IMPACT: International Journal of Research in Business

Management (IJRBM)
ISSN (P): 2347–4572; ISSN (E): 2321–886X
Vol. 9, Issue 1, Jan 2021, 33–58
© Impact Journals

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN HIGHER EDUCATION SEGMENT AND THERE

WORK-LIFE BALANCE: A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED UNIVERSITIES OF
WEST BENGAL
Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee
Phd Scholar, Master of Business Administration Department, Burdwan University, India
Assistant Director, Lifelong Learning & University Engineer (In Charge), The University of Burdwan, India

Received: 09 Jan 2021 Accepted: 12 Jan 2021 Published: 31 Jan 2021

ABSTRACT

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru once said: “If you educate a man you educate an individual, however, if you educate a
women you educate a whole family. Women empowered means mother India empowered”. When women who
contribute almost half of the population are empowered it will strengthen the national economy. Education is the
empowerment and the freedom for excellence for the human society. Nevertheless, the role of education in the half of
the population of the women folk is lagging behind. It is especially more concern when talks in the sense of women
from marginalized section of society. The aim of higher education is to generate knowledge, encouraging critical
thinking and importing skills relevant to the society determined by its needs. The barrier to education for women in
West Bengal and also all over India was the persistent belief that women should not design to talk paid employment
although voluntary work was acceptable. Supplement family incomes and today women are well represented in many
occupations. However access to higher education is often restricted for girls who live in rural areas or towns without
colleges or universities. Women education and empowerment are the indicators of development. Women education
ensures the holistic and long development, it includes equitable and increased access to technical and vocational
education and training, higher education and research with due attention to quality assurance. This communication
has taken a look on women participation through women higher education institutes, women enrolment as compared
with population. Today one of the most important concerns of 21st century is empowerment of women in society;
women empowerment is dependent on various variables that include geographical location, educational status,
social status and age. Women need to be more involved in educational policy decision making process. On the other
hand Higher Education has witnessed a significant development resulting into the growth of a number of institutions
in private and public sector as well. Private sector has its own work culture and intricacies several factors like
placement, counseling, remuneration issues etc. make it unique in its own way. While considering female faculty’s
Identity crisis, financial challenges and gender bias are some pertinent issues which make their life so complex that
they hardly get any time for personal care and enrichment. This is affecting their physical, mental and emotional
well-being adversely making it difficult to attain a balance in their personal and professional life. Apart from this, it
may have a negative impact on the education institutions also as it may lead to lower productivity, fatigue,
absenteeism and attrition. In such a situation female faculties have to face a tremendous pressure due to increasing
responsibilities in their personal life and ever increasing work pressure in professional life. Career women are
challenged by the full-time work and at the end of each work-day in educational institution they carry more of the

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 34 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

responsibilities and commitments to home. Majority of women are working 40-45 hours per week and 53 % are
struggling to achieve work-life balance. Women reported that their life has become a juggling act as they have to
shoulder multiple responsibilities at work and home. Therefore, maintaining work-life balance has become a tough
challenge for them.

KEYWORDS: Women’s Empowerment, Work-Life Balance of Women Faculties in Higher Education Segment, Work-
Family Conflict, Women Education

INTRODUCTION

To educate your women first and leave them to themselves, they will tell you what reforms are necessary. Swami
Vivekananda.

In this contemporary world, women need to gain the same amount of power that men have. Now it is time to
forget that men are the only holders of power. In India, women are still facing different obstacles in male- dominated
society. Women have generally been looked down upon with disdainful contempt. All sorts of structures have been
inflicted upon them, reducing their status to be mere plaything or a slave of man’s whims, a mere chattel to be dumb
driven. They have been confined to the hearth and home. The orthodox male- oriented society in India has still not been
able to adjust itself to the fresh wave of women’s liberation.

But today the times have changed, the Indian women has cast off her age-old shakes of serfdom and male
domination. She has come into her own and started scaling the ladders of social advance with proud dignity. However,
Indian women with slow pace are getting empowerment in the sector like education, politics, the workforce and even more
power within their own households. The worth of civilization can be arbitrated by the place given to women in the society.
The workforce is covered with intellectual women who currently hold the CEO positions at large companies, which never
held by Indian women. In our country, women have reached a long way eventually and have discovered a new path for
them to come. Women have a very great part to play in the progress of the country, as the mental and physical contact of
women with life is much more lasting and more comprehensive than that of men, to fulfill this goal, women have to great
empowered through education, more specifically with higher education. Education can work as the empowerment and the
freedom for excellence and intelligence in the whole world. Although, the role of education is the half of the population of
the women folk is encountering difficulty. It is particularly more concern when discussed in the sense of women from
disregarding section of society, their status, position in the society. Education plays a crucial role in social- economic
development of a country. It can also help in development of human civilization through reducing poverty, ignorance,
exclusion, etc. so education must be provided in every section in our society especially marginalized sections who are the
deprived classes in our society. After completion of elementary and secondary education, attention must be paid on higher
education. The development of a country depends on its growth of education in society because education is one and only
tool which helps to create skilled, responsible, resourceful citizen. Now in 21st century higher education is recognized as a
powerful instrument of social and economic development of society, it plays a vital role through up gradation of depriving
sections, especially women in society, they are the mother of the race, and guardian of future generation. So women
education and empowerment are the indicators of development. Educating girls leads to a number of social benefits
including women empowerment. Presently women in India are facing several problems due to lack of education such as
domestic violence, cruelty of men, gender discrimination, discrimination in the distribution of work and power, economic

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 35
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

exploitation, sexual exploitation etc. Education is the key for women empowerment, prosperity, social development, and
welfare of community in all manners. Women are oppressed in all spheres of life; they need to be empowered in all work
of life. Women empowerment also aims to find out the effect of education on SC and ST women in rural areas.
Empowerment of women involves many things- economic opportunity, social equality and personal rights. Women are
deprived of those rights, often as a matter of tradition. Women are generally not perceived to have any meaningful income
generation capacity and hence they are relegating mainly to household duties and cheap labour. Without the power to work
and earn a good income their voices are silenced. Education is the path of women empowerment because it enables them to
respond to the challenges, to confront their traditional role and change their life.

Side by side we also noticed that work-life balance of women employees has become an important subject since
the time has changed from men was the bread winner, to today’s world where both men and women equally sharing the
responsibility of family life. Though it is a very broad subject which speaks about both career development on one side and
the family care on the other side, it is very necessary to know how the women balanced the professional demands and
domestic compulsions. Professional life means the aim to grow and earn respect in the organization and society at large
and personal life means taking care of family, children, parents, health and spending the leisure time effectively. With the
development in educational, economic and social standards, things have improved to a great extent and the role of women
in balancing their lifestyle is less taxing. But not all women have been able to achieve this balance, as each one of them has
different challenges to balance. Good work life balance is most essential for women in all educational segments including
teaching faculty to be more efficient and effective, thereby attaining job satisfaction which in turn ensures stressful
moulding of good future citizens of the nation. Work life balance for teaching faculty has become a dire challenge and it is
likely to be gaping in the case of women teachers who need to strike the balance between workload and house hold chores.
Imbalance leads to frustration and results in work-family conflicts, strained relationship and poor performance at the work
place. Along with teaching work teachers have been engaged in various other works like census survey, election duty and
so on. With the changing role of women’s in the Indian society they are not working to be independent, but the economic
demand has enforce them to come up in every sector. Major changes visualized among women are that they began to be
more involved in the societal matters. Many women started going for jobs. Thus, women have to play dual roles all
throughout her matured livelihood. The dual roles include the role of working women and other general roles, like role of
mother, wife, daughter etc. constitutes the general roles. Men are also performing these dual roles, but the responsibility
with his general roles is far less than that of women. As working women get married, they have additional responsibilities
andwhen they become mothers, they have to manage the primary care of children and extended family and are thus, under
greater pressure to continue on a career path. The attempt of working women to integrate, organize and balance the various
problems and activities in their different roles simultaneously put them under tremendous pressures. As a result, the family
becomes an organizational stakeholder and this powerful social trend marked the beginning of the work/life balance
paradigm shift. Therefore, teaching in the higher education sector also falls into the women’s empowerment, and work-life
balance is also important for women’s empowerment.

