in public life, her role in decision - making in family affairs and her self-perceived status in the home and the community (Social Change: 1974, p.4). A woman has to play different roles throughout her life and :maintain her status too in every sphere where she is involved. According to Pradhan (1979, pxii) 10 "Women have been traditionally regarded primarily as consumers and not producers. It is only with the advent of the 1970's that they’ have been regarded as a global resource for development and social changes.Women's limited role in the society reflects the secondary role assigned to them in the household nexus, which forms the deep core of almost all social relationships in traditional societies like Nepal". Women have always been given a secondary position to that of men in our traditional society. She is seen as a good housekeeper, and a good mother. This shows that women had very limited role to perform in the traditional society. However, in the modern times, especially in the urban areas women have to perform dual role function, i.e. to take care of the whole household activities and to work outside the home for extra income to support the family. According to Shrestha (1982, p.5) "Nepalese society, regards male members as an asset and does not object.t0‘women entering into the labor market but expects to receive her traditional domestic role equally". They expect the woman to manage this because housekeeping is considered to be an exclusive role for her, and taking up of a job outside the home is expected to be done at her own initiative. So women must find a proper place in the society so as to effectively and harmoniously contribute to the socio- economic modernization of the society and the country as a whole. The different independent variables affecting women's work have been considered and are as follows: 11 a) ABE We know that age is such an important factor which directly effects any individual's ability to work. It has been found out to be the most important and.positive factor which affects the subsistence production in Nepal. According to Acharya and Benette (1982,p.26) " Age on the whole is a positive factor in determining women's work burden". A woman is liable to take on more responsibilities as her age increases. The study of the United Nations for Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (1987, p.20) shows a different finding, "Female economic participation in the developing countries peaks only once, between the age of 20 and 24 years, after which statistics show that a large segment leaves the paid labor force, never to return, unlike their counterparts in the industrialized countries". Once women enter the middle age they return to doing only household chores. mm Shrestha's study (1982, p.16) reveals that "education and employment for women has a positive relation. Education not only facilitates employment but it is a manifestation of and a stimulation to the achievement of motivation". 12 Once the women are educated they seek employment for upward social mobility, and to use their education they seek employment. There is another study done by Manjit Singh (1985, p.32), which shows that "by making a female literate we educate the whole family. Female literacy brings more awareness in the house. Literacy among female brings remarkable changes and is mainly responsible for qualitative changes in the society". Education brings about a change in an individual, which in turn brings changes in the whole society too.If the women are educated this in turn will educate the next generation too. Education gives awareness to women, women with high academic qualifications will influence the development of the country and the quality of life itself. 6) W Marital status of does affect women's work. According to Srestha's findings (1982, p.61) "A married woman should be able to keep a fair balance between the work world and home world. She can neither give less importance to the household responsibility nor to the job responsibility. In the case of an unmarried woman the work burden of home will be lesser than the burden of work for married woman". A married woman has many tasks to fulfill and she has to bear a greater burden than an unmarried woman. A single woman is 13 able to take part in the outside work more freely without any hesitation than a married woman. magnum Fertility also affects the working woman. The employment of women and fertility is negatively correlated. According to the study of Oppong and Abu (1987, p.3) " with regard to women's work, a simple view expressed frequently and supported with large and expensive data sets has been that fertility is inversely associated with women's labor force participation, leading two decades ago to the idea that the expansion of female employment would lead to fertility reduction". And the report of the United Nations on Fertility Survey (1985, p.5) also shows a negative relationship between the employment and fertility "If economic and