India’s goal of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047 hinges on nearly doubling women’s participation in the workforce, according to the Labour Force Participation Distillation Report, launched at the charcha 2024 summit by The/Nudge Prize on August 22, 2024.

The report highlights that women must contribute $14 trillion to achieve this target, requiring 400 million women in the workforce—far above the current projection of just 110 million. An additional 145 million women need to join the labour force to meet this ambitious goal.

Kanishka Chatterjee, Director & Head of The/Nudge Prize, stressed the urgency of addressing this issue, stating, "India's demographic dividend and dreams of a $30T economy cannot be realised without boosting the participation of women in the workforce, and we have made several strides towards that direction. However, addressing the multifaceted barriers - economic, social, and cultural, requires both urgent action and the patience to achieve large-scale disruption."

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The report revealed stark disparities in the current labour market. In 2023, the LFPR for women in India was 37%, significantly lower than the global average of 47% and drastically below the 76.8% rate for men. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these inequalities, with women being seven times more likely to lose their jobs and 11 times more likely not to recover from job loss compared to men. By 2020, nearly half of the women employed in 2019 had left the workforce.

The study outlined three key pathways to increase women's labour force participation:

1. Activating fractional employment by redefining work through platform jobs and digital microwork.

2. Invigorating entrepreneurship opportunities via digital commerce infrastructure.

3. Targeting bottlenecks such as mobility and digital access that hinder women's entry into the labour market.

The report also highlighted the concentration of women in gendered, low-productivity sectors. In agriculture and manufacturing, women face limited advancement opportunities. In the construction industry, they comprise just over 12% of the workforce and earn significantly less than men in unskilled roles.

This secondary report was launched at the fifth edition of the event, bringing together over 2,000 key stakeholders and leaders from governments, markets, and civil society.

A panel of experts including Varun Khaitan (Co-Founder, Urban Company), Sharon Buteau (Executive Director, KREA University), Deepa Nagraj (Senior Vice President & Head- ESG, Sparkle Innovation Ecosystem and Communications, Mphasis), Ajaita Shah (Founder, Frontier Markets), Pooja Sharma Goyal (Founding CEO, Udaiti Foundation) and Renu Sud Karnad (Former MD, HDFC) launched the report. 

The/Nudge Institute is an action institute focused on building resilient livelihoods to alleviate poverty. It works with various partners including social entrepreneurs, government agencies, and philanthropists, the organization aims to contribute to a "poverty-free India, within our lifetime.