Women@Work: Working Women Up Globally but Down in India. Is There a Way Out? https://www.news18.com/news/opinion/women-at-work-working-women-up-globally-but-down-in-india-is-there-a-way-out-4848029.html
If you look at data from the 1990s till date, across most countries, women’s participation in the labour force has increased. It stands at 55-65 per cent for developed nations and 47 per cent on average. India’s labour force participation rates have nearly halved in the same period!
three reasons to explain our falling participation.
1. Income effect: As countries grow richer, women who were at work to simply make ends meet, will sit it out. In India, education levels have risen, fertility rates have fallen but women continue to sit it out.
2. Social norms: Women shoulder a very high percentage of domestic duties and unpaid care work. our participation for women is almost 14 percentage points lower. our participation for women is almost 14 percentage points lower.
3. Supply of jobs: we have had solid growth in retail, hospitality, health, media and education sectors. Yet, even urban labour force participation rates have been declining.