Where did India’s millions of working women go?

Since the turn of the millennium, women have been leaving the workforce in India. Over 40.4 million fewer women are in paid work today than in 2004. Despite making up nearly half of India’s population, women represent less than one third of the workforce. But the spiral can turn around, and India has a strong economic incentive to ensure it does. India’s GDP over the past two decades could have been 43 percent larger if women had the same work participation rate as men, Oxfam estimates . And India’s international standing is suffering: the country ranks 135 among 146 in the 2022 Global Gender Gap Index , owing largely to low work participation rates among women and poor health indicators. The decline in women’s work is pushing all age groups and sectors into poverty but the dropoff was particularly pronounced among youth aged between 15 and 24, those with lower levels of education and working in agriculture and construction sectors in rural India. The agricultural sector, a historically strong employer of people with fewer formal qualifications, is relying on less labor as farm mechanization improves. And while rising enrollment in education among women is encouraging, there remains a shortage of paid job opportunities outside of farming for many who graduate — prompting them to leave the workforce altogether. While 3.9 million more women are working in salaried positions than a decade ago, the general trend is worrisome. About 70 percent of women who work in India are doing low-paid jobs on a casual wage and/or unpaid family labor, and many are still recovering from the shockwaves of the pandemic and its related economic disruptions. About 56 million Indians were pushed back into poverty during the pandemic, with women and other vulnerable population groups mostly impacted.

Turning it around relies not just on more work being available, but better quality work. Central and state governments have been active in trying to fix the problem, launching several programs that promote self-employment and wage employment.