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The state of war
The prolonged Israel-Palestine tensions took a new turn on October 6th with a fresh series of strikes by Palestinian Militants. In this series of attacks, about 5,000 rockets were fired from the Gaza Strip. This led to a loss of more than 250 lives, and setting off air raid sirens posed an increased possibility of a new round of conflicts between the regions.
To counter, the Israeli army fired warning shots at the Hezbollah members approaching the region they attacked the same day.
There is no deniability, the recent series of attacks has raised worries and concerns among the global community.
The Information War
Conflicts and tensions are not limited to devastation on the surface, the force of information and media persists. The Hamas troops and the members have been releasing audio-visual content and operating with cameras in conflicted areas, along with their guns and equivalent machinery.
As per Al Jazeera, on a strategic level media operators have been working in tangent with Hamas fighters, something that seems to “have been prepared in advance”.
Israel PM reacts
Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister has ‘vowed’ to ‘avenge’ and called it a black day for Israel.
International Stand
United Nations called an ‘emergency meeting’, in which the US president committed to ‘rock sold and unwavering support’.
Middleast Market fluctuations
The surprise attacks by Hamas have impacted to and fro the Middle East markets, leading to a slide in stocks and the coming week seems to be volatile.
Major equities dropped, with a 4.9% drop on Israel’s benchmark TA-35 stock index. The biggest loss in the past 3 years. Whereas, in Riyadh, the Tadawul All Share Index fell by 1.2%. Stocks in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain also weakened. Egypt’s EGX30 gauge declined as much as 2%.
(Source: Mint, Al Jazeera, NDTV, Hindu)
What is the state of working in India?
The work culture and nature of work in India are determined by multiple factors and the recent report by Azim Premji University takes a detailed look into it.
According to the report, the connection between economic growth and good jobs continues to be weak. While speaking of new opportunities, there are two important questions that arise
Who is able to take advantage of them, and who is not?
Has growth created faster improvements for marginalised groups, enabling them to catch up with more advantaged groups?
The report takes a detailed look at the impact that growth and structural change have had on some long-running social disparities. It shows that significant progress has been made on all fronts since the 1980s, but also that there is a long road ahead.
6 key findings from the State of Working India 2023
Unemployment is falling but remains high
Post-Covid the unemployment rate is lower than it was pre-Covid, for all education levels. But it remains above 15% for graduates and more worryingly it touches a huge 42% for graduates under 25 years.
Gender-based earnings disparities have reduced
In 2004, salaried women workers earned 70% of what men earned. By 2017 the gap had reduced and women earned 76% of what men did. Since then the gap has remained constant till 2021 – 22.
Upward mobility has increased
In 2004 over 80% of sons of casual wage workers found themselves with work in casual employment.
After falling for years, women’s WPR is rising, but not for the right reasons
After falling or being stagnant since 2004, female employment rates have risen since 2019 due to a distress-led increase in self-employment. Before Covid, 50% of women were self-employed. After Covid, this rose to 60%.
Gender norms continue to be significant for women’s employment
As the husband’s income rises, women are less likely to work. In urban areas, after the husband’s income crosses ₹40,000 per month, the chance of the wife working increases again.
Intergenerational effect
There is also a strong intergenerational effect of gender norms. Compared to households where there is no mother-in-law present, married women living in households where the mother-in-law is present but not employed are 20% (rural) to 30% (urban) less likely to be employed. However, if the mother-in-law is employed herself, daughters-in-law are 50% (rural) to 70% (urban) more likely to be employed.