Social life are structured such that it is difficult to combine both child - bearing and employment an inverse relationship between fertility and work will emerge". Elam! Size of the family does affect the financial condition of the family, which in turn affects the work of the women. Larger families need more resources and put increasing pressure on women to work. According to Acharya and Benette (1982, p.28) "The larger the family size the lower the participation rate of women in jproduction". Women with large families have to give attention to all the members of the 14 family, so that she will have less time to devote to her work and herself. f) ng From the report of ESCAP (Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific:1987, p.29) we can see that while ”balancing the twin demands of the need for cash income and of domestic task including child care, compels women to find work that is compatible with the latter chiefly in terms of working hours or conditions that do not distance them from their children". And again Shrestha's study (1982, p.229) also shows that "employment opportunity for women is limited. There are only a few who hold high paying , prestigious and decision-making jobs". This shows that women are given very limited opportunity to enter into high -1evel jobs, which are dominated by the males. 9) flgusehglg Chores There are various studies indicating that household work does affect a woman in taking up a job. Shrestha's study (1982, p.234) reveals that there is a view in our society that "home making is considered.as the main career of women, and so she should be prepared to sacrifice her work career for the upliftment of home making career". Such myths diminishes women's prospect of professional development. Such beliefs hinders women in taking up jobs. Because of culture and tradition women usually opted for 15 marriage and family. In the second phase of the economic pattern, because of economic necessity ,there is no question of choice, but toicombine‘work and family (Kapur: 1970.p.4). This trend became more common in Nepal. Now that the educated have come out of the house to work outside, problems have started to arise in the family. This change has confused the working woman because it is not easy for them to combine the traditional role and the new role. 16 CHAPTER III 3- MEEDQQQLQQX 3.1 ese 8' 3.1.1 W This descriptive study was conducted in Kathmandu, Nepal. The Kathmandu valley covers an area of 218 sq. miles. It is situated at 4,423 ft. above the sea level. The Kathmandu valley itself consists of Kathmandu, Patan and Bhadgaon, but this study will be confined to Kathmandu only. Because the researcher herself comes from Kathmandu, doing the study there met the limitations of ‘time and ‘money, thus ‘making it convenient for her. 3.1.2 W Before proceeding to the sampling procedure, keeping in view the nature of the problem, the researcher selected randomly four wards out of thirty six, of the Kathmandu Town Panchyat. These four wards were widely dispersed in the city; and from these wards sixty respondents were randomly selected for the study. These respondents were taken from a list of employees provided by the H.M.G.(national civil service) and the semi- 17 governmental corporations. Four wards were equally represented in the sample, fifteen respondents were selected from each. 3.1.3 mm In this study both primary and secondary data has been used. The researcher collected the data employing various research techniques such as the interview, and questionnaire method. 3.1-4 Questionnaire The questionnaire was designed to collect the necessary data which were suitable for the study concerned. Here the structured questionnaire was used.(See Appendix for a copy of questionnaire.) 3 . 1 . 5 Ihtgni eh Specifically for the qualitative information, the interview method was used. Here too the similar questions as in the questionnaire was asked, and some informal questions about their family and job and about suggestions were asked. 3.1.6 W For the reliability of the study, the research instruments were prepared in English, and then translated into Nepali when necessary. A ten percent sample of the sampled respondents,that is twenty four, other than the actual 18 respondents but living in the same area were interviewed to check the instruments. When found necessary, some modification and alteration were introduced into the tools. Hence, the tools were reliable and the interpretation should be generalizable for the area concerned. 