Context: The Central Government is planning to bring out a National Policy document on female labour force participation (FLFP) with a focus on providing an enabling atmosphere like a viable care economy structure.
Relevance of the Topic: Mains- Present situation of FLFP in India and the need for a national policy to promote it.
Major Highlights:
What is the Care economy?
- Care economy is the sector of economic activities related to the provision of care (both paid and unpaid) for the present and future populations.
- It includes:
- Direct care such as feeding a baby
- Indirect care such as cooking and cleaning, health care, education, and other personal and domestic services.
- One of the initiatives being explored is a core skilling package for caregivers for children. Govt. is also looking to provide child care facilities for women in the informal sector such as for workers under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.
- The Ministry of Women and Child Development already runs the ‘Palna’ scheme, or the National Programme on Anganwadi-cum-Crèche, which provides day-care facilities for children of working parents. A total of 1,000 Anganwadi creches are operational till now as part of this scheme.
About Female Labour Force Participation (FLFPR) Rate:
- Female labour force participation (FLFPR) rate refers to women (over 15 years) who are either working or looking for a job.
- FLFP Rate in India: The Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2022-23 highlights that the FLFPR for prime working age group (15 years & above) has increased from 23% in 2017-18 to 37 % in 2022-23.
- In Rural areas: 36.6% of females aged 15 years & above are participating in the labour force, as against 78.2% male in 2021-22.
- In Urban areas : 23.8% of females aged 15 years & above are participating in the labour force, as against 74.7% male in 2021-22.
- From 2017 to 2022, women’s LFPR increased relative to men, in rural areas because of the larger engagement of rural women in agriculture and allied activities.
- Only four states, namely Assam, Bihar, Haryana, and Delhi, have a FLFPR below 25%, with Delhi recording the lowest rate at 14.8%.
- As per the recent World Bank report:
- Women face a sharp drop in their labour force participation post-marriage in India.
- It is estimated that in India post-marriage female employment rates drop by 12 percentage points (about one-third of the female pre-marital employment rate), even in the absence of children.
Necessitating factors for National Policy on FLFP in India:
- Unpaid care work: Women have to bear the burden of unpaid care work (taking care of children, elderly family members, and household chores). It is often undervalued and not recognised as work, which limits women’s ability to participate in paid employment.
- Societal norms and cultural expectations: In India, traditional gender division of labour dictate that women should focus on household duties and raising children, while men are the primary breadwinners.
- Lack of access to education: Girls are often denied access to education, or they drop out of school early due to poverty or familial responsibilities. This limits their skill development, employment opportunities and earning potential.
However, presently, more women are pursuing higher education which can delay their entry into the workforce. While education can empower women, societal expectations may still lead them to leave the workforce after education.
- Health related issues: Health challenges, especially for older women, impact their productivity and contribute to low FLPR.
- Limited job opportunities: Women often face discrimination in the job market, and there are fewer job opportunities available to them compared to men. For example, the technology and finance sector.
- Safety concerns: Women often face safety concerns and harassment in the workplace and while commuting to and from work which discourages them from seeking employment outside of the home.
- Lack of supportive policies: India lacks supportive policies, such as parental leave, and flexible work arrangements (especially in the informal sector), which can enable women to balance work and family responsibilities.
According to the IMF, if the women's participation in the workforce could match men's, the GDP of India could increase by 27%. Hence, the central government is working towards increasing the FLPR.
Government initiatives to improve Female Work Participation:
1. For Survival and Education of Females:
- Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme: For creating awareness among the people to educate all girl children in the country. The initiative intends to tackle the issue of the diminishing sex ratio in recent years, raise social awareness, and improve the effectiveness of welfare benefits for girls.
- National Education Policy(NEP), 2020: The policy prioritises gender equity and envisions ensuring equitable access to quality education to all students, with a special emphasis on Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs).
