In an attempt to bolster female employment rates in India, the Ministry of Labour & Employment has announced plans to extend the Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) for women to five years. The scheme was introduced in August 2016, with the aim of providing subsidies to employers for a period of three years to hire skilled and unskilled workers across all industries, earning up to Rs 15,000 monthly. This move forms part of the government’s response to the persistent decline in women’s workforce participation rates.
The Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY)
PMRPY is a government initiative designed to incentivize employers registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The program encourages job creation by covering the employer’s 8.33% contribution to the Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) for new employees with a Universal Account Number (UAN). For the textile sector, the government further covers the employer’s 3.67% Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contribution.
Falling Female Workforce Participation
Despite advances in education and shifting social norms, India’s female workforce participation rate remains among the lowest in South Asia. From 36% in 2005-2006, the number of employed women has fallen dramatically to just 24% according to the 2018 Economic Survey. Several factors contribute to this trend, including the choice of many young women to continue their education rather than enter the workforce early, stable family incomes leading some women to withdraw from the labor market, and social norms and biases against working women.
Challenges Leading to Low Participation
The decline can also be attributed to a lack of suitable job opportunities for women, as well as subpar working conditions. Legal restrictions on women’s access to certain jobs, such as those in mines and hazardous industries, also limit their employment options. Furthermore, rapid urbanization, increasing pressures on agricultural jobs, and inadequate infrastructure contribute to the low rate of women’s labor force participation.
Government Initiatives to Revive Female Labor Force Participation
In response to these challenges, the Indian government has launched several initiatives aimed at boosting women’s workforce participation. These include the Sexual Harassment Electronic-Box (SHe-Box) for reporting workplace harassment, the Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to motivate and support female entrepreneurs, and amendments to the Maternity Benefit Act to extend maternity leave and require larger employers to provide childcare facilities.
The Way Forward
While these measures are a step in the right direction, more comprehensive, long-term reforms are needed to significantly improve labour market outcomes for women. Policymakers must focus on improving women’s access to education, skills development programs, and child care, as well as ensuring safe and accessible transportation. The promotion of growth patterns that create job opportunities is also critical. Ultimately, the aim is not merely to augment the female labor force participation rate but to enable women to find decent work that contributes to their economic empowerment. Successfully leveraging India’s entire potential workforce, both men and women, is vital for sustainable economic growth and development. Only by empowering women to engage in productive employment can India hope to achieve its growth targets and contribute to broader goals such as poverty eradication, improved maternal health, and universal primary education.