3.1.7 MW Collected data were tabulated and classified according to their attributes on the basis of the study. The analysis of the data were done with the help of descriptive statistical tool, such as the frequency distribution, percentage and Mean. Dichotomization or categorization of the variables were done in the following manner: a) A92 Age was categorized into three groups: 20 to 29 years 30 to 39 years 40 and above 19 MW This was categorized into four groups: Married Unmarried Divorced Widow Mitigation This again was categorized into four groups: School Leaving Certificate (S.L.C.) passed. Intermediate in Art, Science, Commerce, (I.A.;I.Sc.;I.Com.) passed. Bachelor in Art, Science, Commerce, (B.A.;B.Sc,B.Com.) passed. Master in Art, Science, Commerce, (M.A.;M.Sc.;M.Com.) passed. MW Fertility was categorized into three groups: One child Two children Three children and above 20 @1912 Job was categorized into three groups: His Majesties Government (H.M.G.) Semi-Government (Corporations) OW This was categorized into three groups: 2 3-4 5 and above 9) HQ!§§DQLQ.§DQ£§§ This was categorized into different forms such as washing clothes, cooking, taking care of the children etc. 21 CHAPTER IV 4. D CUSS 0 OF N NGS a) 895 Table - 1 Distribution of the Respondents by Age Age No. of Respondents Percentage 20 - 30 years 31 51.7 30 - 40 years 25 41.7 40 years and above 4 6.6 Total 60 100.0 Mean age: 30.5 years The age of the respondents of the sample population ranged from twenty to forty years. I was surprised that nobody was under the age of twenty. Out of the total sample population, majority of the respondents were (51.7 percent) in the age group of 20 to 30 years, then 41.7 percent were in the age group of 30 to 40 years, and 6.6 percent of the respondents were forty years or more of age. The mean age of the respondents was 30.5 years of age. This finding reveals that women in Kathmandu have started to hold jobs at a young age. To share the rising economic burden as 22 well as to maintain their status women have started to take up jobs from a young age, and continue to do so through their middle age. This finding contradicts the finding of the United Nations study for the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (United Nation's: 1987, p.20). In this study, they have shown that in developing countries, female economic participation peaks only once between the age of twenty and twenty four years and after that most of the working women leave their work, unlike their male counterparts. In Nepal, however, we find that women take up work at a young age and.continue to*work.through.their’middle age. Today women have realized that their status is equal to that of their male counterparts and they can equally contribute to their household income as well as expenditure. This might be one of the reasons why women do not stop working even when they enter their middle age. This finding does resemble the finding of Acharya and Benette (1982, p.26) where they have shown that age is a positive factor in determining women's work burden.This shows that in today's context working women have realized their status so 23 that they do not sacrifice their work even if they enter their old age. Table - 2 Distribution of the Respondents by Education Education No. of Respondents Percentage S.L.C. 6 10.0 Intermediate 7 11.7 Bachelor 18 30.0 Masters 29 48.3 Total 60 100.0 Mean:14.33 years of schooling The above table presents the educational status of the working women of Kathmandu. From the table it is evident that women in Kathmandu start working at a young age, that is after finishing school, colleges and university. The finding shows that the majority 948.3 percent of the respondents) had Master's degree, then 30.0 percent of the respondents had bachelor's degree, 11.7 percent were intermediate passed and only 10 percent of them were S.L.C. passed. 24 The mean education level of the respondents was 14.44 years of schooling. This indicated that women, once they are educated, tend to seek employment, for their upward social mobility. This finding resembles that of Neeru Shrestha (1982, p.16) where she has mentioned that education and employment for women have positive inter-relationship. It has helped women to get employment. It, in a way stimulates them to achieve their goals. Likewise this finding also resembles that of Manjit Singh, where the researcher has shown that female literacy brings awareness about their status in the house and in the society. Female literacy can bring a change in the society, and it can change the status of women on the whole (Social Change: l985,p.32) It is also evident from the data that in.Kathmandu.most of the women in the labor force are literate, this proves that there is a better chance for a literate woman who wants to work and maintain her status. 25 Table - 3 Distribution of the Respondents by Marital Status Marital Status No. of Respondents Percentage Married 41 68.3 Married 18 30.0 Divorced 1 1.7 Total 60 100. O Most of the respondents (68.3 percent) were married, 30.0 percent of the respondents were unmarried working woman and only one respondent was divorcee. This indicates that most of the women who were holding jobs were already married. It is safe to state that the married work women, though they have to bear more responsibilities, still intend to work outside the home. This finding resembles the finding of Neeru Shrestha where she says that a woman has to keep a fair balance between her home and office work, and neither can she give exclusive importance to the household responsibilities. 