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Precarious drop : reassessing patterns of female labor force participation in India

Author

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  • Andres,Luis Alberto
  • Dasgupta,Basab
  • Joseph,George
  • Abraham,Vinoj
  • Correia,Maria C.

Abstract

This paper uses successive rounds of National Sample Survey Organization data from 1993-94 to 2011-12, and draws from census data. This paper (i) provides a description of nearly two decades of patterns and trends in female labor force participation in India; (ii) estimates the extent of the recent decline in female labor force participation; and (iii) examines and assesses the contribution of various demographic and socioeconomic factors in explaining the female labor force participation decision and the recent the drop. The analysis finds that female labor force participation dropped by 19.6 million women from 2004?05 to 2011?12. Participation declined by 11.4 percent, from 42.6 to 31.2 percent during 1993?94 to 2011?12. Approximately 53 percent of this drop occurred in rural India, among those ages 15 to 24 years. Factors such as educational attainment, socioeconomic status, and household composition largely contributed to the drop, although their effects were more pronounced in rural areas. Specifically, the analysis finds a U-shaped relationship between levels of educational attainment and female labor force participation. The decomposition of the contribution of these various determinants to the female labor force participation decision suggests that stability in family income, as indicated by the increasing share of regular wage earners and declining share of casual labor in the composition of family labor supply, has led female family members to choose dropping out of, rather than joining, the labor force. The findings of this paper suggest that conventional approaches to increasing female labor force participation (such as education and skills and legal provisions) will be insufficient. Policies should center on promoting the acceptability of female employment and investing in growing economic sectors that are more attractive for female employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Andres,Luis Alberto & Dasgupta,Basab & Joseph,George & Abraham,Vinoj & Correia,Maria C., 2017. "Precarious drop : reassessing patterns of female labor force participation in India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8024, The World Bank.
  • Handle: RePEc:wbk:wbrwps:8024
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    1. Varsha Gupta, 2023. "Determinants of Female Labour Force Participation in India: Evidence from Supply Side," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 66(1), pages 203-223, March.
    2. Gupta, Tanu & Negi, Digvijay, 2021. "Daughter Vs. Daughter-in-Law: Kinship Roles and Women’s Time Use in India," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315021, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Deininger,Klaus W. & Jin,Songqing & Nagarajan,Hari Krishnan & Singh,Sudhir K., 2020. "Political Reservation and Female Labor Force Participation in Rural India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9350, The World Bank.
    4. Esha Chatterjee & Sonalde Desai & Reeve Vanneman, 2018. "Indian paradox: Rising education, declining womens' employment," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(31), pages 855-878.
    5. Ishita Pal & Balhasan Ali & Preeti Dhillon & Neelanjana Pandey, 2021. "Factors Determining Paid and Unpaid Work in Young Adults: Evidence from a Cohort Study in Bihar, India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(1), pages 133-153, March.
    6. Deeksha Tayal & Sourabh Paul, 2021. "Labour Force Participation Rate of Women in Urban India: An Age-Cohort-Wise Analysis," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 64(3), pages 565-593, September.
    7. Sujata Bose & Durba Pal, 2020. "Impact of Employee Demography, Family Responsibility and Perceived Family Support on Workplace Resilience," Global Business Review, International Management Institute, vol. 21(5), pages 1249-1262, October.
    8. Shreya Biswas, 2021. "She Innovates- Female owner and firm innovation in India," Papers 2109.09515, arXiv.org.
    9. Momoe Makino, 2021. "Female labour force participation and dowries in Pakistan," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 569-593, April.
    10. Indrani Gupta & Arjun Roy, 2023. "What really empowers women? Taking another look at economic empowerment," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 25(1), pages 17-31, June.
    11. Priyanka, Sadia, 2020. "Do female politicians matter for female labor market outcomes? Evidence from state legislative elections in India," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    12. Sapna Goel, 2022. "Effect of Deagrarianization at the Household Level on the Scale and Nature of Women’s Work in Rural India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 65(4), pages 1053-1082, December.
    13. Sudha Narayanan & Sharada Srinivasan, 2020. "No country for young women farmers: A situation analysis for India," Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai Working Papers 2020-041, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai, India.
    14. Salazar-Saenz,Mauricio & Robayo,Monica, 2020. "A Structural Model of the Labor Market to Understand Gender Gaps among Marginalized Roma Communities," Policy Research Working Paper Series 9398, The World Bank.
    15. Lakhwinder Singh Kang & Gurpreet Kaur, 2020. "Personal Cognitive Factors Affecting Career Aspirations of Women Working in Financial Sector in India," Vision, , vol. 24(4), pages 419-430, December.
    16. Amrita Datta & Tanuka Endow & Balwant Singh Mehta, 2020. "Education, Caste and Women’s Work in India," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(2), pages 387-406, June.
    17. Ellina Samantroy, 0. "Women’s Participation in Domestic Duties and Paid Employment in India: The Missing Links," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 0, pages 1-21.
    18. Rajesh Gupta & Vaibhav Bhamoriya, 2021. "‘Give Me Some Rail’: An Enquiry into Puzzle of Declining Female Labour Force Participation Rate," Management and Labour Studies, XLRI Jamshedpur, School of Business Management & Human Resources, vol. 46(1), pages 7-23, February.
    19. Sarma, Nayantara, 2022. "Domestic violence and workfare: An evaluation of India’s MGNREGS," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    20. Ellina Samantroy, 2020. "Women’s Participation in Domestic Duties and Paid Employment in India: The Missing Links," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 63(2), pages 437-457, June.
    21. Usami, Yoshifumi & Patra, Subhajit & Kapoor, Abhinav, 2018. "Measuring Female Work Participation in Rural India: What Do the Primary and Secondary Data Show?," Review of Agrarian Studies, Foundation for Agrarian Studies, vol. 8(2), December.
    22. Deshpande, Ashwini & Khanna, Shantanu & Walia, Daksh, 2023. "An Indian Enigma? Labour Market Impacts of the World's Largest Livelihoods Program," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1311, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    23. Kehinde Oluwole OLA Ph. D & Felix Iredia IFADA & Rachel Jolayemi, FAGBOYO, 2023. "Determinants of Labour Force Participation in Nigeria: The Role of Expansion in Tertiary Education and Internet," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 7(5), pages 1523-1534, May.
    24. Chayanika Boruah & Debarshi Das, 2022. "Female Labour Force Participation Rates in Assam: Trends, Composition and Determinants," Indian Journal of Human Development, , vol. 16(1), pages 139-157, April.

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