A new report suggested that India’s ambitious goal of becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047 hinges on dramatically increasing women’s participation in the workforce. The Labour Force Participation Distillation Report, launched by The/Nudge Prize at the charcha 2024 summit on August 22, 2024, highlighted the critical need to nearly double the female Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) to 70% by 2047.
According to the report, women would need to contribute $14 trillion to achieve India’s economic target. This requires bringing 400 million women into the workforce, a significant increase from the current trajectory which estimates only 110 million women joining by 2047. The report emphasised that an additional 145 million women need to enter the labor force to meet the goal.
Kanishka Chatterjee, Director & Head of The/Nudge Prize, stressed the urgency of addressing this issue, stating, “India’s demographic dividend and dreams of a $30T economy cannot be realised without boosting the participation of women in the workforce, and we have made several strides towards that direction. However, addressing the multifaceted barriers – economic, social, and cultural, requires both urgent action and the patience to achieve large-scale disruption.”
The report revealed stark disparities in the current labor market. In 2023, the LFPR for women in India was 37%, significantly lower than the global average of 47% and drastically below the 76.8% rate for men. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these inequalities, with women being seven times more likely to lose their jobs and 11 times more likely not to recover from job loss compared to men. By 2020, nearly half of the women employed in 2019 had left the workforce.
The study outlined three key pathways to increase women’s labor force participation:
1. Activating fractional employment by redefining work through platform jobs and digital microwork.
2. Invigorating entrepreneurship opportunities via digital commerce infrastructure.
3. Targeting bottlenecks such as mobility and digital access that hinder women’s entry into the labor market.
The report also highlightted the concentration of women in gendered, low-productivity sectors. In agriculture and manufacturing, women face limited advancement opportunities. In the construction industry, they comprise just over 12% of the workforce and earn significantly less than men in unskilled roles.
This secondary report was launched at the fifth edition of the event which brought together over 2,000 key stakeholders and leaders from governments, markets, and civil society.
A panel of experts including Varun Khaitan (Co-Founder, Urban Company), Sharon Buteau (Executive Director, KREA University), Deepa Nagraj (Senior Vice President & Head- ESG, Sparkle Innovation Ecosystem and Communications, Mphasis), Ajaita Shah (Founder, Frontier Markets), Pooja Sharma Goyal (Founding CEO, Udaiti Foundation) and Renu Sud Karnad (Former MD, HDFC) launched the report.
The/Nudge Institute is an action institute focused on building resilient livelihoods to alleviate poverty. It works with various partners including social entrepreneurs, government agencies, and philanthropists, the organization aims to contribute to a “poverty-free India, within our lifetime.