(IANS): Labour data compiled since 2017–18 shows that women’s participation in India’s labour force and the workforce has significantly increased over the years, Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje told the Rajya Sabha on November 28.
Figures in the latest Annual PLFS Reports show that the proportion of women in the estimated Worker Population Ratio (WPR) indicating employment, jumped from 22% in 2017–18 to a robust 40.3% in 2023–24.
Similarly, the Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) on usual status for women aged 15 years and above rose from 23.3% during 2017–18 to 41.7% in 2023–24. The figures indicate a steadily rising trend in the percentage of women employed over the six-year period.
“Employment generation coupled with improving employability is the priority of the Government. The Government has taken various initiatives to promote and increase the participation of women in the workforce,” the Minister said in a written reply in the Upper House.
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The government has incorporated several provisions in the labour laws for equal opportunity and congenial work environment for women workers like paid maternity leave, flexible working hours and equal wages, she said.
The minister further stated that the 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) and Production Linked Incentive.
To enhance the employability of female workers, the government is also providing training to them through a network of Women Industrial Training institutes, National Vocational Training Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes.
Further, the Government announced the Prime Minister’s package of 5 schemes in the Budget 2024–25, and initiatives to facilitate employment, skilling and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth over a five-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, the she added.
