SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN WORKFORCE
SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN WOMEN PARTICIPATION IN WORKFORCE
As per the data available in latest Annual PLFS Reports, the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment and Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) on usual status for women of age 15 years and above during 2017-18 to 2023-24 are as follows:
Survey Year
WPR (%)
LFPR (%)
2017-18
22.0
23.3
2018-19
23.3
24.5
2019-20
28.7
30.0
2020-21
31.4
32.5
2021-22
31.7
32.8
2022-23
35.9
37.0
2023-24
40.3
41.7
Source: PLFS
The data indicates that the women’s participation in labour force and the workforce has significantly increased over the years.
Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the Government. The Government has taken various initiatives/measures to promote and increase the participation of women in workforce.
Government has incorporated a number of provisions in the labour laws for equal opportunity and congenial work environment for women workers like paid maternity leave, flexible working hours, equal wages etc.
Government is implementing various schemes to boost the female LFPR as well as the overall LFPR like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), Stand-UP India Scheme, Startup India, Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP), Women in Science and Engineering- KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN), SERB-POWER (Promoting Opportunities for Women in Exploratory Research), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY), Rural Self Employment and Training Institutes (RSETIs), Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM), Production Linked Incentive, etc. The details of various employment generation schemes/ programmes being implemented by the Government of India may be seen at https://dge.gov.in/dge/schemes_programmes.
To enhance the employability of female workers, the Government is providing training to them through a network of Women Industrial Training institutes, National Vocational Training Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes.
Further, Government announced in the Budget 2024-25, the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a 5-year period with a central outlay of Rs. 2 lakh crore. The budget also announced setting up of working women hostels in collaboration with industry, and establishing creches, for participation of women in the workforce, apart from other policy interventions.
This information was given by Union Minister of State for Labour & Employment, Sushri Shobha Karandlaje in Rajya Sabha today.