26 Nepal is the only Hindu Kingdom in the world, most of the respondents of Kathmandu to be Hindu ( 88 percent ). But a small percent were Buddhist too. Table - 4 Distribution of the Respondents by Caste Caste No. of Respondents Percentage Brahmins 20 33.3 Chhetries 9 15.0 Newars 31 51.7 Total 60 100.0 Brahmins rank highest in the caste hierarchy, they are also known as the priest caste in traditional Hindu Caste System. Chhetris are the warrior caste and are ranked second to Brahmin in the caste hierarchy (Bista: 1967, p.1). The Newar people are the indigenous inhabitants of the Kathmandu valley. They are the small shopkeepers, the big businessmen, importers, exporters, taxi drivers, farmers, carpenters etc. They are a unique and interesting people and one of the oldest known groups in Nepal (Bista: 1967, p.15 ). 27 Here the table presents us that most of the respondents are Newars, 51.7 percent , 33.3 percent of them are Brahmins and 15.0 percent are Chhetries. As the study was conducted only in Kathmandu city, most of the respondents were found to be Newars. The Newars are the indigenous people of Kathmandu valley, their population is the largest inside the valley. But the main reason is that in our social structure women do not tend to leave their localities to take up jobs, and they want to stay in their home town to hold a job. So as to manage the house work and office work, women take up jobs in their home town. As Newars are the indigenous people of the valley, naturally most of the working women would be Newars. 28 Table - 5 Distribution of the Respondents by Family Types Types of Family No.of Respondents Percentage Joint 27 45.0 Nuclear 33 55.0 Total 60 100.0 Most of the respondents, 55 percent out of the total sample population preferred to live in a nuclear type of family. And 45 percent of the respondents preferred to live in a joint family system. This finding reveals that a change in the thinking of the working women has occurred. Working women prefer to live separately and independently. Here we find that most of the working women of Kathmandu prefer to live independently with their husband and children, away from the extended family. The reason behind this is that they have to bear a lesser burden of the housework while working outside. 29 Table - 6 Distribution of the Respondents by Their Family Size Size of the Family No. of Respondents Percentage 2 2 3.3 3-4 18 30.0 5-6 22 36.7 6 and above 18 30.0 Total 60 100.0 Of the total respondents of the sample population, 36.7 percent had 5 to 6 members living together in their family. 30.0 percent of them had a family size of two to four and.more than six. And only 3.3 percent had a family size of one to two. The mean size of the family is 4.86. This finding contradicts the finding of Acharya and Benette (1982, p.28) where they have mentioned that the larger the family size the lower the participation rate of women in production. The family size does affect the work of women. The family size affects the economic condition of the family and in turn this will affect an individual also. So as to maintain 3O the economic condition of the family, a woman too has to take up a job. b) Eegtilihy The fertility of the respondents of the sample population ranged from one to three. The fertility of the respondents as indicated in the Table 7 was categorized into four groups -- working women without children, working women with one child, working women with two to three children and women with four or more children. Table - 7 Distribution of the Respondents by Fertility No. of Children No. of Respondents Percentage None 19 31.7 1 13 21.7 2-3 28 46.7 4 or more 0 0.0 Total 60 100.0 This table shows that women with two to three children are the majority, 46.7 percent, and women having only one child were 31 21.7 percent, and women with no children were 31.7 percent, they were mostly single women or just married. This finding shows also that today working women of Kathmandu have become more conscious of their individuality so they prefer a small nuclear family. And they know that to combine child caring with employment is a difficult task. This might be one of the reasons why majority of them have two to three children. This is one of the example of their changing status. This finding resembles that of Christine Oppong and Katherine Abu (1987,p.3) where they have shown that fertility and women's labor force participation has an inverse association. Likewise it resembles the report of the U.N. on fertility survey where they show a negative relationship between employment and fertility. 32 Table - 8 Type of Employment Nature of the Job No. of Respondents Percentage H.M.G. 26 43.3 Corporation 34 56.7 Total 60 100.0 This table indicates that women holding corporation jobs constitute the majority, 56.7 percent and H.M.G. job holders were 43.3 percent. As compared to government jobs the corporation pays good salary so the women tend to work for the corporations. 