Gender gaps persist

WOMEN'S ACCESS TO PAID WORK CAN ONLY IMPROVE WHEN THE ECONOMY IS CREATING ADEQUATE JOBS

- ASHWINI DESHPANDE

India's female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) has been steadily increasing from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24 for women aged 15 years and older. Reversing the decline in FLFPR between 2004-05 and 2017-18, which was primarily seen in rural areas, this increase has been driven by an increase in labour force participation rates of rural women, from 24.6 to 47.6%, whereas FLFPR increased for urban women from 20.4 to 28% over the period. Continuing past trends, women living in rural areas continue to be more likely in the labour force as compared to their urban counterparts.

While this increase is welcome, we should note that as of now, only four among every 10 women of working age were part of India's labour force in 2023-24, i.e. they were either looking for work (but unemployed) or were engaged in some form of economic work. India's FLFPR continues to be below countries at comparable income levels.

Despite the increase in FLFPR, gender gaps continue to persist, with men's LFPR being nearly double that of women. Additionally, while women are less likely to be in the labour force compared to men, the unemployment rate for women in the labour force is higher than that for men. Urban women in particular face high levels of unemployment, and this has remained high despite an overall dip in unemployment levels in recent years.

In terms of types of work, the increase in FLFPR has primarily been driven by greater self-employment among rural women. In 2023-24, 73.5% of rural and 42.3% of urban female workers were self-employed. For women, being self-employed predominantly means working either as an own-account worker or as an unpaid helper (and these shares have only been increasing in the past few years), and not so much as an employer.