India looks to match world average for share of women in workforce
India is readying a blueprint to enhance the participation of women in the national workforce to the global average, which the government considers crucial to achieve its developed nation goal by 2047.
Proposals under consideration include incentives to create employment, development of the care economy, and enabling easier access to finance to encourage more women to join the labour force, said people aware of the deliberations.
Discussions have commenced between the ministries of women & child development and labour & employment, as well as the Niti Aayog on possible interventions, they said. The budget to be introduced this month could capture some of these ideas.
«We are looking at a concerted policy to increase the female labour force participation rate in India. The upcoming budget could signal the government's priority towards this,» one of the people said, requesting not to be identified.
The women and child development ministry is likely to form a committee to hold stakeholder consultations ahead of firming up a policy, one person said.
A key challenge before the government is to ensure both demand for and supply of female workforce is available, another person said. «For this, we need to address the issue of domestic work, freeing up women to take up jobs outside,» the person added. «Besides, development of the care economy can significantly open up demand for women in the workforce and generate employment for them in a big way.»
As per the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) by the Ministry of
