The connection between female labor pressure participation and economic growth is far more nuanced than is frequently suggested by academic research and policy discussions. Trends in female labor force participation do not consistently follow the idea of a U-shaped connection with GDP due to several economic and social factors, including growth patterns, educational attainment, and social norms. Policymakers should concentrate on enhancing women’s access to rate employment in addition to participation rates.
Development has required two connected transitions, as seen throughout the Industrial Revolution and additionally in East and (regions of) Southeast Asia: the migration of people from rural to urban areas and the transfer of employees from agriculture to industry (and more recently services). Rising educational attainment, dropping childbearing rates, and changes in other socioeconomic factors that influence labor force participation were all linked to these transitions, which had particular gender consequences for the labor market.
In this setting, the availability of female labor is both a development driver and a result. The potential for economies to grow more quickly in response to increasing labor inputs increases as more women join the workforce. By increasing household incomes and boosting consumption of products and services, women’s labor is helping families out of poverty. Women’s abilities often increase as nations grow, while social restrictions loosen and allow women to work outside the house.
It is complex how changing socioeconomic and demographic factors relate to how women participate in the workforce. Particularly, whether a woman works may be influenced by poverty (as seen in low-income nations) on the one hand, and by women’s rising educational accomplishment and the options for employment provided by a more modern economy on the other. In addition, women are frequently forced to work (usually informally) to stabilize household consumption during times of problem and in response to economic astonishments.
Depending on their ability to participate in economic activities, women’s status is closely related to their financial circumstances. The 2011 Census data reveals a significant disparity between urban and rural women’s employment participation, with urban women’s involvement in economic activities, is only slightly higher than that of rural women. The literature that is now available demonstrates how women’s job status contributes to their empowerment, but little study has been done to compare women’s empowerment in rural and urban areas in terms of several dimensions.
According to this viewpoint, presuming that women’s economic authorization is dependent on position participation, the current study seeks to contrast the degree of women’s economic empowerment in urban and rural India by concentrating on several aspects of work involvement. The Census of India, 2011, and the (PLFS) Periodic Labour Force Survey, 2021–2022, served as the primary data sources for this study.
Utilizing the widely used normalization technique, the ( EEI) Economic Empowerment Index of females has been calculated using their labor force participation rates, labor force share among literate women, labor force share according to educational attainment, labor share among married women, and labor force share according to the job profile. The study’s findings indicate that rural females are more actively participating in the workforce across all measured variables. In line with the overall research, the EEI shows that rural females are more economically empowered than their urban companions.
The dichotomous nature of this labor market indicator is often the main focus of studies on female workforce participation. In developing nations, it’s critical to comprehend not only whether females are employed or actively looking for employment, but also the type of labor that women may access.
Overall, even in nations where the labor force participation rate is nearly equal among men and women, possibilities for better positions and the differentia of employment remain unequally divided between the sexes. When women work, they typically earn less than males (the well-known gender wage gap), do less-productive tasks, and are disproportionately illustrated in unpaid family work and different vulnerable occupations. Worldwide, there is a lot of gendered employment discrimination.
For women’s involvement in the labor market to rise, their education must continue into middle school (junior secondary), especially if they want to work in higher-paying positions. Potential income acts as a pull force at higher grades of education, assisting in overcoming monetary and social limitations.
Policymakers should be concerned about whether women can access better jobs, take advantage of new employment opportunities that present themselves as a nation develops, and, in doing so, can contribute to the development strategy itself. This goes beyond standard labor force participation rates. For this reason, policies should take both supply- and demand-side factors into account, including better education and training programs, access to childcare, and other supportive institutions and legal measures to lessen the burden of household duties, improve women’s safety, and promote private sector growth in regions and industries that can increase job opportunities for women in growing countries.
Young girls need to be encouraged to stay in school, acquire an excellent education beyond the secondary level, and be able to take advantage of activity chances. They will therefore have a better chance of getting over other obstacles to getting a job that pays well as a result.