Inappropriate allocation of talent and human capital impacts growth rate of GDP. In improving women’s participation by 10 percentage points, India could add USD 700 billion by 2025.

Stylized Facts for India

• The already low female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) in India is declining further when compared to any other region in the world.
• The gap in male-female rates, low and stagnant urban rates, and declining rural rates, loss of women from labour market in all regions and sectors are the primary features.
• However, aspirations and need for employment are still high among women with unemployment rates (UR) being higher than men.

Women in Northern states have lower Female Work Participation Rate (FWPR) compared to Subsidiary status employment in both rural and urban areas and they predominate in the agricultural sector. The next largest FWPR is in public services where the state is the primary employer followed by one segment of manufacturing industries like the textile sector.

Determinant of FWPR:

• Demand side or structural factors and supply side or cultural factors like family roles and societal norms impact FWPR”
• The role of caregiving and the limited time spend by men in sharing the household work are primary factors depressing FWPR and studies have shown that with domestic help or presence of informal support from other family members improves FWPR.
• Easier access to transportation would enable women to save time, empowering them to take on economic activities alongside care work.
• In rural areas where an expansion of transportation facilities by the state is noted, an increase in women participating in non-agricultural employment is observed but is also contingent upon gender norms in the household and the community.
• As part of corporate governance policies all over the world India instituted quotas for women in the board since 2013.
• Better responsiveness of the state to crime rates and sexual harassment, laws extending night working hours for women and incentives for women entrepreneurs, impacts inter-state variation in FWPR.
• Chances of participation in workforce for women increased in regions where there is a higher reported confidence in police/judiciary and lower reported crime.
• Finally, female political representation promotes female employment due to access to public goods like paved roads, primary health centres and banks. Higher receptiveness of female leaders leads to more accommodating work environment for their female constituents.
• Pursuit of inclusive growth involves the role of the state as a regulator while providing public goods and services alongside liberal socio-cultural norms within the household/community.
• Fiscal policies like lower taxes did not improve female employment as the gains from it perhaps did not offset the costs involved.

Government Policies

• Government policies annul the trade-off between equity and growth.
• MGNREGA increased FWPR, reduced gender gaps in wages in other markets with positive implications on poverty, child and own nutritional status and empowerment.
• With the expansion of NRHM, ASHA workers have increased, impacting FWPR.
• Alongside the ICDS the Creche schemes should be strengthened further, as in these two schemes, women would be the service providers which could make widespread additions to workforce across all rural India.
• Hostel for Working Women Scheme was brought in as an effort towards creating a safe working environment and providing affordable accommodation for working women away from their home-town.
• The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 was emended in 2017 to primarily include increased paid maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks, provide an option of ‘work from home’ for women after the 26 weeks and also included provision of crèche facility and leave for mothers adopting children.
• As a part of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ the launch of online market platform for Indian women entrepreneurs with e-commerce marketplaces known as Mahila E Haat will improve market access.
• Pradhan Mantri MUDRA Yojana (PMMY) provides financial support to non-corporate small businesses and extends a 0.25 per cent rebate on refinance interest rates to women borrowers, encouraging female entrepreneurship.
• Additionally, behavioural issues as in the context of Swach Bharat should be paid attention to, since social norms take lot more time to change but clearly some leverage exists in terms of community participation.

Overall, what emerges is that when the policies and institutions favouring development improve so would economic citizenship for all the socially disadvantaged groups including women.