Publications
Publications
Category
Year
Report
Handbook on institutional mechanisms for addressing gender issues
- March , 2022
- Moumita Sarkar | Soya Thomas | Alpaxee Kashyap
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) recognises poverty as multidimensional and addresses the intersectional vulnerabilities women face due to gender, caste, class, and ethnicity. Believing in empowering women through specialised institutions, DAY-NRLM has developed a gender architecture to tackle these challenges. This structure includes platforms such as Gender Forums (GF), Social Action Committees (SAC), Village Organisations (VO), and Cluster-Level Federations (CLF), which raise awareness about women’s rights and connect them to public institutions. Gender Point Persons (GPP) help raise gender issues within Self-Help Groups (SHGs). While progress varies across states, many have successfully used these platforms to secure rights and entitlements for women. This handbook offers guidance on establishing and maintaining these institutions at all levels. It highlights their transformative role in addressing gender inequality, improving access to rights, and fostering stronger state-citizen relationships. The handbook aims to motivate state partners to invest in these models, demonstrating the positive impact they can have on women’s lives.
The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) recognises poverty as multidimensional and addresses the intersectional vulnerabilities women face due to gender, caste, class, and ethnicity. Believing in empowering women through specialised institutions, DAY-NRLM has developed a gender architecture to tackle these challenges. This structure includes platforms such as Gender Forums (GF), Social Action Committees (SAC), Village Organisations (VO), and Cluster-Level Federations (CLF), which raise awareness about women’s rights and connect them to public institutions. Gender Point Persons (GPP) help raise gender issues within Self-Help Groups (SHGs). While progress varies across states, many have successfully used these platforms to secure rights and entitlements for women. This handbook offers guidance on establishing and maintaining these institutions at all levels. It highlights their transformative role in addressing gender inequality, improving access to rights, and fostering stronger state-citizen relationships. The handbook aims to motivate state partners to invest in these models, demonstrating the positive impact they can have on women’s lives.
Report
Women and Work: How India Fared in 2021
- January , 2022
- IWWAGE , TQH
The year 2021 continued to challenge global recovery efforts, with the second wave of COVID-19 presenting new hurdles. Women and girls were disproportionately impacted, with structural barriers exacerbating the health crisis. As this report is compiled, the Omicron variant remains a threat, highlighting the need for a gender-responsive and equitable recovery. To achieve this, we must design inclusive social safety nets, bridge the gender gap in access to technology, create hybrid work solutions, reduce and redistribute care work, and invest in the care economy. Collecting robust, sex-disaggregated data is crucial to ensure effective, scalable policies and solutions. This report maps the ongoing efforts to bring women back into the workforce and prepare them for the future of work. It highlights key policy and programmatic developments that shaped women’s work in India in 2021. Additionally, the report looks ahead, emphasising new-age skills, entrepreneurship, and non-traditional livelihoods for a self-reliant India. It also sheds light on social indicators influencing women’s workforce participation, including access to resources, health, well-being, and security.
The year 2021 continued to challenge global recovery efforts, with the second wave of COVID-19 presenting new hurdles. Women and girls were disproportionately impacted, with structural barriers exacerbating the health crisis. As this report is compiled, the Omicron variant remains a threat, highlighting the need for a gender-responsive and equitable recovery. To achieve this, we must design inclusive social safety nets, bridge the gender gap in access to technology, create hybrid work solutions, reduce and redistribute care work, and invest in the care economy. Collecting robust, sex-disaggregated data is crucial to ensure effective, scalable policies and solutions. This report maps the ongoing efforts to bring women back into the workforce and prepare them for the future of work. It highlights key policy and programmatic developments that shaped women’s work in India in 2021. Additionally, the report looks ahead, emphasising new-age skills, entrepreneurship, and non-traditional livelihoods for a self-reliant India. It also sheds light on social indicators influencing women’s workforce participation, including access to resources, health, well-being, and security.
