Economic Empowerment through Employment in India: A Gendered Perspective on Growth

The presence of women in employment in India has turned out both a catalyst and a riddle to inclusive growth. Although women education has improved and post-pandemic labour force participation rates (LFPR) has steadily increased based on the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data (2017-18 to 2023-24), there are still concerns regarding job quality, informality, and low earnings growth. This paper develops a normalised set of female labour market measures to track participation, employment and sector changes, and determine whether increases in female labour participation are leading to economic benefits. Through analysis with PLFS microdata, the authors identify three important trends: first, there is an overall trend towards increased participation of women in the labour market, although most are self-employed or work in informal sectors with inadequate social protection; second, there is structural reallocation, where the proportion of women working in the services and manufacturing sectors, although not proportional increases in opportunities with salaried and more formal jobs, is rising; and third, policy intervention, including maternity benefit reform, childcare and rural employment schemes (MGNREGA) has measurable but disparate effects across states Empirical estimates indicate that one percentage point rise in female labour force participation is linked to a gain of 0.3-0.5% in state-level per capita income, however, this increase is multiplied when it comes with quality job gains. The results highlight the need to tackle unpaid care burden, mobility and safety limitations, and automation threats that disfavor women in a disproportionate manner.