Date: 23/11/2022

Relevance: GS-1: Role of women and women’s organization, population and associated issues, poverty and developmental issues.

Relevance: GS-3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Key Phrases: Population trends across world, India’s labour force statistics, Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR), NSSO’s 68th round, India Discrimination Report 2022, STEM workforce.

Context:

• India is all set to become the world’s most populous country in 2023, much before 2027 the earlier prediction by the United Nations Population Division.
• This translates into the fact that India is poised to gain a massive number of working-age individuals in the next 25 years, almost every fifth in the world.
• Such a huge potential of human resources will be beneficial for the economy only if we overhaul the country’s existing labour-market scenario and enhance women’s participation on a significant scale.

Issues and causes of low FLFPR in India

• Structural shift and sectoral transformation
  • A 2020 research study observed that a structural shift and sectoral transformation in the Indian economy (1983-2018) made no impact on the pattern of women’s employment in India, both quantitatively and qualitatively.
• Little space for job diversification
  • In absence of job diversification opportunities women continued to overcrowd the agriculture sector, despite its declining share of the economy.
  • Non-farm sectors didn’t open up many opportunities for them.
• Overwhelming dependence on Informal sector
  • About 90% of working women are in the informal sector.
  • They are subject to high degrees of gender discrimination in wages, job and social security.
• Lower wages and salaries
  • Oxfam India’s India Discrimination Report 2022 revealed that wages are lower for women overwhelmingly because of discriminatory practices.
  • The reasons cited were lack of education and work experience.
  • In 2019-20, about 60% of men (aged 15 years and above) had either regular salaried and self-employed jobs, while only a fifth of women did.
• Familial responsibilities
  • The Oxfam report cited ‘family responsibilities’ as a reason which prevented a significant number of qualified women from joining the labour market.
  • The Economic Survey of 2020 revealed that 60% of women in the 15-59-years age group are engaged in full-time housework, as compared to 1% of males.
• Societal traditions and stigmas of male as the breadwinner
  • A Pew Research Center study disclosed that 84% of Indians subscribe to the view that in a situation of job scarcity, “men have more right to opportunities than women”.
• Lack of synergy between Educational opportunities and work participation
  • Even though 43% of India’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) graduates were women, only 14% of the STEM workforce is female (AISHE Report).
  • This establishes the fact that better educational achievements have not necessarily converted to women’s sustained workforce participation.
• Other deterrents
  • Several cross-cutting factors like a disproportionate burden of child care, an income effect, logistical barriers of mobility and safety, and socio-cultural norms around marriage, etc, have also acted as deterrents to Indian women entering our labour market.
  • A 2019 UNDP study said that India has so far seen only a downward trend in women’s workforce participation as their education has risen, and that combined participation (labour market and/or educational) covered only 55-60% of young working age women.

There is an imminent need to augment human capital

• India’s investment in human capital is abysmally poor, with 3.1% of GDP spent on education (2021-22) and about 1% on health.
• We also have a high level of unfulfilled requirements for reproductive health services (by the National Family Health Survey of 2019-21).
• According to NSSO’s 68th round only 4.7% of India’s total workforce have undergone any formal skills training (3.8% of adult women and 9.3% of adult men)
• Skill programmes in India also suffer from a gender bias, which reinforces our labour market imbalance.
• A 2014- 2018 study on Industrial Training Institute enrolment found large gender gaps.
• Therefore the government needs to refocus on imparting skills and women’s participation in the workforce.
• A McKinsey Global Institute report cautioned, employed women are at greater risk of being displaced by automation.

Learn from world’s best economies and implement

• Many Asian countries like Singapore, Taiwan, China and South Korea have harnessed the benefits of a growing youth population by imparting quality education and industry-relevant skills, and offering the youth good health services.
• India can take cue from these countries to address persistent demand-supply mismatch in the female workforce.
• Gender differentials in access to education and skill development must be removed on a priority basis.
• Social infrastructure to relieve women from their ‘double burden’ of work should be expanded, and a ‘women-friendly’ work culture fostered.

Conclusion

• India expects to gain eight million youth annually in the upcoming years and unless this human capital, particularly of women, is optimally utilized, our economy will underperform and we won’t be able to realize our demographic dividend.
• Therefore there is an imminent need to put female participation in the labour force in the centre of our policy making to realize India’s ambitious Amrit Kaal target of having half its workforce female by 2047.

Source: Live Mint

Mains Question:

Q. India’s female labour force participation rate is one of the lowest in the world and has not been in sync with the typical pattern of GDP growth and a rise in female literacy. In light of the statement discuss issues and challenges for low female labour force participation rate in India and suggest solutions to address them. (250 words)