Recent data from 2023-24 shows rise in the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) in India. The FLFPR increased sharply from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24. This rise is largely due to increased participation of rural women. However, this growth masks underlying challenges such as declining real earnings and limited access to secure jobs. The pattern of employment also reveals a shift towards unpaid and self-employed work rather than wage employment.
About Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR)
FLFPR measures the percentage of women employed or actively seeking work. It is a key indicator of gender equality and labour market dynamism. A rising FLFPR is generally positive but needs to be analysed alongside earnings and job quality to understand true economic empowerment.
Trends in FLFPR from 2011 to 2024
Between 2011-12 and 2017-18, FLFPR fell from 31.2% to 23.3%. Since then, it surged to 41.7% in 2023-24. This increase is mainly driven by rural women. However, despite more women entering the workforce, real earnings fell for most employment categories except casual workers. This suggests more women are working but in less secure and poorly paid jobs.
Employment Patterns Among Rural Women
Contrary to typical economic development trends, more rural women are working in agriculture. Their share in agriculture rose from 71.1% in 2018-19 to 76.9% in 2023-24. Employment in industry and services declined. This indicates limited diversification of rural female employment into higher-paying non-agricultural sectors.
Unpaid Work and Household Enterprises
A large portion of women’s work is unpaid domestic labour. Two categories capture this – ‘domestic duties’ and ‘helpers in household enterprises’. From 2017-18 to 2023-24, women reporting domestic duties fell from 57.8% to 35.7%. Meanwhile, those counted as helpers in household enterprises rose from 9.1% to 19.6%. This shift shows that unpaid domestic work is being reclassified as self-employment rather than formal wage labour.
Rise in Self-Employment and Earnings Decline
There was a notable rise in women as ‘own account workers and employers’ from 4.5% to 14.6%. However, real earnings for self-employed women declined. This suggests that the increase in self-employment has not translated into better incomes or job security.
Labour Market Vulnerabilities for Women
The rise in FLFPR does not reflect improved job quality or economic security. Wage employment has not grown. Many women remain in vulnerable, low-paid or unpaid roles. The blurring of boundaries between domestic work and employment complicates accurate measurement and policy responses.
Questions for UPSC:
- Critically discuss the factors influencing female labour force participation in India and examine their impact on gender equality.
- Analyse the relationship between economic development and sectoral shifts in employment with special reference to rural India.
- Estimate the role of informal and unpaid work in shaping labour market statistics and discuss its implications for labour policy.
- Point out the challenges faced by women in accessing secure wage employment and suggest measures to improve their economic empowerment.
