NEW DELHI: A new analysis of government data underscores the impact of household care responsibilities on women’s decisions to enter the workforce. The study reveals that the Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is significantly lower in households with children under the age of 14. This effect is especially pronounced in urban areas compared to rural regions.
The research, based on an examination of the Periodic Labour Force Survey data from 2017-18 to 2022-23, was published last month as part of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) working paper series. The study was authored by EAC-PM member Shamika Ravi and economist Mudit Kapoor.
The findings show that the presence of children, particularly those under 14, has a greater impact on female LFPR among women aged 20 to 35 than among older women. The report highlights a stark contrast between urban and rural areas, with female LFPR consistently lower in urban regions. “This significant gap reflects the increased pressures of household responsibilities in urban households,” the study noted.
Despite this, the analysis also highlights a notable increase in female LFPR, particularly in rural areas, since 2017-18. Married women in rural regions showed a greater rise in workforce participation than unmarried women. However, the study also points to substantial regional and interstate variations in the data.
The report further highlights that female LFPR peaks between the ages of 30 and 40, after which it declines sharply. In contrast, male LFPR remains consistently high (around 100%) between the ages of 30 and 50, before declining gradually thereafter. “Marital status is a key determinant of LFPR for both men and women. Married men consistently exhibit higher LFPR across all states and age groups, while marriage tends to reduce female LFPR, particularly in urban areas,” the report noted.
One of the more striking findings is that married men are consistently more likely to participate in the workforce than unmarried men, a trend that persists across all age groups, states, and both urban and rural areas.
The research also draws attention to government schemes aimed at boosting female participation in the workforce, especially for rural women. Over the past decade, initiatives such as Mudra loans, the “Drone Didi” scheme, and self-help groups (SHGs) under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana have been introduced.
“Our paper shows that these initiatives have contributed to a significant and cumulative increase in female LFPR, particularly in rural India,” the authors concluded. However, they also stressed that further rigorous research is needed to evaluate the impact of these programs and to address the ongoing rural-urban and interstate disparities in female LFPR across India.
