Impact of Socio Economic Factors on Women Work force Participation in Informal Sector of Assam

Abstract

Informal sector has played a very important role in the labour market of most of the development countries like India. Informal employment has been widespread and continues to be an emerging phenomenon. An overwhelmingly large percentage of workers (about 92 per cent) are engaged in informal informal sector of India and a large majority of them have low earnings with limited or no social protection. Assam is one of the relatively backward states in India. In Assam, the labour force participation rate (LFPR) and work force participation rate (WFPR) shows a dark picture of the labour market of the state. As similar to National level, in this state also, more than 90% of total workforce is engaged in informal sector. Informal sector provides a better scope for women to engage in various activities like small tea shop, street vendor, beauty parlour, rag picker etc. Generally, women in the informal sector in India are disadvantaged in the field of labour market. Their low productivity, low income, insecure jobs, as well as low share in overall employment in the unorganised and informal sectors shows a gloomy picture The inequalities and disparities that exist in access to employment across regions and social groups remain a huge competition in India. In this study an attempt is made to analyze the issues and challenges faced by the women informal workers in different sectors in Assam