India Lacks Favourable Working Conditions For Women; Reflects In Workforce Participation Graph: Report

According to the United Nations forecasts, India is all set to overtake China and become one of the world's most populous countries by 2023, with its population having touched 1.4 billion in 2022. A larger population also naturally means larger workforce participation. However, in India, workforce inclusivity has been concerning, with less than a third of Indian women working or actively seeking work.

Despite progress made in providing better education, improved health, and more women-friendly labour policies, it has not been reflected positively on the workforce graph. Economists say that India, as the home to the highest number of working-age people, must not only create more jobs but also foster employment conditions favourable to women for progress that runs parallel to its population growth.

Pinky Negi, a public school teacher with two master's degrees, was among the many Indian women who gave up their careers after they married and had children. She says that the idea of not earning pinches her the most when she has to depend on her husband for the smallest of things.

At the time, she briefly tried home tutoring and had to discontinue this following the birth of her second child. This is just one among the many such stories, and it has become a common sight now to watch women drop out of the workforce even at a time of strong growth in Asia's third-biggest economy.

Researchers believe that there are numerous reasons for this shortfall, starting from marriage, child care, and domestic work to the massive gaps in skills, education, incomes, safety concerns, and a lack of jobs altogether. A solution to these concerns would be a major shift in policy that would improve access to education, child care, and flexible work setups. This could potentially boost the number of working women and contribute billions of dollars to India's gross domestic product (GDP) by 2025, stated a 2018 report by McKinsey consulting firm.

Identifying Women's Labour Participation

According to Deccan Herald, data from the World Bank conveys that women represented 23 per cent of India's formal and informal workforce in 2021. This per cent is down from the 27 per cent in 2005. Absence of women from the labour market immensely reduces productivity and widens income inequality, said Mayurakshi Dutta, a researcher at Oxfam India. Even more concerning was an economic survey from 2022, which noted that the current measuring tools were inadequate for understanding the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR).

In particular, the data did not reflect the unpaid work women engage in while running a household, farms, or even in activities such as collecting firewood, cooking, and tutoring children. Peter Buwembo, a labour statistician at the International Labour Organization (ILO), commented that investing in the care economy is one way to reduce the unpaid care burden. It would also acknowledge the efforts that go within the care jobs and also potentially create jobs in the sectors that are major areas for women's employment.

Apart from improving access and acknowledging specific sectors, the report also suggested that employers should provide gender-sensitive policies such as access to social protection, child care, parental leaves, and a safe environment. In 2022, the Prime Minister conveyed that the country would be able to reach its economic goals faster if it made use of its "women power."

For this, he directed the states to use systems such as flexible working hours to retain women in the labour force. Public programmes like the government's skills development scheme, which trained more than 3,00,000 women between 2021-22, was also one such promising initiative toward bringing back women into the workforce. However, more needs to be done to bring back women into the workforce as they continue to deal with the economic impacts of the pandemic.

Also Read: 7 In 10 Indian Working Women Quit Or Consider Quitting Jobs Due To Inflexible Work Environment: Survey