When India is focussing on achieving the vision of Viksit Bharat and becoming a $7 Tn economy by 2030, a minimum of 50% women need to become an active part of the workforce, said a report.   

More than half of the Indian women in India are unemployed even at a time when Asia's third-biggest economy is registering growth. Many of them are outside the workforce due to personal commitments, as per the latest ILO report. Not only that, but the country’s ranking has also dropped two places to 129th position on the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index, according to the latest rankings. 

Further, India was at 165th position out of 187 countries in terms of female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in 2023, according to the World Bank’s gender data portal. The country’s LFPR was only 32.7%, as per the latest data, which means that a huge share of the female population was unemployed. The female LFPR was 60.5% in China, almost double of India, in the same year.

However, Sumita Dawra, secretary, Ministry of Labour and Employment, recently mentioned that India has witnessed a positive trend in female workforce participation over the past six years. The worker population ratio for women aged 15 years and above has increased from 22.0% in 2017-18 to 40.3% in 2023-24, while the LFPR for women has increased from 23.3% to 41.7% in the same period, she said in an official statement. 

Moreover, female unemployment has dropped from 5.6% to just 3.2%, reflecting a shift toward greater inclusion and economic empowerment, said Dawra, attending a discussion on improving female workforce participation in India at LBSNAA, Mussoorie, earlier this month.

Why is female labour participation low in India?

The low female LFPR in India is due to combination of social, economic, and cultural factors. Let’s understand the main reasons for poor female labour participation in India. 

Care responsibilities: The International Labour Organisation (ILO) said in its report titled ‘The Impact of Care Responsibilities of Women’s Labour Participation’ that the majority of the women (53%) in India are outside the workforce due to care responsibilities. In comparison, just about 1.1% of men stay outside the workforce due to care responsibilities in the country.

Personal commitments: According to a report by the Ministry of Labour and Employment in 2023, at least 44.5% of women reported childcare and personal commitments in homemaking as the primary reason for not working. 

Desire to continue study: At least 33.6% of the women reported that they wanted to continue their studies and cited this reason for not joining the workforce, said the report. 

Health and age-related problems: The Ministry of Labour and Employment report also pointed out that at least 9.3% of women cited health and age-related problems as the reason for not taking up jobs. 

India is at 142nd position on the health and survival index, according to the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report.  

Social and cultural norms: In India, there is a strong cultural preference for women to stay at home. This discourages them from joining the workforce, particularly in rural areas. 

Moreover, safety and security in public areas remain significant concerns for women, especially in urban areas. Rising cases of harassment and violence make it difficult for them to work outside. At least 3.4% of the Indian women are not joining the workforce due to social reasons, the report said. 

Educational and skill gaps: At least 3.2% of the Indian women said they did not have the required training or qualification to join the workforce, the report added. Women, especially in rural areas, face problems in accessing quality education. Even if they get educated, the gap between the skills they possess and those demanded by the labour market hinder their path of joining the workforce. 

Limited job opportunities: Women's job options are generally limited to certain sectors for example teaching, healthcare, and domestic work. These sectors are often seen as ‘appropriate’ for them. This limits their ability to pursue a wider range of career paths. At least 4.7% of the women cite reasons like this for not joining the workforce, as per the report.  

Lack of women representation at political front: Women are underrepresented in political and decision-making positions, which means policies that could encourage their participation, are often not prioritised.

India scored low in women’s representation at the federal level, with only 6.9% in ministerial positions and 17.2% in parliament, said the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap report. 

Income disparity: Women often get lower wages than men for the same work, which discourages their participation in the workforce. They are also employed in the informal sector, where wages and job security are poor. 

India ranked 120th on wage equality for similar work, indicating substantial disparities in earnings between men and women, as per the gender gap report.

Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum report stated that more than 68% of the gender gap has been closed now, but achieving full gender parity would take 134 years, going forwards at the current pace. This is equivalent to five generations.