Learning note
Innovations for Women’s Empowerment Collectives in Chhattisgarh
- December , 2021
IWWAGE and LEAD at Krea University, in partnership with Bihan and with support from the Gates Foundation, are testing digital and assisted models to strengthen Women’s Empowerment Collectives (WECs) in Chhattisgarh. These pilots include: Haqdarshak: Training SHG women as digital agents (Haqdarshikas) to help communities access government entitlements, with over 2.9 lakh applications processed and income generated for agents. Mor Awaaz: Encouraging mobile phone use among women in SKY villages through weekly information calls, aiming to shift gender norms and improve digital engagement. Information Sharing in SHGs: Exploring how digital tools and social networks influence knowledge sharing and economic resilience, with planned training on soap-making and business skills for SHG women. These initiatives aim to build digital capacity, promote economic inclusion, and strengthen community-based support systems for rural women.
IWWAGE and LEAD at Krea University, in partnership with Bihan and with support from the Gates Foundation, are testing digital and assisted models to strengthen Women’s Empowerment Collectives (WECs) in Chhattisgarh. These pilots include: Haqdarshak: Training SHG women as digital agents (Haqdarshikas) to help communities access government entitlements, with over 2.9 lakh applications processed and income generated for agents. Mor Awaaz: Encouraging mobile phone use among women in SKY villages through weekly information calls, aiming to shift gender norms and improve digital engagement. Information Sharing in SHGs: Exploring how digital tools and social networks influence knowledge sharing and economic resilience, with planned training on soap-making and business skills for SHG women. These initiatives aim to build digital capacity, promote economic inclusion, and strengthen community-based support systems for rural women.
Working Paper
Understanding the barriers to women’s career advancement in the manufacturing sector
- December , 2021
- Swati Sharma
This paper, Understanding the barriers to women’s career advancement in manufacturing sector: diagnostic study of Indian garment factories, is part of the working paper series and has been produced with the help of IWWAGE research fellowship to young researchers in 2019
This paper, Understanding the barriers to women’s career advancement in manufacturing sector: diagnostic study of Indian garment factories, is part of the working paper series and has been produced with the help of IWWAGE research fellowship to young researchers in 2019
IWWAGE-ISI-BRIEFS
Land Access, Productivity and Female Labour Force Participation
- December , 2021
- Ayushi Gupta
Authored by Ayushi Gupta (Research Associate, IWWAGE). ISST is a New Delhi–registered public charitable trust (Reg. No. 923; 25 Feb 1980), based at India Habitat Centre, permitted to receive foreign contributions (FCRA: 231650070); donations are eligible for 80G tax exemption. IWWAGE is an initiative of LEAD (IFMR Society), with strategic oversight and brand support from Krea University, and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the views in this brief are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s.
Authored by Ayushi Gupta (Research Associate, IWWAGE). ISST is a New Delhi–registered public charitable trust (Reg. No. 923; 25 Feb 1980), based at India Habitat Centre, permitted to receive foreign contributions (FCRA: 231650070); donations are eligible for 80G tax exemption. IWWAGE is an initiative of LEAD (IFMR Society), with strategic oversight and brand support from Krea University, and is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; the views in this brief are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect the Foundation’s.
Learning note
Towards a Gender-Responsive and Inclusive Economic Recovery for India in the COVID-19 Context
- November , 2021
- Kanika Jha Kingra , Soumya Kapoor Mehta
The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted India’s most vulnerable populations, with women and girls bearing the brunt of job losses, heightened unpaid care responsibilities, and reduced economic participation. At the peak of the first lockdown in April–June 2020, India’s female labour force participation rate plummeted to just 16%, and nearly half of all working women faced permanent job losses-compared to just 7% of men. Women-owned and women-led micro-enterprises also experienced severe income declines and closures. Despite government relief measures, many failed to reach the most marginalised women and girls. As India moves toward economic recovery, there is an urgent need for a just, equitable, and gender-responsive recovery plan that puts women at the centre. This brief by IWWAGE outlines key short-, medium-, and long-term macroeconomic strategies-across monetary, fiscal, and innovative financing domains-to ensure women and girls are not left behind. It calls for investments in the care economy, the creation of equitable jobs and livelihoods, and the adoption of sustainable, climate-just, and rights-based economic models that support long-term resilience.