Historical Development of Women Education

The history of Indian women can be divided into three periods i.e. Ancient, Medieval and Modern. The East India
company ruled over Indian since 1757 to 1947, which is called modern period. During this period institutions were opened
to promote the education of men in modernized way but nothing was done to promote women education. In 1858, the

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 36 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

British government took upon itself the direct responsibility of the administration but inspite of this; they did not pay any
attention towards the education of women of this country. Savitribai phule started the first girl’s school way back in1847
which just 13 girls. Later, she started an exclusive school for untouchable girls in 1852, braving the stiff opposition from
vested interests and casteist elements, who believed that women should be confined to the four walls of the house and had
no role or right in society. In 1904, Annie Besant established Central Hindu Girls schools at Banaras and prof. Karue
established SNDT women’s university at Poona for the promotion of women education. After independence, India’s
national government introduced some committee’s and commissions for the development of women education in India, i.e.
Radhakrishnan commission or university education commission (1948) Smt. Durgabai Deshmukh committee (1959), Smt.
Hansa Mehta committee (1962), Bhaktvat Salm committee to look into causes of public support in Rural Area for girls
Education and to public corporation, Kothari Commission (1964-64), Resolution on the National policy on education
(1968), Report of the committee on the status of women in India (1974), Challenge of Education (1985), National policy
on Education (1986), Programme of Action (1986) and (1992), etc. On the other hand, to develop the primary education
and to achieve the aim of universalization of primary education up to age level 6-14 years, some schemes or programs like
OBB, DPEP, SSA, NLM, National program of Nutritional support of primary education (NPNSPE) or (Mid-Day Meals).
RTE Act 2009 and knowledge commission etc. were introduced to achieve the national goal i.e. hundred percent literacy.
Despite these government efforts to the education, still women are lacking behind than men. Women of India generally
remain uneducated as a result of ignorance; women become victims of man dominated society.

Empowerment

The Oxford English Dictionary defines “empowerment” as “the action of empowering; the state of being empowered” and
it was first used in this form in 1849. Since then the term “empowerment” is used across a wide range of disciplines and
each brings different interpretation. Empowerment can be viewed as a way of creating a socially healthy environment in
which one can make decisions and make choices, either individually or collectively for social change. The empowerment
builds up the inherent ability by way of acquiring knowledge, power and experience (Hashemi Schuler and Riley, 1996).
Empowerment is factor shared by many disciplines and arenas. In recent empowerment literature, the meaning of the term
empowerment has often assumed rather than explained or defined. However, some important definition of empowerment
has been mentioned below.

According to Baily (1992) how we precisely define empowerment within our projects and programs will depend
majorly on the specific people and context involved. Rappoport (1984) stated that it is easier to define empowerment by its
absence, but difficult to define in action as it takes on different forms in different people and contexts. Even defining the
concept is subject to debate.

Zimmerman (1984) has noted that asserting a single definition of empowerment may attempt to achieve it for
mulaic or prescription- like, contradicting the very concept of empowerment. Therefore, it can be stated that empowerment
is the practice of enabling or authorizing individual to think, take action and control work in a self- governing way. It is the
procedure by which one can gain control over another’s fate and the situations of one’s life.

Work-Life Balance

In this influx of globalization, organizations feel the heat in the form of competitions to perform better or fulfill the
promises made to the customers in time to survive the business. This heat to large extent percolates down to the employees,

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 37
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

putting pressure on them to show at workplaces, leading to very high stressful situation. In this process lots of demands
pile up from the personal side of the life which is equally important for the employees, which they cannot afford to ignore.
Balancing professional and personal life, better productivity and harmonious life have become challenging.

Work life balance can be defined as the perfect integration between work and life both not interfering with each
other. The performance of any organization depends on its employees, which in turn depends on numerous other factors.
They can be work related or family related or personal. How a person manages various aspects of his helps in achieving
balance at work and private life. A major portion of an individual is spent at work. Any problem either at work place or at
personal life will definitely affect the balance and thus it is very much essential that both are maintained well.

The term ‘work-life balance’ is preferred due to the fact that it encompasses the experiences and needs of parents
and non-parents alike, and is a more progressive theoretical framework in which to think about new ways of living and
working that are satisfactory to all. As work has evolved to be more knowledge based, fluid, and intellectual, it has become
harder to escape (Lockwood, 2003). Employees can no longer easily segregate their work, allowing people to work
anytime from anywhere (Jacobs & Winslow, 2004). This intensification of work makes finding a desirable balance
between work and life outside work much more difficult.

LITERATURE REVIEW

According to Prof. M.K. Ghadoliya empowerment of the women can be done through Self-help Groups. He in his case
study found that – in view of low literacy rate of women and the gigantic task of educating rural women a suitable strategy
will have to be planned. The major task is to identify the areas where these groups in fact, are facing problems because at
this stage only the problem solving adult learning technique will attract these rural poor to improve their working and
income. The success of any strategy of women empowerment depends upon the following factors:

 Level of education, hard work.

 Social custom

 Family planning, small family

 Health, medical services, cleanliness.

 Environment, tree growing, kitchen gardening.

According to Robert Jensen, television is very helpful in increasing the status of women in India. In his paper “The
power of TV, cable Televisions and women status in India” has found that the introduction of television appears in general to
have had large effects on Indian society. This is particularly the case for gender, since this is an area where the lives of rural
viewers differ greatly from those depicted on most popular shows. By virtue of the fact that the most popular Indian serials take
place in urban settings, women depicted on these shows are typically much more emancipated than rural women.

Scrase (2002) reports that several of his respondents thought television might lead women to question their social
position and might help the cause of female advancement.

Makopadhay (2008) investigated the role of education in the empowerment of women in the District of Malda,
West Bengal. The study took in 42 villages of Malda. On the basis of study, it is concluded that women’s status is inferior

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 38 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

of men’s in Malda District. Further, it is found that education emerges as the single most important parameter in
empowering women and the path for economic empowerment which can uplifts the status of women.

Bhat (2015) analysed that education is milestone of women empowerment as it provides them to responds to the
challenges to confront t to the challenges to confront their traditional role and change their life. Further, the study added
that education is the most powerful tool to change the position of society as it brings a reduction in inequalities and acts as
a means of improving their status with the family.

Agrawal and Kukreti (2016) analysed the role of higher education in women empowerment by identifying the
greatest hindrance in the path of women empowerment. The study is theoretical in nature and the source of data collection
is secondary. On the basis of study, it is concluded that there is no doubt about the essential need of empowering women
through higher education. Further, it is mentioned that only literacy is the only solution for empowering women.

Halakerimath and Danappagoudra (2018) studied the empowerment of women through education in the area of
Hubli-Dharwad. The sample size of the study was 50 women only. The data collected were tabulated, analyzed by using
percentage, index and correlation. The findings of the study concluded that to educate women in higher level, improve the
social participation and status of women in society. Education provides knowledge of good decision making skill and
management resources.

The term “empowerment” has been overused, misused, and coopted (Stromquist, 2002; Stacki and Monkman,
2003). It is commonly deployed as a synonym for enabling, participating, and speaking out. The notion that education
leads to women’s empowerment has gained popularity, although we still have much to learn about how education actually
empowers women (Stromquist, 2002; Dacosta, 2008; Murphy-Graham, 2008). Nevertheless, in the past 10 years, the goal
of women’s empowerment (often linked with women’s education) has received serious attention, as well as funding by
donors and international agencies (Unterhalter, 2007; Mosedale, 2005; Malhotra et al., 2002; Papart et al., 2002; Oxaal and
Baden, 1997). Despite its widespread use and occasional abuse, there is some agreement (e.g. Kabeer, 1999; Malhotra
[Link]. 2002; Mosedale, 2005) that empowerment:

 Is a multidimensional process of change from a condition of disempowerment?

 Cannot be bestowed by a third party, as individuals are active agents in this process.

 Is shaped by the context, and so indicators of empowerment must be sensitive to the context in which women live.

At the core of the word empowerment is “power”. Therefore in conceptualizing empowerment I draw on previous
scholarship that views power as capacity (Karlberg, 2005). Hartstock (1983), commenting on the feminist theory of power,
describes how “women’s stress on power as a capacity of the community as a whole, suggests that women’s experience of
connection and relation have more consequences for understandings of power and may hold resources for a more laboratory
understanding”. The idea of power as capacity is at the core of the conceptualization of empowerment in this article, where I
view women’s empowerment as a process through which women come to recognize their inherent worth, their “power
within”(Kabeer, 1994), and begin to participate on equal terms with men in efforts to dismantle patriarchy and promote social
and economic development. Women’s empowerment is not an end in and of itself, but a pivotal step towards establishing
gender equality. In part, gender equality is manifest through a just and equitable sharing of responsibilities by men and
women. Gender equality is not synonymous with gender parity, and does not mean that men and women are the same or need

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 39
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

to split work exactly in half. Rather, it characterizes social conditions and relationships in which a vision of mutuality and
cooperation shapes interactions and enables men and women to reach their full potential (Hooks, 2000).

