IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS
- Labour Force Participation Rate in 2017-18: Total- 49.8%; Male- 75%; Female- 25.3%.
- Female LPFR in Rural Areas (26.6%) higher as compared to Urban Areas (22.3%)
- Decline in the total Female LPFR from 45.2% in 1993-94 to 25.3% in 2017-18.
- Decline in Female LPFR sharper in Rural areas (from 52% in 1993-94 to 26.6% in 2017-18) as compared to Urban areas (from 25.1% in 1993-94 to 22.3% in 2017-18).
REASONS FOR DECLINE IN FEMALE LFPR
| SUPPLY SIDE | DEMAND SIDE |
| Higher Enrolment of Females in higher Educational Institutions.More number of Women opting for Household duties due to increase in household incomes.Cultural factors- Social Constraints and Patriarchal norms. | Structural Transformation: Decline in agriculture not accompanied by creation of jobs for women in other sectors.Decline in Labour Intensive Industries in Urban areas.Significant wage gap between males and females |
INITIATIVES TO IMPROVE FEMALE WORK PARTICIPATION
- Improving the Safety of Women at Workplace
- Mahila Shakti Kendra Scheme: Empowers rural women through community participation.
- 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.
- Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana- National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) - seeks to reach out to 8-9 crore rural poor households and organize one-woman member from each household into affinity-based women SHGs and federations at village and at higher levels.