Indian Women in the Global Realm

A liberalized economic environment that favors deregulation and privatization is one of the main features of this doctrine. Monetary benefits and costs shape individuals' agency, individuals who are believed to all have equal opportunities but positive inequality of outcomes (Greig et al., 2007). Today, the understanding of a global world is framed principally as an economically driven process which aims to prosperity, liberty, democracy and peace for all (Scholte, 2005). Neoliberal globalization is however far from gender-neutral, because this process is supervised by colonial authorities. These colonial authorities were imbued with Western notions of the sexual division of labor. Moreover, they placed new technologies under the control of men, with the consequence that women became less important, received a reduced status, had less power and had a lower income (Greig et al., 2007). Yet, according to the modernization theory, the process of development will emancipate women from their "traditional" roles, allowing them equal amount of opportunities and rights (Silberschmidt, Cornwell, Edstrom, & Greig, 2011, p. 7). From a modernist perspective, development would therefore have a positive impact on women's social status overall (Greig et al., 2007). .
             Changes within the household .
             According to the modernist theory, women should experience a feeling of independence and therefore an ascent in their familial status. Concerning the predicted ascent in the familial status of women due to neoliberal globalization, the modernist theory does not seem to match reality. Traditionally, a woman at home is seen as a display of a higher socio-economic status (Desai & Andrist, 2010). With the growing Indian middle-class, there is a bigger need for more income within the household and therefore more opportunities for women to enter the income-earning sphere (Patel, 2008). However, the contribution to increasing household income is not equal to an input from the male part to help in the many household tasks and taking care of the children.