Educated Unemployed Women: A Major Concern in Kerala

Jessey L

Jessey L Associate Professor, De Paul School of Social Work, Angamali, Kerala, India

Keywords: Educated unemployed women, psychological well-being, anxiety, depression, gender gap

Abstract

Educated employment of women is a pressing problem globally. In Kerala, despite all social
reforms, the culture-induced gender role expectation remains prevalent. It widens the gender
gap in workforce participation in Kerala. Against this backdrop, this study compared the
anxiety, depression and psychosocial well-being of educated employed and educated
unemployed women in Kerala. A stratified multistage random sampling selected participants
from the state. The sample size was 250, with equal representation of women from both
categories compared. For data collection, this study used Beck Anxiety Inventory, Beck
Depression Inventory and Ryff ’s Psychological Well-Being Scale. Data analysis was done
using SPSS, and hypotheses testing was done using paired sample t-tests. This study
confirmed better psychological well-being for employed women, although they are susceptible
to higher levels of anxiety and depression. Therefore, this article recommends a conducive
working environment for educated women to contribute constructively to nation-building.