Moser (1993) focused on the interrelationships between gender and development, the formulation of gender and
the implementation of gender planning and practices. The work of shields (1995) provided an exploratory framework to
understand and develop the concept of empowerment both from a theoretical and practical perspective with a particular
focus on women’s perception of the meaning of empowerment in their lives. Anand and Sen (1995) tried to develop a
measure of gender inequality. Pillarisetti and Gillivrary (1998) mainly emphasized on the methodologyof construction,
composition and determinant of Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM). Bardhan and Klasen (1999) critically examined
Gender related development index (GDI) and GEM as two gender-related indicators of UNDP and argued that there are
serious conceptual and empirical problems with both the measures and suggested some modifications to the measures
including a revision of the earned income component of the GDI. Accordingly, based on their suggestions UNDP modified
the procedure for calculating the GDI since 1999 without mentioning that it was different from previous year’s procedure
(Bardhan and Klasen, 2000).

Similarly Dijkstra and Hanmer (2000) assessed the concept of Gender related development index and pointed out
how it suffered from several limitations. According to them gender related development index conflates relative gender
equality with absolute levels of human development and thus gives no information on comparative gender inequality
among countries. Using GDI they further constructed a Relative status of women (RSW) index and admitted that RSW is
also not an ideal measure of gender inequality.

Dijkstra (2002) while providing a critical review of both the measures identified the strengths and weaknesses of
these and suggested a new measure called Standardized Index of Gender Equality (SIGE) which attempts to encompass all
possible dimensions of gender equality and avoids the conceptual and methodological problems of GDI and GEM. He
further claimed that SIGE can serve as a first approximation of such an overall index. Malhotra et al (2002) in their paper
highlighted methodological issues of measurement and analysis of women empowerment.

Barkat (2008) while discussing the present status of women in Bangladesh opined that although women as
mothers are held in high respect at the individual level, there was an unclear understanding of empowerment of women as
a process of awareness and capacity building leading to greater participation in decision making and control over her own
life.

The work of Chattopadhyay and Duflo (2001) is an important contribution on women empowerment in the
context of India. The authors used a policy of political reservation for women in India to study the impact of women’s
leadership on policy decision. They found that women were more likely to participate in policy making process if the
leader of the village community was happened to be women. Mahanta (2002) sought to explain the question of women’s
access to or deprivation of basic human rights as the right to health, education and work, legal rights, rights of working
women’s besides issues like domestic violence, all the while keeping the peculiar socio-culture situation of the North East
in mind. A workshop organized in 2003 by the Institute of social sciences and south Asia partnership, Canada addressed
the issues like “Proxy Women” who after being elected to panchayat bodies were merely puppets in the hands of their
husbands, relatives and other male panchayat members; and emphasized on training Programme for their capacity building.
Assam Human Development Report ([Link] Assam, 2003) threw some light on in equality in the achievement between

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 40 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

men and women of Assam in different spheres of life. The report viewed that poverty, violence and lack of political
participation were the main issues of concern for South Asian women, and Assam was no exception. The study of Kishor
and Gupta (2004) revealed that average women in India were disempowered relative to men, and there had been little
change in her empowerment overtime. Parashar (2004) examined how mother’s empowerment in India is linked with child
nutrition and immunization and suggested women to be empowered simultaneously along several different dimensions if
they and their children were to benefit across the whole spectrum of their health and survival needs. Sridevi (2005) in her
paper provided a scientific method to measureempowerment. Study of cote de Ivoire revealed that increased female share
in household income leads to increased spending on human development enhancing items (as quoted by Ranis and Stewart,
2005). Blumberg (2005) viewed that economic empowerment of women was the key to gender equality and wellbeing of a
nation. This would not only enhance women’s capacity of decision making but also lead to reduction in corruption, armed
conflict and violence against females in the long run.

Karat (2005) in her works discussed the issues of violence against women, their survival, Political participation
and emancipation. Panda and Agrawal (2005) focused on the factor like women’s property status in the context of her risk
of marital violence and opined that if development means expansion of human capabilities, then freedom from domestic
violence should be an integral part of any exercise for evaluating developmental progress.

Chirita Benerji (2007) weaves a warm, evocative tapestry out of memories of food, ritual and women’s lives in
Bengal. She writes about growing up from girlhood to womanhood in her native land, food and ritual become intimate
experiences, which definitively shape day-to-day life for the women of that culture. Food and cuisine are nothing simple to
Bengal: they are essential to the Indian mental and cultural landscape. Like in agricultural communities the world over,
food and ritual, food and social custom, food and culture, are deeply imprecated. Women’s lives are closely associated
with the production and preparation of food. Certain foods are ‘forbidden’ which Indian windows cannot eat. Association
of food with status is clear.

In the recent years the term “work-life balance” (WLB) has replaced what used to be known as “work-family
balance” (Hudson Resourcing, 2005). Various life activities that need to be balanced with employment may include study,
travel, sport, voluntary work, personal development leisure. “Work-life balance is a broad concept including proper
prioritizing between career and ambition on one hand, compared with pleasure, leisure, family and spiritual development
on the other”. Work and family have increasingly become antagonist spheres, equally greedy of energy and time and
responsible for work-family conflict (WFC) (Coser, 1974).

Work life Balance, in its broadest sense is defined as a satisfactory level of involvement or fit between the
multiple roles in a person’s life. (Hudson, 2005) there is no one accepted definition of what constitutes a work life balance
practice, the term usually refers to one of the following: organizational support for dependent care, flexible work options
and family or personal leave (Estes & Michel, 2005). The literature suggests that lack of balance between work and non-
work activities is related to diminish psychological and physical well-being. (Sparks, 1997; Felstead, 2002) work life
balance is a choice an individual has to take an initiative to help the employees. There is a strong link between work life
balance policies and reduced absenteeism, increased productivity and job satisfaction (Sandeep, 2002). Hyman (2003)
observed that organizational pressures, combined with lack of work areas of employee lives. Several reviews have
highlighted other issues such ad age, gender, life cycle stage, ethnicity, citizenship and child care arrangements which also

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 41
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

merit attention. (Wallace and Cousins, 2004) both men and women prefer working in organizations that support work life
balance. Men appeared to benefit more that women (Burke, 2002).

Work-life balance is defined as an employee’s perception that multiple domains of personal time, family care, and work
are maintained and integrated with a minimum of role conflict (Clark, 2000; Ungerson & Yeandle, 2005). Work-family balance
reflects an individual’s orientation across different life roles, an inter-role phenomenon (Marks and MacDermid, 1996). Work-
life balance is a key issue in all types of employment as dual-career families have become common and high work demands with
long working hours have become the norm. The importance of helping employees achieve a balance between the demands of
their work and their home lives has been emphasized. Demographic changes as seen in the increasing number of women in the
workplace and dual career families have generated an increasingly diverse workforce and a greater need of employees to balance
their work and non-work lives (Bharat 2003; komarraju, 1997; Rajadhyaksha & Bhatnagar, 2000; Ramu, 1989; Sekharan, 1992).
The knowledge economy has created greater access for women coupled with factors such as changes in marital patterns and
smaller families. This has led to an increase in the number of working women and, hence, working mothers (Grossman, 1981).
The gift of this knowledge era of women is occupational opportunity and mobility. But this gift has become a great challenge for
the working women of today as they are not exposed to the same working environment as men but in turn are also exposed to the
pressures created by the multiple role demands and conflicting expectations. “By fulfilling their economic needs, employment
has no doubt made women independent with an identifiable social status but it has also made them to juggle into two main
domains of life work and family. They have stepped into work place but the role responsibilities of women still remain the same,
i.e., women may be a top executive, still the “nurturing” or “care giving” roles are considered much a part of feminine roles”.
(Sunita Malhotra & Sapna Sachdeva, 2005). Many women today are wearing multiple hats in their attempts to balance both
career and home/family responsibilities. Concern about family can interfere with work to a great extent and worries about work
issues can also be exhibited in the family front. The study by Francene Sussner Rodgers (1992) with the sample consisting of
employees of 20 Fortune 500 companies; 28 percent of the men and 53 percent of the women reported that work-family stress
affected their ability to concentrate at work hence revealing that more than half the women and almost a third of the men reported
that/family stress affected their ability to concentrate on the job. Life at work seems so difficult for working women. Pleck’s
(1977) research suggests that family-to-work spill-over is stronger for women and the work-to-family spill-over is stronger for
men. Research suggests that female respondents in all parts of the world are pressured for time, rarely have time to relax and feel
stressed and overworked most of the time, but women in emerging countries feel the stain even more so than women in
developed countries. Women in India (87 %) are most stressed/pressured for time (Nielsen Survey, June 2011). Several studies
have explained the effect of work life conflict on the health of working women. ASSOCHAM’s study based on the survey of 103
corporate female employees from 72 various companies/organizations across 11 broad sectors of the economy focused on the
issues of corporate female employees. One of their significant finding is that high psychological job demands like long working
hours, working under deadlines, without clear direction leads 75 percent of the working females suffer depression or general
anxiety disorder than those women with lowest level of psychological job demands(Nusrat Ahmad, march 2009).