The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately impacted India’s most vulnerable populations, with women and girls bearing the brunt of job losses, heightened unpaid care responsibilities, and reduced economic participation. At the peak of the first lockdown in April–June 2020, India’s female labour force participation rate plummeted to just 16%, and nearly half of all working women faced permanent job losses-compared to just 7% of men. Women-owned and women-led micro-enterprises also experienced severe income declines and closures. Despite government relief measures, many failed to reach the most marginalised women and girls. As India moves toward economic recovery, there is an urgent need for a just, equitable, and gender-responsive recovery plan that puts women at the centre. This brief by IWWAGE outlines key short-, medium-, and long-term macroeconomic strategies-across monetary, fiscal, and innovative financing domains-to ensure women and girls are not left behind. It calls for investments in the care economy, the creation of equitable jobs and livelihoods, and the adoption of sustainable, climate-just, and rights-based economic models that support long-term resilience.
Newsletter (Gender In Focus)
Gender in Focus
- November , 2021
- IWWAGE
The current edition focuses on our latest study on how the lack of safety, attributed to increasing rate of crime against women and girls, acts as a barrier to women’s participation in the workforce. This edition also showcases recommendations for a macroeconomic recovery for India in a COVID and post COVID context with a specific focus on women as a key constituent of this recovery; the impact of sexual harassment on labour market outcomes; and the impact of the COVID crisis on the gendered dimensions of employment and mental health among urban informal-sector workers.
The current edition focuses on our latest study on how the lack of safety, attributed to increasing rate of crime against women and girls, acts as a barrier to women’s participation in the workforce. This edition also showcases recommendations for a macroeconomic recovery for India in a COVID and post COVID context with a specific focus on women as a key constituent of this recovery; the impact of sexual harassment on labour market outcomes; and the impact of the COVID crisis on the gendered dimensions of employment and mental health among urban informal-sector workers.
Working Paper
Understanding violence & female labour supply
- November , 2021
- Neelanjana Gupta
The paper, What is keeping women from going to work: Understanding violence and female labour supply is an output of the research vertical of the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE), an initiative of LEAD at Krea University. This document is not a priced publication
The paper, What is keeping women from going to work: Understanding violence and female labour supply is an output of the research vertical of the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE), an initiative of LEAD at Krea University. This document is not a priced publication
IWWAGE-ISI-BRIEFS
Social Identities and Female Labour Force Participation in India
- November , 2021
- Rhitabrita Mukherjee
This brief compiles evidence and data to assess whether caste-based discrimination in India reinforces women’s already disadvantaged position in the labour force. It examines trends in women’s labour force participation by caste, using the official administrative definitions of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from major government datasets.
This brief compiles evidence and data to assess whether caste-based discrimination in India reinforces women’s already disadvantaged position in the labour force. It examines trends in women’s labour force participation by caste, using the official administrative definitions of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) from major government datasets.
SWAYAM
Case study on addressing COVID-19 challenges_Meghalaya
- September , 2021
- Krestina Shylla
Factsheet
Trends in Female Labour Force Participation in Karnataka
- October , 2026
- Vidhi, Bidisha Mondal
Karnataka occupies a distinctive position in India’s economic landscape, driven by rapid growth in services, technology, and manufacturing sectors.This factsheet examines key trends in women’s labour force participation in Karnataka using PLFS data, with a focus on employment composition, sectoral and occupational distribution, quality of work, and barriers to women’s participation in the labour market.
Karnataka occupies a distinctive position in India’s economic landscape, driven by rapid growth in services, technology, and manufacturing sectors.This factsheet examines key trends in women’s labour force participation in Karnataka using PLFS data, with a focus on employment composition, sectoral and occupational distribution, quality of work, and barriers to women’s participation in the labour market.
