Context:
Despite achieving commendable gains in female literacy, India continues to grapple with alarmingly low female labour force participation rates (FLFPR), particularly in urban areas. The latest data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023–24 and World Bank 2024 underscores a glaring mismatch between women’s educational attainment and their economic participation.
Key Highlights:
- Urban female literacy: 84.9%, but urban FLFPR is just 28%
- Rural literacy–employment gap: ~22%
- Urban literacy–employment gap: ~57%
- National female literacy rate: 74.6%, yet employment gap is 33 percentage points
- Comparative global gaps: India lies between developed economies (40-point gap) and developing nations (25-point gap)
Structural and Social Factors Behind Low FLFPR
Urban Areas: Barriers to Participation
- Job Inflexibility: Lack of part-time and flexible working hours in urban service sectors deters women from staying employed.
- Mobility and Safety: Inadequate public safety and unreliable transport inhibit access to workplaces.
- Informality Dominates: Most working women are engaged in informal work, which is insecure, underpaid, and benefits-free.
- Lack of Childcare: With over 61.3% urban households being nuclear (NFHS-5), absence of childcare facilities forces many women to stay home.
- Post-Maternity Dropout: Women rarely return to work due to absence of re-entry programs or part-time work, creating a “care penalty.”
Rural Areas: Necessity Over Choice
- Agricultural Flexibility: Proximity of farms to homes and seasonal/self-employment provides flexibility.
- Extended Family Support: Kinship networks support childcare and domestic duties.
- Economic Compulsion: Rural women work out of financial necessity, not necessarily agency or empowerment.
- Cultural Acceptance: Female labour is normalized, even when unpaid or underpaid.
- Crisis Employment: Post-COVID job losses in cities led to a temporary uptick in rural female labour.
The 2005–2019 Paradox and COVID Shock
- Between 2005 and 2019, fertility rates declined and female education rose, yet FLFPR fell.
- Rising incomes led to re-traditionalisation: more families preferred women to stay home.
- Post-COVID FLFPR spike in rural areas is driven by distress employment, not sustainable job creation.
Economic and Social Implications
- Demographic Dividend Loss: Non-participation of women reduces productivity and hinders long-term growth.
- Weak Social Outcomes: Female employment correlates with better child health, nutrition, and education outcomes.
- Urban Middle-Class Regression: Higher income often correlates with more regressive gender roles.
- Global Competitiveness Constraint: Countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam outperform India due to better inclusion.
- Structural Injustice: Continued exclusion denies women economic autonomy and dignity.