Haslam et al. (2015) reports findings on the challenges working mothers endure and what they consider as
the main support system. Discussions were developed through the use of a semi-structured interview format, which
included questions such as: “what are the challenges working parents face? What are the benefits of being a parent
who works? Does working as a parent have effects on their employments? Do parents who work experience effects
on their parenting? What makes people attend question support programs for parents?” (P.2465).Results of these

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 42 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

questions showed that most participants (94 %) reported that balancing work family demands was hard for them.
Eighty-one percent of the participants stated that support programs for working parents are needed and would help
them achieve balance. This research provided eight themes which were: "the effects of guilt as well as the effects of
work on family life, their support systems, their balance, parenting roles, career effects, the wellbeing of their
relationship and last but not the least the need for support programs"(p.2463). Participants reported having a hard
time getting out their worker's mode once they were home, which in the end had a negative impact on the interaction
with their children. Mothers on his research also expressed having hard time disengaging from work issues while
being at home mainly due to the expectations that were put on them at work. Also, mothers reported that
technological advancements were the main reason for conflict on boundaries between family time and work demands.
They stated not having enough personal time due to the long list of duties on their daily routine, which in the end had
negative effects on their relationship with their families, especially their children and spouses.

A study done by Crowley and Kolenikov (2014) used a total of eight hundred over-the phone surveys with a
sample of mothers who lives across the United States. The questions they were asked included topics of work-place
flexibility. To meet the criteria for this research, participants had to mothers, stepmothers, or gurdians of at least 18 years
old, with at least one child at home. Findings of this research reported the most women who had a partner at home
experienced less stress and less of a negative impact to their careers compared to those without a partner at home. This
study concluded that having a partner as support greatly reduced the risk of experiencing negative career effects by 50.6
percent. The study concluded in supporting the hypothesis that mothers with partners experienced less stress at home and
work.

Levy's (2012) master research provided a summary of studies associated with work-life balance. In her study,
Marks and Macdermid (as cited in Levy, 2012) claimed that women who have well balance in their roles as mothers
experience higher levels of wellbeing. The study showed that those who were more balanced in their lives were not
necessarily the ones who worked the fewest hours. The amount of hours women working were not dictators of self-esteem
and depression levels.

According to Marshall (2009), professional women reported personal benefits, such as the ability to enrich the
lives of and be able to provide for their children. These women also experienced personal gratification for making their
children proud. Marshall (2009) also identified the professional advantages of having a career. The women in the study
reported loving their careers because it toughs them to be more understanding, compassionate, and sensitive, and in the end
making them better mothers. They explained that having a career was important for these women because they were
making a positive impact on society by helping others. In short, these women loved being mothers and professionals. Even
though there is no a magic way to find balance, the women in this study reported that they were able to fulfill their roles as
professionals and mother. Their answers included being able to prioritize, make sacrifices, and compromise as well as
being able also to embrace their love for their careers and families by believing in themselves and knowing their strength
and abilities.

Vijaya Mani (2013) has uncovered the central point impacting the work life parity of ladies experts in India, for
example, part clash, absence of acknowledgment, authoritative governmental issues, sex separation, elderly and youngsters
consideration issues, nature of wellbeing, issues in time administration and absence of fitting social backing.

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 43
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

[Link] Lakshmi et al, (Walk 2013) have inspected that the instructive foundations should address the work
life offset related issues among their staff, particularly ladies also, take an all-encompassing way to deal with outline and
actualize the approaches to bolster the instructing staff to deal with their work life balance. Kumarik, Thriveni et al, (2012)
have considered and broke down the huge relationship between the demographic variables and Work- Life Balance.

Shalini and Bhawna 2012 reported in their study Nature of work life is being utilized by the associations as a key
apparatus to pull in and hold the representatives and all the more essentially to help them to keep up work life parity with
equivalent consideration on execution and duty at work.

Hochschild (1997) has observed that to enhance commitment to an organization, the promotion of work life
balance policies is of a compulsory interest to the governing body. Hyman et al (2003) discovered that the work- related
factors which intrude the non-work of employees’ lives are organizational pressures clubbed with lack of work centrality.
Such intrusions often manifest themselves differently depending on the type of work, extent of autonomy and
organizational support (Hyman et al, 2003; Atkison and Meager 1986). According to Fisher and Layte (2003) three distinct
sets of measures of work-life balance, were identified namely proportion of free time, the over-lap of work and other
dimensions of life, and the time spent with other people. Burke (2002) noted than an organization that supports work life
balance is preferred by both men and women. The benefit for men appeared to be more than women. Satisfaction was more
for men when their achievement in job was more even at the cost of ignoring the family. On the other hand, women
emphasized the need to strike a balance between work and family sources for their gratification. Women feel unhappy,
disappointed and frustrated when work prevents them from taking care of their family. Women do not like the
crisscrossing of the boundaries between work and home.

Bachmann (2000) and Schwartz (1994) found that work arrangements such as flexi-time, telework ethic are
depicted as an important component of an individual’s work preference towards work time. There is a suggestion that such
work arrangements will help the employee achieve a better blend between their work and non-work activities. This will
assist the organizations recruit, retain and motivate their work force. Thompson et al.(1999) found that work folk
cultivation is a collective perception by members of an organization that it “supports and values the integration of
employees’ work and family lives”. Indian families are undergoing rapid changes due to the increased pace of urbanization
and modernization. Indian women belonging to all classes have entered into paying jobs. At present time, Indian women’s
exposure to educational opportunities is substantially higher that it was some decades ago, especially in the urban context.
This has opened new vistas, increased awareness and raised aspirations of personal growth. This, along with economic
pressure, has been instrumental in influencing women’s decision to enter the work force. Work life balance of women
employees has become an important issue since the time in today’s world where both men and women equally share the
responsibility of earning for the betterment of their family life. Hence it is really necessary to know how the women
balance very professional and domestic life.

Women Empowerment and Higher Education:-

“Woman is the builder and moulders of a nation’s destiny. Though delicate and soft as a lily, she has a heart far stronger
and bolder than a man, she is the supreme inspiration for the man’s onward march, an embodiment of love, pity and
compassion, she is no doubt, her commanding personality; nevertheless, is given by Solemn”- Rabindranath Tagore.

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 44 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

Women who nearly constitute half of the population of the country are essential to play vital role in the growth
and development of the country. A nation goes ahead only through the contribution of all its members. To realize the
dream of becoming a developed country, there is a need for mobilization of women in large numbers by empowering them.
Empowerment of women that will have long-term impacts must comprise of consciousness raising before the social
structure of gender, which minions women in the family, class, caste, religion, or society can be improved. Bookman and
Morgen (1988) accepted empowerment as the recognition of the forces which act to dominate women and the motivation
to change those factors in each woman’s life which allow them to act. As Hall (1992) wrote in his literature “It is not the
women’s purpose to take power from men; rather, the goal of women is to develop their own power while respecting men
for who they are” (1992:104).

International convention in all forms of Discrimination against women (ICDAW) in 1993 mentioned that
education is one of the most important means of empowering women with knowledge, skill and self-confidence, necessary
to participate fully in the development process. Educating women benefit the whole society. It has a more significant
impact on poverty and development than men’s education.

Higher education (such as graduation, post-graduation, professionals courses, certificate diploma, Ph.D., etc.) is a
discretionary last phase of formally discovering potential in a person. The privilege of access to higher education is
referenced in various universal human rights instruments. Higher Education is the aggregate of organized knowledge and
practical skills that let theoretical and practical problems to be solved by a given type of training, developing and creatively
evolving the modern achievements of science, technology, and culture. The term “higher education” is as well applied to
the training of highly skilled professionals in the fields of economics, science, technology, and culture in various types of
higher schools, which accept persons who have successfully completed secondary general- education schools or secondary
specialized- education institutions.

Higher Education in West Bengal

From the days of Adam Smith, the role of education in economic development, as a possible contributor to greater social
and economic equality and as an enhancer of development, as a possible contributor to greater social and economic
equality and as an enhancer of development was extensively recognized. The 18th and 19th century school reformers in the
US like Horace Mann, Henry Barnard, James Carter, Robert Dale Owen and George Evans favored educational
opportunities to be extended to poorer groups of population. In the early 20th century, Marshall emphasized that “the most
valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings” and that “knowledge is our most powerful engine of production; it
enables us to subdue Nature and force her to satisfy our wants.”

The human capital theory propounded by Schultz (1961) laid a strong foundation for treating education as
an investment source of economic growth. According to the human capital theory, education transforms row human
beings into productive ‘human capital’ by imparting knowledge and inculcating skill required by both the traditional
sector and the modern sector of the economy, and makes individuals more productive members of the society, not
only in the market place but also in the households and also in the whole society. Extensive empirical research during
the last four decades has established that education makes a significant positive contribution to development directly
as a factor of production, or indirectly through innovations, skill formation and technological development and
through several externalities.

