Explore our annual collection of factsheets for state-wise analysis of women’s workforce participation in India. Using data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), these factsheets highlight trends in female labor force participation, employment types, and earnings gaps. They provide valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and the public on the evolving landscape of women’s work in India.
Women's Economic
Empowerment
Women's Economic
Empowerment
IWWAGE’s work on women’s economic empowerment focuses on understanding and addressing the structural barriers that shape women’s participation in India’s labour market. At the centre of this agenda is the persistently low Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR), which reflects deep-rooted challenges related to access to decent work, social norms, and labour market institutions.
IWWAGE’s work in this area focuses on:
Evidence generation for policy action
Analysing national and state-level data to understand women’s employment patterns, sectoral and occupational distribution, and barriers to labour market entry and continuity.
Improving measurement and visibility of women’s work
Improved definitions and measurement of work, with a strong emphasis on recognising unpaid, home-based, and care work that remains undercounted in conventional labour statistics.
Shaping the future of women’s work
Examining women’s participation in a rapidly digitising economy, including platform and hybrid work models, to assess emerging opportunities, risks, and forms of precarity.
Strengthening agency and protection
Exploring women’s access to digital skills, agency, bargaining power, and social protection within evolving labour market arrangements.
Together, this body of work highlights that meaningful women’s economic empowerment requires better data, recognition of all forms of work, and the proactive shaping of labour market institutions so that women’s work is visible, valued, and protected.
Learning note
Women’s Workforce Participation in India: Statewise Trends
- October , 2020
- Nidhi Gyan Pandey
Odisha, located on India’s eastern coastline, is rich in natural resources with forests covering 33.2% of its area. The state’s economy is largely agro-based, with agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors providing around 50% of employment. Despite frequent cyclones and floods that impact livelihoods, Odisha’s service, industrial, and mining sectors contribute significantly to its GSDP. With a large tribal population, tribal women play a key role in forest produce collection and handicraft industries. Female labour force participation in Odisha remains low, with rural and urban FLFPRs below the national average at 15.2% and 13.4%, respectively.
Odisha, located on India’s eastern coastline, is rich in natural resources with forests covering 33.2% of its area. The state’s economy is largely agro-based, with agriculture, forestry, and fishing sectors providing around 50% of employment. Despite frequent cyclones and floods that impact livelihoods, Odisha’s service, industrial, and mining sectors contribute significantly to its GSDP. With a large tribal population, tribal women play a key role in forest produce collection and handicraft industries. Female labour force participation in Odisha remains low, with rural and urban FLFPRs below the national average at 15.2% and 13.4%, respectively.
Learning note
Business Readiness Scorecard for Women
- August , 2020
- Rigzom Wangchuk | Ria Dutta | M P Karthick
Women dominate India’s informal economy, especially in the handloom and handicrafts sectors, where they often operate as home-based entrepreneurs. Yet, they remain underrepresented in the formal business space. To better support these women-led enterprises, IWWAGE developed the Women’s Business Readiness Scorecard for Handloom and Handicrafts Sector (WBRS-HHS). This data-driven diagnostic tool was developed through surveys with 800 women entrepreneurs across Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu’s two states with distinct public and private sector dynamics. The scorecard evaluates business readiness across four dimensions: 1.Agency (decision-making, financial control, risk-taking) 2. Market Readiness (product portfolio, advance orders) 3. Production Readiness (worksite, inventory, personnel) 4. Legal and Regulatory Readiness (registration, scheme awareness) By measuring these indicators, the WBRS-HHS helps identify strengths, gaps, and policy opportunities to scale and sustain women’s enterprises. The tool also offers a replicable framework for stakeholders to design targeted interventions across sectors.
Women dominate India’s informal economy, especially in the handloom and handicrafts sectors, where they often operate as home-based entrepreneurs. Yet, they remain underrepresented in the formal business space. To better support these women-led enterprises, IWWAGE developed the Women’s Business Readiness Scorecard for Handloom and Handicrafts Sector (WBRS-HHS). This data-driven diagnostic tool was developed through surveys with 800 women entrepreneurs across Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu’s two states with distinct public and private sector dynamics. The scorecard evaluates business readiness across four dimensions: 1.Agency (decision-making, financial control, risk-taking) 2. Market Readiness (product portfolio, advance orders) 3. Production Readiness (worksite, inventory, personnel) 4. Legal and Regulatory Readiness (registration, scheme awareness) By measuring these indicators, the WBRS-HHS helps identify strengths, gaps, and policy opportunities to scale and sustain women’s enterprises. The tool also offers a replicable framework for stakeholders to design targeted interventions across sectors.
