Women and Work: How India fared in 2020
January, 2021
Women and girls across the world have been disproportionately affected in the year of the pandemic, not in terms of impact of the virus, but more so socially and economically. While India was rapidly responding to the health crisis, millions of Indians were grappling with the unintended impacts of lockdown measures on the economy and their livelihoods. Even before the onset of COVID-19, India’s female workforce was largely invisible, underpaid, under-protected and constituted largest segment of the informal workforce, which is among the worst-hit this year. But several opportunities exist in 2021 to ensure that India’s women are not left behind in its recovery plans.
Against this backdrop, IWWAGE and The Quantum Hub (TQH) authored a report that draws from various studies, data sources and nationally-representative data sets to look at the key trends and policy developments that came to shape and define the lives of women across India in 2020. This report captures key data on economic and social indicators (like female labour force participation, barriers to work and livelihoods, financial inclusion, digital access, skilling, education and violence against women) that played a central role in determining women’s role in the Indian economy this year.
Resource Type Report
Partner Organisation TQH
Topics Female labour force participation, women entrepreneurs, women in informal work, women in businesses, MGNREGA, unpaid work, financial inclusion, digital solutions, SHGs
Authors Surbhi Singh, Srikanth Ravishanker and Sneha Pillai