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 45
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

Higher education is a very important form of investment in human capital. It enables people to learn for
themselves and think critically. In the present context of transformation into knowledge societies, higher education
provides not just educated workers but knowledge workers. The higher education system plays an important role in the
social, economic and scientific development of a nation. It equips people with skills for gainful employment and enhances
productivity and earnings (Duraisamy, 2002). The development of higher education is thus important especially for India,
which is currently experiencing a demographic dividend with a relatively higher share of youth in the population.

History of the modern education system in West Bengal dates as far back as to 1817 when the Hindu college was
founded in Calcutta, which was later renamed as the Presidency College. The bulk of the higher quality colleges in West
Bengal were bunched along the bank of the Ganga-Bhagirathi, whose essentially monocrop and stagnant agriculture made
it inevitable that large numbers of indigent lower gentry from higher status families would seek alternative occupations in
whatever few opportunities there were, for junior service in trade, commerce and petty administration (Government of
West Bengal 1984).

Work Life Balance among Teachers

Importance of a positive Work Life Balance is important in the case of working women. They have to manage the home as
well as the office. Work Life Balance does not mean an equal balance. It means the capacity to schedule the hours of
professional and personal life so as to lead a healthy and peaceful life. It is not a new concept; it emphasizes the values,
attitudes and belief of women regarding their age to work in organizing and balancing their work and personal life. When a
woman achieves a successful work-life balance, she has job satisfaction and becomes highly committed and productive and
succeeds in her career. But, in certain cases the woman is not able to succeed due to incapability in balancing her work and
personal life, she is unable to set her priorities. As a result, she with draws for her children, aged in laws/ parents, and other
family pressures. If the man is able to share some of her responsibilities, she would be successful women. Women have
had successful work-life balance, because their husbands shared an equal partnership both in professional and personal life.

With the development in educational, economic and social standards, things have improved to a great extent and
the role of faculty in balancing their lifestyle is less taxing. Work-life balance for teaching professional has become one of
the greatest challenges in today’s world. Teachers’ workloads not only demand their time in the institution, but also extend
to their home so as to get prepared for the following day, apart from maintaining students’ records and attending various
institutions related functional requirements. Teachers need to spend extra hours every day to be effective and productive in
their profession so that they could reach higher levels and face the challenging atmosphere. Moreover, teachers not only
look forward towards teaching, but need to also focus on soft skills and life skills so that they not only produce good
professionals but also develop good citizens, from this point teachers should have fruitful work-life balance. A study on
work-life balance of women employees with reference to teaching faculties ([Link] Lakshmi & [Link] Gopinath,
2011) have shown that the majority of women are working 40-45 hrs./week out of which almost 53 % of them struggle to
achieve work-life balance. The reason behind this struggle is that they are being challenged by the demands of their
institution versus the commitments of their home. They need to manage the daily requirements of their family as one side
and the multiple schedules, meeting, business requirements and other routine responsibilities at work. Lack of concern
towards teachers’ issues and problems is perhaps due to fewer awareness & understanding about them. That teaching
faculty undergoes severe stress as they try to balance their domestic life and professional life. Continued work under

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 46 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

pressure would result in poor performance in the institution as well as domestic life. In this context, the researchers
identified that the work life balance of the teachers is one of the areas which least explored and also the urgency of brought
out this concern to the public.

Need for Ensuring Work-Life Balance of Women Employee

Organizations today face heightened competition on a worldwide basis, employees are experiencing increasing
performance pressures and hours spent at the workplace may be increasing (Schor, 1991). High performance organizations
have raised their expectations regarding time, energy, and work commitment. These expectations may be particularly
difficult for women to meet, since women still perform the bulk of household tasks (Hochschild, 1989, 1997). The inability
to balance work and life has severe implications because it affects every aspect of women’s lives. The stress created from
being pulled in multiple directions has negative consequencesfor psychological and physical well-being (Kinman & Jones,
2004). When women are spread too thin attempting to satisfy all of the competing demands on their time, they are not able
to complete any task to the best of their ability causing all their roles to suffer. Productivity at work is affected and the
quality of women’s relationship with friends and family are harmed. This psychological stress stemming from their
inability to give 100 percent at work and at home can also produce problems for women’s physical health. Poor nutrition,
lack of exercise, and high levels of stress that result from poor work/life balance can cause physical symptoms such as
fatigue, headaches, insomnia, and back pains and sometimes lead to more serious illness including heart conditions that
result in long-term consequences for women and their families (Kinman & Jones, 2004). Better work life balance creates
high levels of employee satisfaction. It provides a solid return for the organization as well as the work force. Work-life
balance programs can also help by reinforcing recruitment, raising employee retention, decreasing absenteeism, limiting
late comers, powering up productivity, promoting participation in training, contending with competition and engaging the
emerging labor market (Better Balance, Better Business, 2004).

Work/life balance not only affects working women and their friends and families, but it is also relevant to
organizations from a business standpoint. Women now make up half the workforce, and if organizations want to compete
in the globalized market place, they have to maximize their use of the available talent pool. Work/life imbalance takes a
toll on women’s job satisfaction and commitment to the organization (Kinman, 2001). If women do not receive adequate
support from employers in managing their work and home demands, they are more likely to opt for part-time work or leave
paid employment entirely. This has significant business cost associated with absenteeism and turnover, and ultimately
limits women’s full participation in the labor force preventing organizations from hiring the best persons for each job
(Todd, 2004). Poor work/life balance has negative implications for organizations in the global economy, as well as for
individual women and their families. Furthermore, worklife balance has a great influence over the organization. Sometime
it is costly for the organization. The costly consequences of work life imbalance of employee towards organization arises
by increased absenteeism, increased employee turnover, reduced productivity, increased disability costs, increased health
costs, reduced job satisfaction, increased managerial stress, and impaired family/social relationships (Better Balance,
Better Business, 2004).

Empowering Women through Education

Education is the key to gender equality. Education and employment are two basic tools that can change the economic and
social status of women in the near future, as well as for a long time. The literacy rate is generally considered as one of the

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 47
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

important indicators of the development of a population and the educational level of a population is considered an
important determinant of their quality of life. Education interacts with other human development variables in crucial ways.
For example, universal education and special attention to women’s education are critical to improving the health practices
of a community. In addition, of course, universal education is also likely to be necessary for meaningful and effective
decentralization, especially in the next phase when panchayat are given greater responsibility for a wide range of activities.
The literacy rate in West Bengal has always been higher than the all-India average and West Bengal ranks sixth among the
leading states in this regard. But up to the last decade, the improvement in literacy has been relatively slow in the state,
especially for women. However, in the last decade, the state government has been concentrating its efforts through various
special schemes such as “total literacy campaigns”, “non-formal education”, etc. Apart from formal education for children,
the goal of ‘education for all’ achieve as soon as possible.

Role Of Empowerment in Empowering Women in West Bengal

Empowered women should be able to participate in the decision-making process in social and economic life inside and
outside the home. The main finding is that employment has a positive impact on active participation in the decision –
making process at home. Thus, the results show that in general 38.1 percent of women have generally participated in
household decisions, in the rural area 34.26 percent, but the urban area improved a lot, such as 47.5 percent. It is also found
that Muslim women are not a good contributor to household decisions compared to Hindu women, because Hindu women
are highly engaged in employment compared to Muslim women in both rural and urban areas of West Bengal. Therefore,
the study of motivators is acting as a catalyst for the process of effective empowerment.

Obstacles in the Path of Women Empowerment

In the 21 st century, women began to get educated and take part in the social, legal economic and political field. Now
women are not in boundaries, they are awakened moving towards progress. In India there is the persistent belief that
women should not deign to take paid employment although voluntary work was acceptable. Yet, the census 2011
indicates that the literacy rate of women in India is only 64 %, i.e. below the average which is 74 %. Lack of
education is the root base of women’s exploitation and ignorance. Only education can help women to know about the
rights and duties given in the Indian Constitution, furthermore, there are some more obstacles which hinder the
empowerment of women, these are:

Social Norms

Many societies in India restrict women for leaving the house, given to their orthodox belief and age old traditions. Women
in such societies are not allowed to go outside either for education or for employment and are forced to live an isolated and
dejected life. Women living under such conditions because accustomed to being inferior to men and are unable to change
their present social and economic state.

Work place Sexual Harassment

Workplace sexual harassment is the most significant barrier to women empowerment in India. Private sectors like
hospitality industry, software industry, educational institutions, and hospitals are some of the worst affected. It is a
manifestation of deep rooted male supremacy in the society. There had been a steep rise of about 170 % in the workplace
sexual harassment of women in India in the past couple of decades.

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 48 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

Gender Discrimination

Majority of women in India still face gender discrimination at work place as well as in the society. Many societies don’t
allow the women to go out for employment or education. They are not allowed to take independent decisions either for
work or for family, and are treated inferior to men. Such discrimination of the women leads to their socio economic decline
and hugely contradicts “Women Empowerment”.

