The Complexity of Women’s Employment in India

The recently published Annual Report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24 continues the observed trends since the first PLFS in 2017-18: rising labour force participation rates (LFPR), increasing worker population ratios (WPR), and declining unemployment rates (UR).

The national LFPR for individuals aged 15 and above has grown from 49.8% in 2017-18 to 60.1% in 2023-24, while the WPR has risen from 46.8% to 58.2%. Unemployment rates have dropped from 6% to 3.2%.

At first glance, these changes appear substantial. However, it raises the question: what do these figures truly indicate about job creation and the impact of employment on improving people’s living conditions?

Female Labour Force Participation

• Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS): Employment and unemployment data is collected through the PLFS, conducted by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18.
• Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): LFPR refers to the percentage of individuals in the labor force (either working, seeking work, or available for work) relative to the total population.
• Female Labour Force Participation Rate: According to the latest PLFS report, 32.8% of working-age females (15 years and above) were part of the labor force in 2021-22, up from 23.3% in 2017-18. This marks an increase of 9.5 percentage points over the period.
• Female Labour Force Participation Rate in Rural Areas: The rural sector contributed significantly to this rise, with a 12 percentage point increase. Female LFPR in rural areas grew from 24.6% in 2017-18 to 36.6% in 2021-22.
• Female Labour Force Participation Rate in Urban Areas: In urban areas, female LFPR increased modestly, rising from 20.4% in 2017-18 to 23.8% in 2021-22, an increase of 3.4 percentage points.

What data reveals?

• Since the 1980s, India has experienced a decline in female Labour Force Participation Rates (LFPR) in rural areas, except for a brief rise in 2004-05, until a reversal in 2017-18. In urban areas, female LFPRs have remained stagnant but low, with a recent uptick.

• Several supply- and demand-side factors have been cited to explain these low and declining rates. Common explanations include women’s increasing participation in higher education and their withdrawal from the labor force as household incomes rise. Additionally, cultural norms restricting women’s mobility, increased household responsibilities, and the burden of unpaid domestic and care work are significant factors. On the demand side, fewer women being employed in agriculture and a lack of jobs in the non-farm sector also contribute to the issue.

• Given this context, the recent rise in female LFPRs, with a marked increase in women’s employment, is surprising. In rural areas, the female LFPR for those aged 15 and above grew from 24.6% in 2017-18 to 47.6% in 2023-24, while in urban areas, it rose from 20.4% to 28%. In contrast, male LFPRs (15 years and above) showed a smaller change, rising from 76.4% to 80.2% in rural areas, and from 74.5% to 75.6% in urban areas over the same period. These data indicate that the overall employment trends are largely driven by changes in female LFPRs.
• There have been no changes in the PLFS questionnaire, nor any indication of a sudden improvement in the survey’s ability to capture women’s work, though further investigation into comparability issues could be useful. Additionally, there have been no significant shifts in supply-side factors affecting women’s employment during this six-year period.
• One clue that may explain these trends is the corresponding increase in self-employment. The proportion of women workers in rural areas who are self-employed rose from 57.7% in 2017-18 to 73.5% in 2023-24, with more than half falling into the “helper in household enterprise” category. While self-employment is also high among men, it did not increase as sharply—rising from 57.8% to 59.4% in rural areas over the same period. In urban areas, the share of self-employed women workers increased from 34.8% in 2017-18 to 42.3% in 2023-24.
• Self-employment in India often does not indicate profitable entrepreneurial ventures but is instead a sign of economic distress, where, in the absence of better employment opportunities, people are forced to find ways to support themselves. More analysis is needed to fully understand this trend of rising female LFPRs alongside an increased share of self-employment, though the sectoral distribution of employment suggests that distress is a significant factor.
• PLFS data on earnings, reported quarterly, shows that for the April to June 2024 quarter, the highest earnings from self-employment over the last 30 days were Rs 14,564 for rural males and Rs 5,218 for rural females, while in urban areas, it was Rs 23,480 for males and Rs 8,492 for females.

Factors Responsible for Low Female Labour Force Participation 

• Society and Social Norms: Social norms are informal, unwritten rules that govern behavior and social conduct, determining what is considered acceptable and appropriate in a given context. The dominant social norms for females are the “Female Homemaker Norm,” while for males, it is the “Male Breadwinner Norm.”
• Unpaid Care Work: A significant social and cultural norm affecting married women is “time poverty.” Women engaged in domestic responsibilities are not compensated for the labor they provide.
• Gender-Biased Social Norms: Women face various barriers related to gender, ranging from societal expectations to legal and economic constraints that hinder their pursuit of employment.
• Caste Discrimination: In lower-caste households, there is a higher level of female labor force participation in the informal sector, attributed to economic constraints and limitations on social mobility.
• Education Levels: Numerous scholars have highlighted the importance of education for women’s access to employment. Women from higher castes, due to their economic circumstances, have historically had better opportunities for education, which in turn leads to improved employment prospects.

It is evident that analyzing short-term employment trends without incorporating a gendered perspective is no longer meaningful. Additionally, while there has been a significant rise in women’s participation rates in the workforce, the data does not indicate that this represents a positive shift toward enhancing livelihoods. Instead, it likely reflects the increasing pressure on women to contribute to household incomes during challenging times.

The End of the Blog: The Complexity of Women’s Employment in India