FEMALE WORK PARTICIPATION IN INDIA

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to study the disparities in Work Participation Rates among Males and Females in India, and how this disparity is reflected in Rural and Urban areas as well as various regions/states across the country. India is characterized by low work participation rate in general. So, 2001 and 2011 Census data on Work Participation Rate was compared. In 2011 census, working population has increased to 39.8%. There are wide regional variations in the countries in work participation rate, ranging from highest of 51.9% in Himachal Pradesh to lowest of 32.9% in Uttar Pradesh. The low proportion of working force or high dependency ratio (60%) in India is largely the product of countries’ high natural rate of increase. A prejudice against female participation in work is another factor responsible for poor overall participation rate. There persists a wide male-female difference in the work participation rate. In 2011, while 53.3 percent of the country’s male population was engaged in economically gainful activities, the corresponding figures for females was only 25.5 percent, which almost at the same level as in 2001. Therefore, what is needed is to enhance the education as well as skill levels of females. Sufficient job opportunities must be created for them so that they become equal partners in the country’s economic development. The entry of more and more females in the labour force would not only lead to their empowerment but also raise their status in the society. Only then, we can achieve the goal of gender equity in the society.