India's Missing Working Women: Tracing the Journey of Women's Economic Contribution Over the Last Seven Decades

Abstract

India, today, is an economic powerhouse on the global stage, however, it faces a queer conundrum – despite considerable gains in female education, decreases in fertility rates, and increasing economic growth, only a quarter of its women are in the labor force – amongst the lowest in the world. Based on analysis of time series data over the last five decades (1970-2018), this paper finds that women’s labor force and workforce participation rates have declined to their lowest levels since Independence. Women’s average wages have consistently remained below that of men. The fall in labor force participation has been led by women in rural areas, while female unemployment rates have remained higher than men in urban areas. A high proportion of working women are in casual employment. Occupational segregation and concentration of women in low growth sectors, income effect of rising household-incomes, increased mechanization and automation are leading factors giving rise to these trends. The persistent notion that women’s primary responsibility lies in domestic duties, manifests in them being viewed as second income earners, lacking family and institutional support. In the absence of targeted policy interventions to support workforce participation, women are likely to continue being excluded from India’s spectacular growth story.