Missing half in India's growth puzzle

Female labour participation just 42%, among lowest in G20: Axis Bank study

- ANUPREKSHA JAIN & AUHONA MUKHERJEE

OVER 125 MILLION WOMEN IN INDIA WITH SECONDARY OR HIGHER EDUCATION ARE OUTSIDE THE LABOUR FORCE.

India’s female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) is among the lowest in the Group of Twenty (G20), with a large share of working women employed in agriculture or in unpaid or low-productivity self-employment, according to a report by Axis Bank.

Female labour force participation stands at about 42 per cent, placing India among the lowest in the G20 and the fourth lowest among major economies, the report said.

The report — The Missing Half: Women and India’s Growth Challenge — observes that about 61 per cent of working women are in agriculture, a sector that contributes relatively little to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Neelkanth Mishra, chief economist at Axis Bank, said the country must address multiple barriers to bring more women into the workforce. “We must raise demand for labour, improve infrastructure, remove outdated legal barriers, and work on childcare facilities and workplace flexibility to get the ‘missing half’ into the workforce,” Mishra said.