Report
The Future of Work for Women Workers
- August , 2020
- Ruchika Chaudhary , Sona Mitra , Soumya Kapoor Mehta
World over, the technology-driven gig economy has been expanding rapidly over the past decade, in which digital platforms connect workers with requesters to facilitate on demand work. While the gig economy has also become a buzzword in India, particularly in the last couple of years, and is attracting millennials by offering alternative employment opportunities. However, literature is scanty when it comes to measuring its impacts on the gendered experiences of gig work or on gig workers. This report aims to provide a comprehensive analytical overview of women’s engagement in platform work, and presents findings from an in-depth study of women’s work in one of India’s leading platform companies. It aims to understand the emerging forms of labour practices and the impact of platform engagement on workers experiences, challenges, and impact on women’s empowerment and agency. The findings are based on interviews with workers, platform managers, and other key informants, and comprehensive literature review. The study presents an in-depth and specialised analysis of the gig economy to explain some of the unique features of the labour practices and consequences of such practices on the overall labour relations. The study also makes specific recommendations and argue that policy makers and platforms have a key role in ensuring access to decent work and social protection for these workers.
World over, the technology-driven gig economy has been expanding rapidly over the past decade, in which digital platforms connect workers with requesters to facilitate on demand work. While the gig economy has also become a buzzword in India, particularly in the last couple of years, and is attracting millennials by offering alternative employment opportunities. However, literature is scanty when it comes to measuring its impacts on the gendered experiences of gig work or on gig workers. This report aims to provide a comprehensive analytical overview of women’s engagement in platform work, and presents findings from an in-depth study of women’s work in one of India’s leading platform companies. It aims to understand the emerging forms of labour practices and the impact of platform engagement on workers experiences, challenges, and impact on women’s empowerment and agency. The findings are based on interviews with workers, platform managers, and other key informants, and comprehensive literature review. The study presents an in-depth and specialised analysis of the gig economy to explain some of the unique features of the labour practices and consequences of such practices on the overall labour relations. The study also makes specific recommendations and argue that policy makers and platforms have a key role in ensuring access to decent work and social protection for these workers.
Learning note
Gig Study: Summary and Recommendations
- August , 2020
- Ruchika Chaudhary | Soumya Kapoor Mehta
The rise of India’s gig economy, driven by the proliferation of over 300 digital platforms in the last five years, is transforming the concept of work. With one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in South Asia (24.5%), digital labour platforms offer a potential solution, providing flexible work opportunities for women. However, gig workers face challenges such as income instability, lack of social protection, and safety concerns. This factsheet explores the opportunities and challenges of India’s growing gig economy, particularly its potential to increase women’s participation in the workforce.
The rise of India’s gig economy, driven by the proliferation of over 300 digital platforms in the last five years, is transforming the concept of work. With one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in South Asia (24.5%), digital labour platforms offer a potential solution, providing flexible work opportunities for women. However, gig workers face challenges such as income instability, lack of social protection, and safety concerns. This factsheet explores the opportunities and challenges of India’s growing gig economy, particularly its potential to increase women’s participation in the workforce.
Learning note
Impact Of Covid-19 On Working Women
- August , 2020
- Soumya Kapoor Mehta
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only deepened economic uncertainty in India but also intensified the challenges faced by working women across urban and rural areas. Even before the crisis, concerns around women’s workforce participation, pay parity, and career progression were prominent. The pandemic has further exposed vulnerabilities-especially in sectors where women are overrepresented and increasingly seen as dispensable. Now, urgent questions arise: Will the situation worsen for working women? How has the pandemic affected women in both urban and rural areas? Which sectors have made women dispensable? How can we ensure women are not further marginalised during these unprecedented times? This analysis explores the gendered impact of the pandemic on employment, examines key data trends, and raises critical questions about ensuring women are not further marginalised. It also outlines measures to foster recovery and resilience, with a focus on sustaining women’s livelihoods and advancing gender equality in the post-pandemic economy.
The COVID-19 pandemic has not only deepened economic uncertainty in India but also intensified the challenges faced by working women across urban and rural areas. Even before the crisis, concerns around women’s workforce participation, pay parity, and career progression were prominent. The pandemic has further exposed vulnerabilities-especially in sectors where women are overrepresented and increasingly seen as dispensable. Now, urgent questions arise: Will the situation worsen for working women? How has the pandemic affected women in both urban and rural areas? Which sectors have made women dispensable? How can we ensure women are not further marginalised during these unprecedented times? This analysis explores the gendered impact of the pandemic on employment, examines key data trends, and raises critical questions about ensuring women are not further marginalised. It also outlines measures to foster recovery and resilience, with a focus on sustaining women’s livelihoods and advancing gender equality in the post-pandemic economy.
Factsheet
Female Labour Force Participation Rate and Earnings Gap in India
- July , 2020
- Anjana Thampi, Sona Mitra
Explore our annual collection of factsheets for state-wise analysis of women’s workforce participation in India. Using data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), these factsheets highlight trends in female labor force participation, employment types, and earnings gaps. They provide valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and the public on the evolving landscape of women’s work in India.
Explore our annual collection of factsheets for state-wise analysis of women’s workforce participation in India. Using data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), these factsheets highlight trends in female labor force participation, employment types, and earnings gaps. They provide valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and the public on the evolving landscape of women’s work in India.