Child Marriage

Though, India has successfully reduced child marriages in the path few decades, through a number of laws and initiatives
taken by the government; still a report in early 2018 by the UNICEF (United Nations Children Emergency Fund) states
that nearly 1.5 Million girls in India get married before they turn 18. Early marriage reduces the growth prospects of girls
who soon are moving onto adulthood.

Crimes Against Women

Indian women have been subjected to domestic violence and other crimes such as- dowry, honor killing, trafficking etc.
It’s strange that the women in urban areas are more prone to criminal assault than the women in rural areas. Even working
women in big cities avoid using public transport in late hours, fearing their modesty and life. Women empowerment can
only be achieve in true sense if we ensure safety of our women, providing them the liberty to roam free and without fear as
the men in the society do.

METHODOLOGY

To know the real status of work-life balance and empowerment, a survey is conducted with the help of a structured
questionnaire on 320 female teachers of 2 universities of West Bengal. The sample as shown below was selected through
the stratified disproportionate random sampling method.

Table 1 shows the researchers have focused on the teachers because of the fact that teacher is the backbone of a
nation, the empowerment and work-life balance should be improved. The opinions of the sample respondent were recorded
on 5 points Likert-type summated rating scales. The secondary data and information were obtained through library
researches and survey of office documents from text books and related available published articles on work-life balance
and empowerment. The data thus collected were tabulated first manually after when they were analyzed by employing
statistical techniques like percentage.

Table 1
Type of No. of No. of Female Sample Sample
Name
Education Teacher Teacher Institution Respondents
Amity 746 374 1 200
Universities
Burdwan 877 176 1 120
Total 2 320
Source: Registrar’s Establishment Department

Analysis and Interpretations of Opinion Survey on Work-Life Balance of Female Teachers of Selected Universities
of West Bengal

To know real pictures of work-life balance and empowerment of female faculties in Bengal a survey has been conducted.
The analysis and interpretations of the opinion survey has been appended below:

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 49
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

Table 2 shows We see in above table 1 that as regard the statement, “I want to leave my job because of work life
balance condition”, 45 % and 32 % respondents respectively showed ‘strong disagreement’, and ‘disagreement’ that is, 77
% (45 %+32 %) respondents do not want to leave their jobs because of work-life balance situation. Whereas, 13 %, 6 %,
and 4 % respondents showed respectively ‘somewhat agreement’, ‘agreement’ and ‘strongly agreement’, it means, 23 %
respondents want to leave their job because of work-life balance.

As regard the statement, “My job and family interfere with one another and for these reason I am losing family
empowerment”’ 31 % and 22 % respondents respectively showed ‘strong disagreement’ and ‘disagreement’, that is, 53 %
respondents replied that their work-life balance situation is good and side by side they also good at empowering her family.
Whereas, 26 %, 10 %, and 11 % respondents showed respectively ‘somewhat agreement’, ‘agreement’ and ‘strongly
agreement’, it means, 47 % respondents replied their work-life balance condition is not good.

As regards the statement, “I can manage the demands of work and personal life and I also enjoying my
empowerment in both work and personal life”, 9 % and 13 % respondents respectively showed ‘strong disagreement’, and
‘disagreement’, that is 22 % respondents replied that they are unable to manage their work-life balance and empowerment
situation. Whereas, 25 %, 39 %, and 14 % respondents showed respectively ‘somewhat agreement’, ‘agreement’ and
strongly agreement’, it means, 78 % respondents replied that they are able to manage their work-life balance and
empowerment situation.

Table 3 shows We see in above table 2 that as regards the statement, “My personal or family life has kept me
disturbed from doing a job as good as I could do and my empowerment is being ruined”. 17 % and 39 % respondents
respectively showed ‘strong disagreement’, and ‘disagreement’ that is, 56 % (17 %+39 %) respondents replied that their
personal or familial life did not disturb them that their personal or familial life did not disturb them in doing their jobs
perfectly and their empowerment are not ruined. Whereas, 22 %, 10 %, and 12 % respondents showed respectively
‘somewhat agreement’, ‘agreement’ and ‘strongly agreement’ it means 44 % respondents replied that their personal or
familial life disturbed them in doing their jobs perfectly and their empowerment are ruined.

As regard the statement, “My spouse/ parents/family is /are cooperative to maintain a work life balance and I
enjoy my full empowerment”. 8 % and 18 % respondents respectively showed ‘strongly disagreement’ and ‘disagreement’
that is 26 % (8 %+18 %) respondents replied that their spouse/parents/family is not cooperative and they do not have any
empowerment. Whereas, 21 %, 46 % and 7 % respondents showed respectively ‘somewhat agreement’, ‘agreement’ and
‘strongly agreement’, it means 64 % respondents replied their spouse/parents/family is always cooperative in ensuring
work-life balance and enjoys their empowerment.

Table 4 shows that as regards the statement, “My job and my empowerment have kept me disturbed from giving
attention to my family”. 17 % and 24 % respondents respectively showed ‘strong disagreement’, and ‘disagreement’ that is
41 % ( 17 %+24 %) respondents replied that their jobs and empowerment did not disturb them in providing time to their
family. Whereas, 45 %, 10 %, and 4 % respondents showed respectively ‘somewhat agreement’, ‘agreement’, and
‘strongly disagreement’, it means 59 % respondents replied that their jobs & empowerment disturbed them in providing
time to their family.

As regards the statement, “My organization/ colleagues are cooperative to maintain a work life balance and I can
apply my full empowerment”. 13 % and 8 % respondents respectively showed ‘strong disagreement’, and ‘disagreement’

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 50 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

that is 21 % (13 %+8 %) respondents replied that their organization as well as their colleagues are not cooperative enough
in ensuring their work-life balance and their colleagues/ high level managers envy for their empowerment. Whereas 26 %,
45 % and 8 % respondents showed respectively ‘somewhat agreement’, ‘agreement’ and ‘strongly agreement’ it means 79
% respondents replied that their organization as well as their colleagues are cooperative in ensuring their work-life balance
and they apply their empowerment.

Table 2: Work-Life Balance and Empowerment

Strongly Somewhat Strongly
Disagree Agree
Statement Disagree Agree Agree
(2) (4)
(1) (3) (5)
I want to leave my job because of work-life 45 % 32 % 13 % 6% 4%
balance condition (144) (103) (42) (19) (12)
My job and family interfere with one another,
31 % 22 % 26 % 10 % 11 %
and for these reason I lose my empowerment on
(99) (71) (183) (32) (35)
family.
I can manage the demands of work and personal
9% 13 % 25 % 39 % 14 %
life and I am enjoying my empowerment in both
(28) (42) (80) (125) (45)
work and personal life.

Table 3: The Effect of Family on Work and Empowerment on Work

Strongly Disagree Somewhat Agree Strongly
Statement
Disagree (1) (2) Agree (3) (4) Agree (5)
My personal or family life has kept me
17 % 39 % 22 % 10 % 12 %
disturbed from doing a job as good I could do
(54) (125) (70) (32) (39)
and my empowerment is being ruined.
My spouse/parents/family is/are cooperative
8% 18 % 21 % 46 % 7%
to maintain a work life balance and I enjoy my
(26) (58) (67) (147) (22)
full empowerment.

Table 4: The Effect of Work on Family and the Effect of Empowerment on Family
Strongly Somewhat Strongly
Disagree Agree
Statement Disagree Agree Agree
(2) (4)
(1) (3) (5)
My job and my empowerment has kept me 17 % 24 % 45 % 10 % 4%
disturbed from giving attention to my family (54) (77) (144) (32) (13)
My organization/Colleagues are cooperative to
13 % 8% 26 % 45 % 8%
maintain a work life balance and in the office I can
(42) (26) (83) (143) (26)
apply my full empowerment.

Role of Higher Education in Empowerment of Women

Universities should play a keen part in order to achieve the goal of cent percent literacy in women population.
Nevertheless, legislation and policy changes are crucial towards study of women as they are equal partner for development
of the nation. At higher education level, major roles may take place which is highlighted below:

Scholarships for Girls

Universities should start giving scholarships to the outstanding girls in different disciplines. It will also motivate girls
from different societies to come ahead for education and compete with their classmates. These scholarships may be
given in those areas where there is a need for girls for the development of society, e.g. nursing, teaching, pathology,
pharmacy etc.

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

 Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 51
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

Interaction of Universities with Girl’s School

Universities should arrange seminars and extra time lectures by the experts in girl’s schools in different areas. These
experts will share with girl students the possibilities of new areas where they can seek admission. Not only this, they will
also make aware the girl students about the future need of the different subjects.

Start Short Term Courses for Women

Universities should offer new short-term courses for women like yoga education, nursing, cutting and stitching, etc. These
courses will help them to start work at their own for their economic independence. Along with it, university degrees will
provide them better opportunities in the job market.

