India : Women, Work and Employment

Since economic liberalization in the early 1990s, India has experienced high economic growth and made considerable progress in gender equality in areas such as primary education. However, it fared poorly on gender-parity in labor force participation (LFP). During the period between 1993-94 and 2011-12, female labor force participation rate (LFPR) remained consistently low as compared to male participation. More alarming is the fact that female participation rate declined steadily during the same period, particularly in rural areas. The low level along with declining trend in rural female LFP poses a serious threat of 'missing gender' in the labor force. Although economic growth added jobs for both men and women in India till 2005, Indian women lost jobs in the next seven years, while men continued to gain, thereby widening the gender gap. The actual figures in 2012 suggest that approximately 35 to 40 million women are 'missing' from the labor force, had female LFP grown at the same rate as it had between 1999 and 2005.1 This represents a troubling trend considering the potential of these women to contribute to the country's productivity. To better understand the existing situation, this report investigates gender and female labor force dynamics by drawing mostly on data from five rounds of the National Sample Survey, India, between 1993-94 and 2011-12. Key findings from the study are grouped below in three sections. First section describes the dynamics of female LFP looking at its evolution in previous two decades. The next section presents the drivers of low level of female participation and its declining trend. The last section proposes possible areas of action.

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	World Bank
Format:	Women in Development and Gender Study biblioteca
Language:	English en_US
Published:	Washington, DC 2014-02-26
Subjects:	ACCESS TO LAND, ACCESS TO MARKETS, ACCESS TO SERVICES, ACQUISITION OF SKILLS, ADULT WOMEN, AGE CATEGORIES, AGE GROUP, AGGREGATE PRODUCTIVITY, AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, ALTERNATIVE EMPLOYMENT, AVERAGE WAGE, BARRIERS TO WOMEN, BASIC VALUES, CASUAL WORKERS, CHILD CARE, CHILD-BEARING, CLERKS, COLLEGE GRADUATES, CREATING OPPORTUNITIES, CULTURAL PRACTICES, DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, DISADVANTAGED GROUPS, DISCRIMINATION, DRIVERS, EARNING, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, ECONOMIC POLICIES, ECONOMIC STATUS, EDUCATION FOR GIRLS, EDUCATION OF GIRLS, EDUCATIONAL LEVEL, ELDERLY, EMPLOYMENT CREATION, EMPLOYMENT GENERATION, EMPLOYMENT GROWTH, EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE, EMPLOYMENT GUARANTEE SCHEME, EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES, EMPLOYMENT RATES, EMPOWERMENT OF WOMEN, ENHANCING WOMEN, ENROLMENT OF GIRLS, ENROLMENT RATES, EQUAL WORK, EXPORT MARKETS, FAMILY WORK, FEMALE, FEMALE EDUCATION, FEMALE LABOR, FEMALE LABOR FORCE, FEMALE LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, FEMALE WORK, FEMALE WORKERS, FEMALES, FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT, GENDER, GENDER ASYMMETRIES, GENDER DIFFERENCES, GENDER DIFFERENTIALS, GENDER DISPARITIES, GENDER EQUALITY, GENDER GAP, GENDER GAPS, GENDER IDENTITIES, GENDER IMBALANCES, GENDER INEQUALITIES, GENDER INEQUALITY, GENDER ISSUES, GENDER PARITY, GENDER PERSPECTIVE, GENDER ROLES, GENDER STEREOTYPING, GENDER WAGE GAPS, GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT, GROWTH OF WOMEN, HEALTH OF WOMEN, HOME, HOUSEHOLD CONSUMPTION, HOUSEHOLD LEVEL, HOUSEHOLD RESPONSIBILITIES, HOUSEHOLD SIZE, HUMAN CAPITAL, HUMAN RESOURCE, HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, HUSBANDS, IMPORTANT POLICY, INDIVIDUAL ·HEALTH, INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, INFORMAL SECTOR, INFORMAL SECTORS, INTERNATIONAL TRADE, INTERVENTIONS, JOB MARKET, JOB OPPORTUNITIES, JOBLESS GROWTH, JOBS, LABOR DEMAND, LABOR FORCE, LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LABOR MARKET, LABOR MARKET SEGMENTATION, LABOR MARKETS, LABOR REGULATION, LABOR REGULATIONS, LABOR SUPPLY, LABORERS, LABOUR, LABOUR FORCE, LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION, LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATES, LAWS, LEGISLATORS, LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT, LEVEL OF EDUCATION, LEVELS OF EDUCATION, LITERACY, LOW-INCOME COUNTRIES, MALE COUNTERPARTS, MALE PARTICIPATION, MARITAL STATUS, MARKET WAGES, MARRIED MEN, MARRIED WOMEN, MINIMUM WAGE, MODERNIZATION, MUSLIM WOMEN, NATIONAL POLICY, NATURAL RESOURCES, NUMBER OF WOMEN, OCCUPATIONS, OLD MEN, OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN, PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN, PATTERNS OF CONSUMPTION, POLICY IMPLICATIONS, POOR HEALTH, POOR WOMEN, PRIMARY EDUCATION, PRIMARY SCHOOL, PRODUCTION PROCESSES, PRODUCTIVITY, PROGRESS, PROGRESS TOWARDS GENDER EQUALITY, RELIGIOUS GROUPS, REMITTANCES, RETURNS TO EDUCATION, RURAL AREAS, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, RURAL EMPLOYMENT, RURAL GIRLS, RURAL WOMEN, RURAL WORKERS, SALARIED WORKERS, SCHOOLING, SCHOOLS, SECONDARY EDUCATION, SECONDARY SCHOOL, SECONDARY SCHOOL EDUCATION, SELF EMPLOYED, SELF EMPLOYED WORKERS, SERVICE SECTOR, SERVICE SECTORS, SEX, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, SHARE OF WORK, SKILLED WOMEN, SKILLED WORKERS, SKILLS DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL BARRIERS, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT, SOCIAL GROUP, SOCIAL GROUPS, SOCIAL MOBILIZATION, SOCIAL NORMS, SOCIAL SECURITY, SOCIAL SERVICES, SOCIAL STATUS, SOCIETAL NORMS, SPOUSES, SUPPORT SERVICES, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH, TECHNICAL EDUCATION, TEMPORARY WORK, TERTIARY EDUCATION, TOTAL FACTOR PRODUCTIVITY, TRAINING INDIVIDUAL, TRAINING PROGRAMS, UNEDUCATED WOMEN, UNIONS, UNMARRIED MEN, UNMARRIED WOMEN, UNPAID FAMILY WORKERS, URBAN AREAS, URBAN EMPLOYMENT, URBAN POPULATION, URBAN WOMEN, VIOLENCE, WAGE EMPLOYMENT, WAGE GAP, WAGE RATES, WATER SUPPLY, WDR, WILL, WOMAN, WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE, WOMEN WORKERS, WORK FORCE, WORKFORCE, WORKING CONDITIONS, WORKING WOMEN, WORKING-AGE POPULATION, WORKING-AGE POPULATIONS, YOUNG WOMEN, YOUTH,
Online Access:	http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/02/19705491/india-women-work-employment http://hdl.handle.net/10986/18737
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