Look up tea plantations on search engines, social media, or any corner of the internet. You will almost always find images of women workers in headscarves. You will see them move through the lush green tea bushes. The scene might look peaceful, nearly picture-perfect, like something straight out of a travel brochure. However, this romanticised image is nothing more than a glossy filter over the violence and harassment that women workers in the tea estates face. Let us take a look at the untold story of women workers in tea plantations.
Women workers in tea estates: Gender marking in the tea industry
The tea industry in India employs over 12 lakh permanent workers, with an equal number of casual and seasonal labourers. Among them, around 700,000 women work in the tea estates of Assam and West Bengal. Women, mostly Adivasi and Dalit, make up more than 50% of the tea industry workforce.
Women perform the most demanding tasks in the tea fields. These tasks range from hoeing and weeding to pruning and spraying pesticides. They also carry heavy loads, sometimes over 40 kilograms of green leaves, every single day. It starts when they are young and continues throughout their lives. Unfortunately, it goes on even when they are pregnant, menstruating, or elderly.
Women workers in tea estates and the Nimble Fingers explanation
Plucking tea leaves and maintaining the plantation, like weeding and pruning, fall under fieldwork. These activities fall under the categories of “unskilled” or “semi-skilled work”. They are highly likely to involve a gendered division of labour. These tasks have been mostly assigned to women. And that pushes them into rugged, low-status jobs while men get more opportunities in better roles, such as cultivators. As a result, women are stuck in physically demanding positions. In fact, 80% of women in the tea industry are “field workers” and work as tea pluckers.
What is the justification for assigning them to plucking tea leaves? Women’s “nimble fingers” are believed to make them perfect for the task. It might sound like a compliment, but it is more of a convenient excuse to continue exploiting their labour. These women, who play a vital role in the tea industry, remain some of the lowest-paid agricultural workers in India.
Casual employment further exploits women in tea plantations.
Before the Equal Remuneration Act of 1976 was introduced, women workers were paid 17 paise less than the male workers for the same work. The objective of the act was to close the wage gap, eliminate job discrimination, and ensure equal pay for equal work. However, many employers opposed it. The argument was that if women were to receive equal pay, then both male and female workers should be doing the same tasks. To avoid the financial burden of equal pay, employers began hiring casual women workers.
Even small tea growers tend to hire more casual women workers than male workers. The casual employment of women in the tea industry often means they lack job security, benefits, and social protections, such as healthcare or pensions. These perks are typically available to more permanent workers. Moreover, male workers are usually paid 10-20% more than women workers.
Women field workers also end up working longer hours. They take on extra duties not just in the tea fields but also at home. This unequal workload creates a gap in both earnings and household responsibilities, making gender inequality even worse.
Women workers in tea estates: Illiteracy, inequality, and negligence of the law
When tea estates transitioned from British to Indian ownership, trade unions failed to fully implement the Plantation Labour Act of 1951. This happened because union leadership rarely included people who shared the same social background as plantation workers. This disconnect created a divide between workers and union leaders. Workers could not rise to leadership because most were illiterate. Unfortunately, union leaders often treated workers as inferior and backward.
Trade unions are supposed to help workers fight for their rights and demand fairness. However, union politics often excludes women. They rarely address the serious harassment women face or challenge the long-standing practice of keeping women away from leadership and decision-making roles.
Women workers in tea estates barely participated in union activities or decision-making. Their low literacy was a big reason for this. After all, plantations were often remote, with poor communication, poorly maintained schools, and few opportunities.
Many girls often missed school or dropped out to care for younger siblings. That is because families had no access to childcare facilities like crèches. This was despite the Plantation Labour Act mandating these on tea estates employing 30 or more women. This blatant neglect pushed young girls into labour early, either on the tea plantations or nearby. That left them little chance to pursue education or better opportunities.
Improving women’s safety on tea plantations: A step forward
In 2021, IDH, The Sustainable Trade Initiative, looked into the situation of women workers on tea plantations. They found that very few plantations had a female manager or grievance officer. Most plantations did not follow the rules of the POSH (Protection of Women from Sexual Harassment) Act when setting up Internal Committees (ICs). But things have changed. Now, more than 80% of the 350 tea gardens in Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu have a working IC with a woman as president.
This progress came through the WSAF, launched in 2021. It was a program to promote gender equality and improve women’s safety on 29 tea estates in Assam. WSAF is a group of private companies working together to fight violence against women and girls in the tea industry. The program, funded by IDH, Unilever, Tesco, and others, focuses on raising awareness about gender-based violence in the tea industry.
To make it easier for workers to report problems, WSAF also set up gender cells at each estate. These cells include local women and mid-level staff who are trained to understand the everyday struggles of women workers. They then take these issues to people in management or local government who can help solve them.
The final thoughts
Many women workers in the tea industry face harassment, but they often don’t know where to turn for help. The plantations are usually in remote areas, making it difficult for workers to access support or communicate their issues to the right authorities. The isolation of these plantations keeps workers disconnected. Women, in particular, lack the representation needed to bring attention to their struggles. Without someone to advocate for them, their voices remain unheard, and their problems persist.
The lack of representation is a significant barrier to change. Without women in leadership roles, the estates and authorities do not prioritise their issues. Also, the systems that should protect them often face ignorance. Harassment, violence, and unequal treatment become normalised. Moreover, many women simply accept these conditions as part of their work life, not realising they have the right to demand better.
For real change to happen, we need to connect everyone involved, from the workers on the ground to the employers to the general public. Changeincontent.com aims to raise awareness and reach everyone involved. We want people to know their rights and speak out against the gendered violence and exploitation that has been normalised over the years.
References:
Gender Discrimination In Tea Plantation In Munnar, Kerala
IDH: Towards an equal and safe workplace in the tea estate
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on the writer’s insights, supported by data and resources available both online and offline, as applicable. Changeincontent.com is committed to promoting inclusivity across all forms of content, which we define broadly to include media, policies, law, and history—encompassing all elements that influence the lives of women and gender-queer individuals. Our goal is to promote understanding and advocate for comprehensive inclusivity.