Developing Relationships with Industries

Universities should start the relationship with different industries. By doing so, the university authorities should apprehend
the type of jobs in different areas. Along with it, they can also find out the jobs which are suitable for girls. They can start
such courses with the help of different industries. Also, these industries will provide placement to the girl’s students.

Introducing New Professional Courses for Women

Universities should introduce new professional courses for women, which they can join after completing their senior
secondary education. These courses should be from those core areas which are job oriented. After doing these courses
either they can go for jobs in offices/institutions or they can do work on their own. The courses like interior decoration,
jewellery designing, script writing for TV and radio, computer hardware, technical know-how of electronic gadgets, etc.

6. Courses in agriculture and allied fields:-

Nearly 60 % of India’s populations are involved and dependent upon agriculture. Undoubtedly women are also working in
the fields. If they are provided training in different aspects of agriculture, they can certainly do wonders in these fields also.
It will not only increase the productivity of land, but it will also provide monetary gains to the individual/family.

How to Improve the Work-Life Balance of the Female Teachers:-

We sought suggestions from the respondents to improve their work-life balance situation. The respondents mentioned
many factors that can improve their work-life balance situations. The suggestions arise from the respondents are as
follows:

Table 5 shows it is seen 27.19 % (87) respondents opined those flexible working hours can help in improving work life
balance situation. According to Eikhof (2012), flexibility and choice over working hours and location are commonly regarded as
a key, facilitator for reconciling work and life/family demands, and therefore as an enabler of women’s careers and a catalyst of
equality in the work-place. 24.06 % (77) respondents opined that transport facility by the employer can help a lot to improve
work life balance situation because in West Bengal transport is one of the problem for the employees. 13.13 % (42) replied that
both residential facilities and child care center arranged by employer can also contribute significantly in improving work-life
balance. Whereas, 9.06 (29) and 8.13 % (26) respectively replied that job sharing and reduced workload can improve work-life
balance of the female employees of Bengal. Booth and vanours (2005)found that Australian women are happier with shorter
working hours. Again, 5.30 % (17) opined that child schooling facility by the employer can help in improving work-life balance

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

 52 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

situation. Similar findings also found by many researchers. (Burke 1994a, b, Cassell, 1997 and Deery, 2008). Studied have shown
that these practices increase employee satisfaction; work ethic and motivation (Friedman, 1992); reduce absenteeism and staff
turnover rates (Galinsky and Stein, 1990); raise satisfaction with the balance between work and family (Ezra and Deckma, 1996);
and diminish work-family conflict (Goff et al; 1990) and related stress (Johnson,1995).

Table 5:
Weight Number of
Factors
(%) Respondents
 Flexible working hour (roistered days off and family
27.19 87
friendly starting and finishing times)
 Transport Facility 24.06 77
 Residential Facility 13.13 42
 Child Care Center 13.13 42
 Flexible work arrangement/ job sharing 09.06 29
 Reduced working hours & workload 08.13 26
 Child Schooling 05.30 17
Total 100 % 320

CONCLUSIONS

Work life balance for teaching engineering has become one of the greatest challenges in today’s world. Teachers need to
spend extra hours’ every day to be effective and productive in their profession so that they could progress in their career.
The increase in work ethics and consumerist culture has grown to greater extent that the value of parenting and home
making has deteriorated. Work based support to women is positively associated to job satisfaction, organizational
commitment and career accomplishment. These reviews highlight that there are work-life balance issues that need to be
addressed and it also reveals that both family and job of female teachers of West Bengal are being affected due to work-life
balance situation, but that should be no more for the family of the teachers. Indeed, women in the workplace can be
blessings only when both family as well as organization will receive proper service from them and they will be able to
contribute to both family as well as organization only when the organization will ensure flexible working hour, transport
facility, residential facility, child care center, etc. It is a pertinent aspect for promoting women empowerment.

On the other hand the emphasis of this study is known about the role of higher education in women
empowerment. Higher education was recognized as a powerful instrument of social-economic advancement of the society
in general and a vehicle for upward social mobility for deprived and marginalized sections in particular. The role of higher
education is bringing out the importance of women and their position in Indian society. It is especially more concern when
talks in the sense of women from marginalized section of society, their empowerment, status, position in the society and
the role of education in the higher and other strata of educational fields. The grant or financial support and the support of
the family are like a catalyst in bringing the change in the status and position of women in society through the promotion of
education. The study also discussed the obstacles such as social norms, workplace sexual harassment, gender
discrimination, child marriage etc. in the path of women empowerment.

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 53
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

REFERENCES

1. Agrawal, D. C. and Kukreti, A. (2016): Role of Higher Education in Women Empowerment in India. Motherhood
International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research & Development, 1(2): 24-29.

2. Ashford and Lori, S. (1995): gender equality and empowerment of women. Population Bulletin, 50(1): 17-22.

3. Asher, R. (2011), Shattered: Modern Motherhood and the Illusion of Equality, Random House; London.

4. Anand, S. and [Link] (1995): “Gender Inequality in Human Development: Theories and Measurement,” in
Fukuda Parr and A.K. Shiv Kumar (eds.) Readings in Human Development, OUP, New Delhi.
5. Beijing Documents (1995): The Agenda for Women’s Empowerment, Populi, 22(8).

6. Better Balance, Better Business: Alberta Human Resources and Development, ISBN 7785-1606-7, Retrieved
October 11, 2012 from [Link]
7. Bhat, R. A. (2015): Role of Education in the Empowerment of Women in India. Journal of Education and
Practice, 6(10): 188- 191.

8. Blyton, P. and Dastmalchian, A. (2006), “Work-life integration and the changing context of work”, in Blyton, P.
Blunsdon, B., Reed, K. and Dastmalchian, A. (Eds), Work-Life Integration: International Perspectives on the
Balancing of Multiple Roles, Palgrave, Basingstoke.

9. Burke, R.J. (1994a), “Females on corporate boards of directors: views of Canadian CEOs”, Women in
Management Review, Vol. 9 No. 5, pp. 3-10.
10. Burke, R.J. (1994b), “Females on corporate boards of directors: forces for change?” Women in Management
Review, Vol. 9 No. 1, p. 27.

11. Burnett, S., Gatrell, C., Copper, C. and Sparrow, P. (2011), “Fatherhood and flexible working: a contradiction in
terms?” in Kaiser, S., Ringlstetter, M., Eikhof, D.R. andPina e Cunha,M. (Eds),Creating Balance? International
Perspectives on the Work-Life Integration of Professionals: Springer, Heidelberg.

12. Bardhan, k. and [Link] (1999): “UNDP’S Gender Related Indices: A critical review,” World Development,
VOL.27, No. 6, PP. 985-1010.

13. Bardhan, k. and [Link] (2000): “On UNDP’S revisions of the Gender related Development Index”, Journal of
Human Development, Vol. 1, PP. 191-195.

14. Bharat, S. 2003, “Women, Work and Family in Urban India, towards new families?” in J.W. Berry, R.C. Mishra
and R.C. Tripathi Ed, psychology in human and social development, Lessons from diverse cultures PP. 155-169.
New Delhi, India Sage.

15. Cassell, C. (1997), “The business case for equal opportunities: implications for females in management”, Women
in Management Review., Vol. 12, pp. 11-17.

16. Chattopadhyay, R. and E. Duflo (2001): “Women’s Leadership and Policy Decisions: Evidence from a
Nationwide Randomized Experiment in India”, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta and Department of
Economics, MIT, and NBER.

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

54 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

17. Clark SC (2000). Work/ Family Border Theory: A New Theory of Work/Family Balance. Human Relations 53(6):
747-770.

18. DaCosta, D., Spoiled sons’ ‘and “sincere daughters: ‘‘schooling, security, and empowerment in rural West
Bengal, India. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 2008, 33 (2), pp. 283–307.

19. Deery, M., (2008), Talent management, work-life balance and retention strategies, International Journal of
Contemporary Hospitality Management Vol. 20(7), pp. 792-80.

20. Doherty, L. (2004), ‘‘Work-life balance initiatives: implications for women’’, Employee Relations, Vol. 26 No. 4,
pp. 433-52.

21. Dijkstra, G. and L.C. Hanmer (2000): “Measuring Socio-economic Gender Inequality: Towards an Alternative to
the UNDP- Gender- related Development Index”, Feminist Economics, Vol.6, N0.2, PP. 41-75.

22. Dijkstra, G. (2002): “Revisiting UNDP’S GDI and GEM: Towards an Alternative”, Social Indicator Research,
Vol.57, No. 3, PP. 301-338.

23. Eikhof, D., Ruth, (2012), A double-edged sword: twenty-first century workplace trends and gender equality,
Gender in Management: An International Journal Vol. 27 (1), pp. 7-22.

