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Female Workforce Participation in India: How to Step it up and Increase Their Employment in Non-Agricultural Activities

In: Women and Work in India: Challenges, Opportunities and Perspectives for Policy

Author

Listed:
  • Bishwanath Goldar

    (Institute of Economic Growth)

  • Suresh Chand Aggarwal

    (Institute for Human Development (IHD))

Abstract

There were significant hikes in female labour force and workforce participation rates in India between 2017–18 and 2023–24, leading to a surge in female and aggregate employment. The increases in female employment occurred chiefly in agriculture. Manufacturing employment growth accelerated in recent years due to increases in rural female workforce participation and other factors. Our analysis indicates that creating a conducive work environment and significantly reducing the burden of unpaid household work on working-age women will help enhance female workforce participation. There is some empirical evidence indicating that access to mobiles and fintech services has contributed to female employment in India. Our analysis also shows that providing large-scale technical education to young women in rural areas would significantly enhance female workforce participation. Further, the establishment of women-headed MSMEs would promote female employment in non-agricultural activities. For this to occur, access to finance needs to be substantially increased.

Suggested Citation

  • Bishwanath Goldar & Suresh Chand Aggarwal, 2026. "Female Workforce Participation in India: How to Step it up and Increase Their Employment in Non-Agricultural Activities," India Studies in Business and Economics, in: Alakh N. Sharma & Aasha Kapur Mehta & Vandana Upadhyay (ed.), Women and Work in India: Challenges, Opportunities and Perspectives for Policy, chapter 11, pages 251-278, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:isbchp:978-981-95-6103-2_11
    DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-6103-2_11
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