Principal Investigator Susan Silbey
Project Website http://tatacenter.mit.edu/portfolio/understanding-the-relationship-between-sani…
This research is interested in the implications of poor sanitary hygiene for Indian women, focusing particularly on the problems faced by working women, a growing sector of India’s economy.
A number of reports suggest that workplace absenteeism during monthly menstruation is a common problem in India, leading to lost wages, lower efficiency, and productivity at work. In fact, in a number of situations, women are considered undesirable workers precisely because they are likely to miss work for a few days every month. (Water Aid India 2010) In addition to lost productivity, poor sanitation also causes a number of health problems among women in India, including reproductory tract infections and cervical cancer.
Through the use of mixed methods including statistical analysis and ethnographic fieldwork, I hope to come up with solutions to specific issues within this broad realm of research. Guided by this understanding, I will look to identify and implement both cheap, novel technological solutions and social interventions that are necessary to their success.