Women & Work in India (original) (raw)

WOMEN'S WORK PARTICIPATION IN LABOUR MARKET IN CONTEMPORARY INDIA

2012

In recent years, women are playing an important role in economic development. They contribute significant proportion in Gross Domestic Product through actively participating in industries, services and in agricultural activities. What is worse with women workers is that they still lag behind in achieving job opportunities in comparison to men. The present paper tries to look at the extent of disparity in women work and labour force participation in urban-rural sectors and across the states of India. The study uses data from different rounds of National Sample Survey. The analysis depicts that women workforce and labour force participation has declined in recent years and the gap between female and male work participation ratio has increased in India. It has been observed in developed southern states of India, because of highly educated society and sincere freedom of women in decision making, the women work participation in regular jobs is high in comparison to the northern states of India. The study also reveals the controversy in the context of urban-rural India, where women work participation is high in urban area and low in rural area. The study also reveals the fact that the gap between men and women is high in urban India, while it has increased in rural and urban India both.

Female Labour Force Participation in India: Myths and Facts

Bookchapter, 2023

Gender roles are predefined, accepted and silently followed for quite some time in the history of every society. In Asia, the women's liberation movement started in the late 1960s and continued through the 1970s which brought women into the workforce. Women are not considered the main part of the workforce in India though they are working outside of the home (in agricultural lands, household dairies, and small-scale industries) for a few decades. Indian females must do domestic duties whereas it's an option for males. Women though working outside have to slip into a housewife role after getting home. It has been observed that women's employability increased but not women's employment for a decade. This paper explores the historical trends in terms of women's employment and empowerment from the 1970s to the date in India. It also explores how are the gender differences in the Indian demographic labour force. And it discusses the reasons for the trends presented.

Economic Development and Women's Labor Force Participation in India

Feminist Economics, 2015

India has experienced steady economic growth over the last two decades alongside a persistent decline in women's labor force participation (LFPR). This paper explores the relationship between economic development and women's labor supply using state-level data spanning the period 1983-4 to 2011-2. While several studies suggest a U-shaped relationship between development and women's labor force participation, our results suggest that at the state level, there is no systematic U-shaped relationship between level of domestic product and women's LFPR. On examining the relationship between the structure of the economy and women's economic activity, we find that it is not economic growth but rather the composition of growth that is relevant for women. Further, our results suggest that aggregate changes in the proportion of women in the workforce can be mostly attributed to the movement of the workforce across sectors rather than changes in the proportion of women workers within a sector.

WOMEN WORKFORCE PARTICIPATION IN INDIA

THE JOURNAL OF ORIENTAL RESEARCH MADRAS, 2021

Women’s workforce participation is now one of the most prominent aspects of the growing economy. Indian families are experiencing rapid changes because of the developed pace of urbanization and modernization. Indian females have a place with any or all classes that have gone into a few occupations. The paper describes the overall trends of workforce participation in India. The main focus of this paper is to find State/UT-wise, Rural, and Urban area differences among the male and female population concerning their age, Usual Status and Current Weekly Status of wages, and their type of employment-based workforce participation rate. The study seeks to find the gender gap in employment in India and a comparative study of State/UT-wise in India for their workforce participation rate. The present paper tends to describe the relationship between the Labour force participation rate (LFPR) and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in India. Keywords: Women, Workforce Participation, Gender gap, Labour

CHANGING PATTERNS OF LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION AND EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN IN INDIA

The low rate of women’s labour force participation (LFPR) in India is not something new, but the decline of this LFPR is a cause for concern, unless it marks a shift away from labour participation due to the pursuit of education by the women concerned or even due to household income effects. If it is an outcome of the lack of adequate employment avenues that discourages women from seeking employment, then why is it not reflected in the male labour force participation rates as well? Amidst the declining LFPRs of women, which have been observed for all age cohorts, two of the observed trends relate to the shift away from agriculture and into non-agriculture, and a more educated workforce. While undertaking a disaggregated analysis by examining the magnitudes of change apart from the proportions and shares, this paper highlights the losses and gains in women’s employment across sectors. The gradual increase in the number of regular workers as the proportions of women engaged in self-employment and casual work decline is one clearly positive change observed more markedly in the urban areas. What consequences do these changing patterns have on the nature of work that women undertake and are these patterns reflections of a gradual but definite transformation with the potential for dynamic changes? This paper also seeks to address these questions.

The Declining Rate of Female Labor Participation In India: Causes and Consequences

Valley International, 2022

Significant human activities were started underway in India since the Holocene Period (10,000 years ago) and civilization also was in progress while Mesopotamia and Egypt have long been recognized in between c.7000-600 BCE for their celebrated contributions to social and cultural development. A large number of women in India are actively engaged in traditional and non-traditional work and seriously contribute to society for overall growth and development. However, there are far fewer women than men in the paid workforce. In urban India, women participate in the workforce in impressive numbers, as such only 30 percent in the software industry. This paper had tried to investigate the reasons behind the less number of women involved in the workforce as well as the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in India. All data had been collected from secondary sources and presented via tables and graphs from different angles. It had concluded with some recommendations to get out from the critical trap regarding women in India.

DYNAMICS OF FEMALE WORK FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE IN INDIA DURING 1961-2011

The female work force participation rate of a country indicates the economic empowerment of women in the society. It is also significant for poverty reduction and enhancing their social status. In India, women constitute almost one half of the population, but only less than one‐third of total workforce. It is evident that women employment is being under enumerated and the major reason for the undercounting of women workers and under valuation of their contribution to the economy is the ‘invisibility’ of their work as well as a narrow definition of the term ‘economic activity’.A lack of information on the nature of unemployment among women has significant implications.Data inadequacies led to misconceptions about women's work roles and their employment needs. It can have serious repercussions on the effectiveness of economic resources allocated to women development schemes. Forexample,employment projects for the poor women would be misdirected ormisinformation about the availability of women for employment may lead totheir non-recruitment.

LABOR AND WORK PARTICIPATION IN INDIA: A GENDER SPECIFIC ANALYSIS OF TRENDS AND INFLUENCING FACTORS

International Journal of Advances in Management and Economics, 2024

The study delves into multifaceted dimension of female labor force participation and its intricate interplay with workforce dynamics in India. It is analyzed that the role of female labor and work participation is changing advantageously in comparison to male labor force participation and male workforce participation. The female labor participation is high in rural areas with 4.32 per cent CAGR and female workforce participation is also high in urban areas with 4.94 per cent CAGR from 2011-12 to 2022-23. The correlation identifies that labor force participation of female is positively correlated with labor force participation of total persons, work force participation of total person and with crime against the women. Study also shows the negative correlation of female in rural and urban areas with unemployment rate. This study suggests strategies to address various issues of female labor force to overcome barrier and to promote gender equality and create a more inclusive and supportive environment for women in the workforce.