2. For Safe and Convenient Accommodation:
- Working Women Hostel: One of the main difficulties faced by working women is lack of safe and conveniently located accommodation. The objective of the scheme is to promote availability of safe and conveniently located accommodation for working women, with day care facilities for their children, wherever possible, in urban, semi urban, or even rural areas where employment opportunities for women exist.
3. For Supporting Women affected by violence
- One Stop Centre (OSC) and Universalisation of Women Helpline: To provide 24 hours immediate and emergency response to women affected by violence through referral (linking with appropriate authority such as police, One Stop Centre, hospital) and information about women related government schemes programs across the country through a single uniform number.
- Women Helpline (WHL) will be integrated with One Stop Centre Scheme (OSC) under which one OSC shall be established in every State/UT to provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence, both in private and public spaces under one roof.
4. Codification of the Labour Laws for harmonizing the needs of job seekers, workers and employers:
- Labour Codes: The four Labour Codes namely, the Code on Wages, 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the Code on Social Security, 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. Codification of the Labour Laws provides a policy framework for harmonizing the needs of job seekers, workers and employers.
- The Labour Codes will, inter-alia, reduce multiplicity of definitions & authorities, facilitate implementation and use of technology in enforcement of labour laws and bring transparency and accountability in enforcement, promote setting up of more enterprises, catalysing the creation of employment opportunities in the country.
5. Equal Opportunity and Congenial Work Environment
- Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017: The Act increased the paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, also made a provision for mandatory crèche facilities in establishments having 50 or more employees, permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures, etc.
- The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013: To provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
4. Promoting Entrepreneurship:
- Female Entrepreneurship: To promote female entrepreneurship, the Government has initiated schemes like MUDRA, Stand Up India and Mahila e-Haat.
- Rashtriya Mahila Kosh: Provides micro-credit at concessional terms to poor women for various livelihood and income generating activities.
- Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP): Under the scheme, women entrepreneurs are provided 25 per cent and 35 per cent subsidies for the project set up in urban and rural areas respectively.
Measures to improve Female Work Participation:
- Need of National Women’s Urban Employment Guarantee Act (WUEGA): Women should form at least 50% of the programme management staff, with a vision for decentralized management and local community involvement. Includes provisions for childcare at work sites, free public transportation for women, and work availability within a 5-km radius.
| Case study of WUEGA: Women-led waste management in Karnataka, demonstrates the feasibility and success of women-centric programs: In this initiative women handle end-to-end waste management in gram panchayats of selected districts including collection and driving of the ‘Swacch’ vehicles. |
| Japan’s ‘womenomics’: -Japan was grappling with falling fertility rates, a declining population, and stagnant growth. A series of reforms on “womenomics” were introduced as part of the “Abenomics” era. -Women’s labour force participation rate (WLFPR) in Japan has grown by ten percentage points, from 64.9 percent in 2013 to 75.2 per cent in 2023. -Majority of the “womenomics” reforms have been linked to investments in the care economy and rebalancing gender norms. |
- Ensure high participation of women in MGNREGS: Recommendations given by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj:
- The government must take measures for better promotion of “women-centric works” through creation or linking of existing livelihood projects under the scheme.
- The Ministry of Rural Development needs to bridge the wage disparity among states by notifying a uniform wage rate structure.
- Identification of niche sectors: There is a need for identification of niche sectors like countries like the United States initiative like Girls Who Code in the USA aim to close the gender gap in technology, Japan and Italy are focusing on the healthcare and social work sectors as areas of potential job growth for women.
- Flexible Work Options as like Netherlands: Promote work models like part-time work, remote work, and parental leave policies, empowers women to manage work-life balance effectively.
- Accounting for care work: There is a need to capture the value of care in the GDP calculation.
Conclusion: These strategies can contribute to meeting goals of SDG 1 (end poverty); SDG 3 (ensure healthy lives); SDG 4 (ensure inclusive and equitable quality education); SDG 5 (achieve gender equality) etc.