Women Workforce Participation in India- A Study

Shweta Borkar

Abstract: India has experienced rapid economic growth, a decline in fertility rate, introduction of employment generation programs and policy shifts towards women empowerment in recent years. Yet, a striking feature has been a declining trend in the female labour force participation rates. The present paper attempts to describe the workforce participation rates in India. It also attempts to identify the potential causes of declining female labour force participation on the basis of secondary data. It is observed that social norms, level of education, gender discriminatory practices, policy measures have influenced participation of women in the labour force in India.

Keywords: Social Norms, Gender Discrimination, Female Labour Force Participation, Informal Jobs