More than 89 million women remained out of labour market in 2023-24: Report

CHENNAI: More than 89 million women were estimated to have remained out of the labour market in 2023-24, despite a 10% rise in urban women’s employment in the last six years, according to a report. Of this, more than 19 million have graduate-level education.

Great Lakes Institute of management’s (Chennai) white paper showed that even as women enrollment in higher education improved, social constraints such as childcare, commute and personal choice affected participation.

The report estimated working age women (15 to 64 years) who were not looking for work, by applying population weight to the periodic labour force survey (PLFS) data. Vidya Mahambare, director of research at the institute, said apart from household and care work, residence relocations after marriage and lower access to faster and more convenient commuting modes were some of the unseen barriers to women's employment in urban areas.

There is a need to create affordable childcare infrastructure that really works, she said. “Current childcare system has a lot of gaps. Things like childcare vouchers should be explored instead of mandating childcare at the workplace, because a lot of them do not make sense. Childcare facilities on or near the schools might help women participate in work,” she said.

Referring to the young male unemployment (10%) outpacing women’s (7.5%), she said there is a need to accelerate quality job creation to improve women employment. “Raising female employment amid male joblessness risks diversity backlash if job creation does not accelerate,” Mahambare said.

The report recommends corporate initiatives to support women’s professional development, establishing fair recruitment and address how recruiters perceive career breaks for women.


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