33 Table-9 Distribution of the Respondents According to Their Official Position Official Position No. of Respondents Percentage Officer 40 66.7 Non Officer 20 33.3 n Total 60 100. 0 i The above table shows us the official position of the working women. Forty percent of them were officers and 20 percent were non-officers. 34 Table - 10 Salary Ratio of the Working Women Salary No. of Respondents Percentage * Less than 1000 Rs. 13 21.7 1000 --- 1499 21 35.0 1500 --- 1999 16 26.7 2000 and above 10 16.7 Total 60 100.0 Mean : Rs. 1459.16 * American Dollar $ 1 is equivalent to Nepalese rupee 46. This table shows the salary ratio of the working women. Most of the working women 35.0 percent are paid between Rs. 1000 to 1499 ; then 26.7 percent are paid between Rs. 1500 to 1999; 21.7 percent are paid above Rs. 2000. The Mean Salary of the respondents is Rs. 1459.16. This finding reveals that women intend to work to meet the family's economic demand's, as well as for their independence. With Rs.1459.16 one could maintain the monthly grocery and buy some household goods. 35 Besides working at the office, women go recreational activities too. Table - 11 Recreational Activities of the Respondents in for some Extra Activities No. of Respondents Percentage Sports 3 3.2 Social activities 17 18.2 Reading/writing 33 35.4 watching movies -23 24.7 Charity work 17 18.2 Total 60 100.0 Percentage is based on the frequency mentioned. The above table shows that most of the respondents of the sample population 35.4 percent spend some time in reading and writing; 24.7 percent of the respondents spend some time in watching movies; 18.2 percent of them spend the time for social work as well as in social activities and only 3.2 percent spend time on sports. Sports seems low compared to 36 other recreation because it is not in our culture for women, to play sporting activities. This reveals that women are aware of their status and they feel that besides working, it is equally important to go in for recreational activities to break the monotony, just as their male counterparts do. Table - 12 Time Spent on Household Chores Hours per Day No. of Respondents Percentage 1.9 - 2.9 hrs 9 15.0 3 - 3.9 hrs 28 46.7 4 - 4.9 hrs 23 38.3 Total 60 100.0 fl‘A working woman who is tackling the dual responsibility of a job and a family establishes a system of domestic priorities at the beginning. Table 12 presents the time spent by the working women in household chores. Most of the respondents of the total sample population 46.7 percent spend at least 2 to 4 hours every day 37 in domestic chores. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents spend. four to five hours per day, and fifteen percent of them spend only two hours in household chores. The reason behind this finding is may be that those who spend more time in household chores might be from the middle class family and those who spend only two hours per day might belong to the well-to-do family or their family members might be educated and understanding and helping. No matter what, a woman has to spend some time on household duties. 38 Similarly Table 13, shows the opinion of the working women whether they get enough time for household activities or not. A large number of the working women 55 percent opined that they did not get enough time for household activities; 35 percent of them opined that they got enough time; and only 10 percent of them did not give any opinion. Table - 13 Time Spent in Household Activities by the Respondents Enough Time Spent No. of Respondent Percentage in Household Activities? Yes 21 35.0 No 33 55.0 No opinion 6 10.0 Total 60 100.0 From this finding we can say that any woman who has decided to take up outside work has to give careful thought to their domestic work as they have to maintain their houses whether they get enough time or not. 39 Table 14, again shows us that the working women apart from their household chores have to give some time to their children too. Table - 14 Time Spent on Children by the Respondents Sufficient Time Spent No. of Respondents Percentage on Children? Yes 19 31.7 No 19 31.7 No opinion 22 36.7 Total 60 100.0 Out of the total sample population, 31.7 percent of the married women who had children opined that they got enough time for their children, and similarly 31.7 percent opined that they did not get enough time to spend with their children. And lastly the other respondents who did not give any opinion were mostly unmarried and some were married without children. So all these three table show that the working women have to maintain their houses by performing the household. activities as well as by looking after their 40 children. In Nepalese society a woman. has to play several roles such as a housewife, a mother, a sister, daughter -in- law. etc; because of these several roles women have to allocate their time judiciously t0