24. Employers for Work-Life Balance (EfWLB) [Link] Ezra, M. and

Deckman, M. (1996), “Balancing work and family responsibilities: flextime and child care in the federal
government”, Public Administration Review, Vol. 56 No. 2, pp. 174-9.

25. Fleetwood, S. (2007), “Re-thinking work-life balance: editor’s introduction”, International Journal of Human
Resource Management, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 351-9.

26. Friedman, D.E. (1992), “Linking work-family issues to the bottom line”, Report No. 962, The Conference Board,
New York, NY.

27. Galinsky, E. and Stein, P.J. (1990), “The impact of human resource policies on employees”, The Journal of
Family Issues, Vol. 11 No. 4.

28. Goff, S.J., Mount, M.K. and Jamison, R.L. (1990), “Employer supported child care, work family conflict and
absenteeism: a field study”, Personnel Psychology, Vol. 43, pp. 793-809.

29. Grant-Vallone, E. J., & Ensher, E. A. (2001). An examination of work and personal life conflict, organizational
support and employee health among international expatriates. International Journal of Intercultural Relations,
25, 261-278.

30. Greenhaus, J. H., Collins, K. M., & Shaw, J. D. (2003). The relation between work-family balance and quality of
life. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 63, 510-531.

31. Grzywacz, J. G., Frone, M. R., Brewer, C. S., & Kovner, C. T. (2006). Quantifying work-family conflict among
registered nurses. Research in Nursing and Health, 29, 414-426.

32. Hill, E.J., Hawkins, A.J., Ferris, M. & Weitzman, M.( 2001), Finding an extra day a week: The positive influence
of perceived job flexibility on work and family life balance. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 55
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

Family Studies, 50, 49–58.

33. Hochschild, A.R. (1989), The Second Shift, Avon, New York, NY.

34. Hartstock, N., Money Sex and Power: Towards a Feminist Historical Materialism. Longman, New York, 1983.

35. Hooks, B., Feminism is for everybody. South End Press; Cambridge, MA, 2000.

36. Halakerimath, V. C. and Danappagoudra, S. B. (2018): A Study On Empowerment Of Women Through

Education. International Journal of Current Research and Modern Education, 3(1): 393-399.

37. Johnson, A.A. (1995), “The business case for work-family programs”, Journal of Accountancy, Vol. 180 No.

38. Kabeer, N., Resources, agency achievements: reflections on the measurement of women‘s empowerment.
Development and Change 1999, 30, pp.435–464.

39. Karlberg, M., The power of discourse and the discourse of power: pursuing peace through discourse intervention.
International Journal of Peace Studies 2005, 10 (1), pp. 1–25.

40. Karimi, L. (2006). A test of a model of work-family interface: A study of Iranian employees. Perth, Australia:
Curtin University of Technology Press.

41. Kinman, G. (2001). Pressure points: A review of research on stressors and strains in UK academics. Educational
Psychology, 21, 473-492.

42. Kinman, G., & Jones, F. (2004). Working to the limit: Stress and work-life balance in academic and academic
related employees in the UK. London: Association of University Teachers Publications.

43. Komarraju M. 1997. “The Work-family interface in India”, in S. Parasuraman and J.H. Greenhaus Eds,
Integrating work and family, challenges for a changing world PP. 104-114. Westport, CT, Quorum Books.

44. Lingard, H., Brown, K., Bradley, L., Bailey, C. and Townsend, K. (2007), “Improving employees’ work-life
balance in the construction industry: project alliance case study”, Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management, Vol. 133 No. 7, pp. 807-15

45. Malhotra, A., Schuler, S., Boender, C., Measuring Women‘s Empowerment as a Variable in International
Development. Paper commissioned by the Gender and Development Group of the World Bank, 2005.

46. Mosedale, S., Assessing Women‘s Empowerment: Towards a Conceptual Framework. Journal of International
Development 2005, 7 (2), pp.243–257.

47. Murphy-Graham, E., Opening the black box: Women‘s empowerment and innovative secondary education in
Honduras. Gender and Education, 2008, 20 (1), pp. 31–50.

48. Makopadhay, H. (2008): The Role of Education in the Empowerment of Women in a District of West Bengal,
India: Reflections on a Survey of Women. Journal of International Women's Studies, 10(2): 217-225.

49. McCall, L. (2005), “Gender, race and the restructuring of work: organizational and institutional perspectives”,
in Ackroyd, S., Batt, R., Thompson, P. and Tolbert, P.S. (Eds), The Oxford Handbook of Work and Organization,
Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]

56 Sudipta Ganguly & Arijit Chaterjee

50. MacInnes, J. (2008), “Work-life balance: three terms in search of a definition”, in Warhurst, C., Eikhof, D.R. and
Haunschild, A. (Eds), Work Less, Live More? Critical Analysis of the Work-Life Boundary, Palgrave, Basingstoke.

51. Meyerson, D. E., & Kolb, D. M. (2000). Moving out of the ‘armchair’: Developing a framework to bridge the gap
between feminist theory and practice. Organization, 7, 553-571.

52. Marks, S.R., & Mac Dermid, S.M. (1996). “Multiple roles and the self: A theory of role balance”. Journal of
Marriage and the Family, 58, 417-432.

53. Nusrat Ahmad (March 2009), ASSOCHAM Business Barometer, ASSOCHAM Research Bureau. http:/
[Link]/arb/.

54. Oxaal, Z., Baden, S. Gender and Empowerment: Definitions, Approaches and Implications for Policy. BRIDGE
Report No. 40. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, 1997.

55. Papart, J., Rai, S., Staudt, K. (Eds.), Rethinking Empowerment: Gender and Development in a Global/Local
World. Routledge, London, 2002.

56. Patterson, F. (2001). Developments in work psychology: Emerging issues and future trends. Journal of
Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 74, 381-390.

57. Pleck, J.H. (1977). “The Work Family Role System”. Social Problems, 24(4), 417-427.

58. Perry-Jenkins, M., Repetti, R. L., & Crouter, A. C. (2000). Work and family in the 1990s. Journal of Marriage
and the Family, 62, 981-998.

59. Posig, M. and Kickul, J. (2004), ‘‘Work-role expectations and work family conflict: gender differences in
emotional exhaustion’’, Women in Management Review, Vol. 19 No. 7, pp. 373-86.

60. Rapport, J. (1984): Studies In Empowerment: Introduction to the Issue. Prevention in human services, 3: 1-7.

61. Rajadhyaksha U. and Bhatnagar, D. 2000, “Life role salience: A study of dual career couples in the Indian
Context”. Human Relations, vol.53, pp. 489-511.

62. Stacki, S., Monkman, K., Change through empowerment processes: women‘s stories from South Asia and Latin
America. Compare 2003, 33 (2), pp. 173–189.

63. Stromquist, N.P., Education as a means for empowering women. In: Papart, J., Rai, S., Staudt, K. (Eds.),
Rethinking Empowerment: Gender and Development in a Global/Local World. Routledge, London, 2002.

64. Schor, J. (1991), The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure, Basic Books, New York, NY.

65. Shriver, M. (2009). The Shriver report: A woman’s nation changes everything. Center for American Progress.
Retrieved from [Link]

66. Simon, M., Kümmerling, A., Hasselhorn, H. M., (2004). Work-home conflict in the European nursing profession.
International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, 10, 384-391.

67. Straub, C., (2007), A comparative analysis of the use of work-life balance practices in Europe Do practices
enhance females’ career advancement?, Women in Management Review Vol. 22 No. 4, pp. 289-304.

NAAS Rating: 3.09 – Articles can be sent to editor@[Link]

Women Empowerment in Higher Education Segment and there 57
Work-Life Balance: A Case Study of Selected Universities of West Bengal

68. Sekaran U.1992. “Middle- class dual – earner families and their support system in Urban India”, ins. Lewis, D.N.
Izraeli and [Link] ed, Dual- earner families, International prospective. PP. 46-61. Newbury Park, CA, Sage.

69. Unterhalter, E., Gender, Schooling and Global Social Justice. Routledge, London, 2007.

70. Walker, E., Wang, C., & Redmond, J., (2008), Women and work-life balance: is home-based business ownership
the solution? Equal Opportunities International Vol. 27(3), pp. 258-275.

71. White, L. and Rogers, S.J. (2000), ‘‘Economic circumstances and family outcomes: a review of the 1990s’’,
Journal of Marriage and the Family, Vol. 62, pp. 1035-51.

72. Work-life balance, (2009), Financial Times Lexicon. Retrieved from

[Link]

73. Zimmerman, M. A. (1984): Taking Aim On Empowerment Research: On The Distinction Between Individual And
Psychological Conceptions. American journal of community psychology, 18 (1), 169-177.

Impact Factor(JCC): 5.4223 – This article can be downloaded from [Link]