Brief
Deconstructing the Care Economy: Measurement, Gendered Outcomes, and Macroeconomic Policy
- September , 2026
The policy brief examines how unpaid care and domestic work largely undertaken by women remains invisible in conventional economic and labour statistics, while significantly shaping women’s participation and outcomes in the labour market. It highlights how care responsibilities contribute to women’s underemployment, lower-paid and precarious work, and inequalities in platform and hybrid work.
The policy brief examines how unpaid care and domestic work largely undertaken by women remains invisible in conventional economic and labour statistics, while significantly shaping women’s participation and outcomes in the labour market. It highlights how care responsibilities contribute to women’s underemployment, lower-paid and precarious work, and inequalities in platform and hybrid work.
Factsheet
Trends in Female Labour Force Participation in Bihar
- September , 2026
- Vidhi, Bidisha Mondal
Despite economic growth, Bihar continues to face low female labour force participation, reflecting persistent supply-side constraints and limited access to suitable employment opportunities. Young women, in particular, experience low labour force participation amid high youth unemployment, while employment remains concentrated in agriculture and informal work. Sociocultural norms, limited access to education and skills, mobility constraints, inadequate transport, and care responsibilities further restrict women’s access to employment. Against this backdrop, this factsheet examines trends in female labour force participation, workforce composition, sectoral distribution, and working conditions in Bihar.
Despite economic growth, Bihar continues to face low female labour force participation, reflecting persistent supply-side constraints and limited access to suitable employment opportunities. Young women, in particular, experience low labour force participation amid high youth unemployment, while employment remains concentrated in agriculture and informal work. Sociocultural norms, limited access to education and skills, mobility constraints, inadequate transport, and care responsibilities further restrict women’s access to employment. Against this backdrop, this factsheet examines trends in female labour force participation, workforce composition, sectoral distribution, and working conditions in Bihar.
Report
Women and Work 2025: Megatrends Reshaping Women’s Work in India
- September , 2026
- Divya Singh, Prakriti Sharma, Vidhi Singh, Sharati Roy
IWWAGE’s flagship report examines the changing landscape of women’s work in India and the forces shaping its future. Women’s labour force participation has risen significantly in recent years. Yet, the headline numbers tell only part of the story. The nature and experience of women’s work continue to be shaped by the quality and security of employment, unpaid care work, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, climate change, and women’s health at work. The report brings together evidence and emerging policy developments across these interconnected forces to examine where women’s work is headed—and what it will take to translate greater participation into greater economic agency, decent work, and protection.
IWWAGE’s flagship report examines the changing landscape of women’s work in India and the forces shaping its future. Women’s labour force participation has risen significantly in recent years. Yet, the headline numbers tell only part of the story. The nature and experience of women’s work continue to be shaped by the quality and security of employment, unpaid care work, digitalisation, artificial intelligence, climate change, and women’s health at work. The report brings together evidence and emerging policy developments across these interconnected forces to examine where women’s work is headed—and what it will take to translate greater participation into greater economic agency, decent work, and protection.
Factsheet
Trends in Female Labour Force Participation in Meghalaya
- August , 2026
- Nabankur Huda, Bidisha Mondal
Meghalaya is a small, hilly state in north-east India with a predominantly rural, agrarian economy and one of the country’s most distinctive social structures. The factsheet explores the trends, opportunities and challenges shaping women’s participation in Meghalaya’s labour market, with a focus on how the state’s social structure and economic transformation influence the nature and quality of women’s work.
Meghalaya is a small, hilly state in north-east India with a predominantly rural, agrarian economy and one of the country’s most distinctive social structures. The factsheet explores the trends, opportunities and challenges shaping women’s participation in Meghalaya’s labour market, with a focus on how the state’s social structure and economic transformation influence the nature and quality of women’s work.
Newsletter (Gender In Focus)
Gender in Focus
- August , 2026
The August 2026 edition features highlights from IWWAGE’s research, policy engagements, fieldwork and knowledge initiatives. It also offers a closer look at emerging trends shaping women’s work and economic participation in India.
The August 2026 edition features highlights from IWWAGE’s research, policy engagements, fieldwork and knowledge initiatives. It also offers a closer look at emerging trends shaping women’s work and economic participation in India.