Labor Participation Rate: Declining Women’s Share in the Workforce

According to the World Bank report, the number of women in the country’s population is 48 per cent, but the benefits of economic growth of the country have not been received by women as much.

The number of women in both rural and urban areas is increasing in education, but they are not contributing as much to employment.

There has been a sharp decline in the labour participation rate of women in the country, which is also very low in proportion to the world. According to a joint report by Bain & Company and Google, this decline is highest among women between the ages of fifteen and twenty-four.

It may be noted that the labour force participation rate reflects the working labour share of people in the age group of 16 to 64 years who are currently employed or seeking employment. Adolescents studying, housewives or persons above 64 years of age are not included in this.

Labor Participation Rate: Declining Women’s Share in the Workforce

According to the same report, in May-August, 2019, women are being hit more by unemployment in the sex ratio.

At the same time, where the unemployment rate among urban men is six per cent, while twenty-four per cent of urban women are unemployed.

Even in rural areas, the average unemployment rate among men is 6 per cent, while women are unemployed at 15 per cent. 10 per cent of graduate men are unemployed, while among women this percentage is 35.

The labour participation rate of women was 35 per cent in 1990, which fell to 27 per cent in the year 2018, which is undoubtedly better than neighbouring Pakistan, where this figure increased from 14 per cent to 25 per cent at the same time, but India is still Bangladesh, Nepal and India.

It lags behind other neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka. India is ranked 140th out of 156 countries in the Global Gender Gap Report 2021 released by the Global Economic Forum.

Labor Participation Rate: Declining Women’s Share in the Workforce

According to the report, women’s economic participation and opportunity have declined sharply. The female labour force participation rate has come down from 24.8 per cent to 22.3 per cent.

The role of women in the field of professionalism and technology has come down to 29.2 per cent. Only 14.6 per cent of senior and managerial positions are women. Only 8.9 per cent of the companies are where women are contributing to the top managerial positions.

If efforts are not made now to increase gender equality, the economic prosperity and employment gap between men and women will widen in India. According to the current trends, women alone require forty crore jobs in the coming years.

The other side of the picture is the increasing dependence on technology in employment.

Labor Participation Rate: Declining Women’s Share in the Workforce

Women mostly play a major role in employment such as administrative and information analysis, but now the increasing scope of artificial intelligence and technology in these areas has put this sector of women-dominated employment at risk.

As automation increases in routine jobs, it will result in higher unemployment rates among women.

According to the World Bank report, the number of women in the country’s population is 48 per cent, but the benefits of economic growth of the country have not been received by women as much.

The number of women in both rural and urban areas is increasing in education, but they are not contributing as much to employment. Some socio-cultural factors are also responsible for this.

More education for men means more participation in better employment, but this is not always the case for women.

Labor Participation Rate: Declining Women’s Share in the Workforce

If the husband earns better, then the mentality of what women need to work is also a big hindrance.

The government launched the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (Deendayal Antyodaya-National Rural Livelihoods Mission) in 2011 with the support of the World Bank to make women entrepreneurs, in which five crore women have been linked to self-help groups and their higher federations so far.

These groups have availed about $30 billion from various commercial banks. Creating new employment opportunities in such a situation is the need of the day.

While India’s economy can be given impetus by developing entrepreneurship among women, an example can be set before the world by transforming the society into a gender-equal society.

Written by Navya Chandravanshi