Why is it in the News?

Recently, there has been growing concern about the urban employment scenario for women in India, revealing a significant gap between the demand for employment and the opportunities available to urban women.

Context:

• According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), there has been a notable rise in women's workforce participation in India, increasing from 22% in 2017-18 to 35.9% in 2022-23.
• Despite this growth, India's female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) remains lower than the global average of 47% and lags behind countries like China, which boasts an FLFPR of 60%.
• While there has been progress, the FLFPR in India still presents a considerable gap.

Rural Areas:

• The FLFPR in rural areas has shown significant improvement, rising to 41.5% in 2022-23 from 24.6% in 2017-18.

Urban Areas:

• In urban regions, the FLFPR has also experienced growth, increasing to 25.4% in 2022-23 from 20.4% in 2017-18.
• However, women's employment rates in urban areas stood at 22.9% in the last quarter of 2023.

What is the Current Situation (Unmet Employment Demand)?

• The current landscape highlights a substantial unmet demand for employment among urban women, indicating a disparity between urban and rural areas.
• Urban areas exhibit a notably higher proportion of unemployed women actively seeking employment compared to their rural counterparts, with an unemployment rate of 9% in urban regions versus 4% in rural regions.

Two Categories of Unemployment:

• Unemployment manifests in two forms: individuals actively seeking employment and those desiring to work but not engaging in active job-seeking.
• Underutilized Potential: Approximately 25% of urban women have attained higher secondary education, a stark comparison to the 5% in rural areas, suggesting significant untapped potential.
  • The low urban employment rates among women underscore the underutilization of their skills and qualifications.
• Role of MGNREGA and Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihood Mission (DAY-NRLM): Initiatives like MGNREGA and DAY-NRLM have played a vital role in empowering women financially in rural settings, with over half of the MGNREGA workforce comprising women.
• However, urban settings present unique challenges. Social norms, safety concerns, and inadequate transportation options pose significant barriers to urban women's workforce participation.

Causes of Urban Unemployment Among Women in India:

• Challenges of Social Norms and Safety: Urban women face barriers to entering the workforce due to entrenched social norms, safety concerns, and inadequate transportation options, which hinder their participation.

• Gender-Based Occupational Segregation: Gender-based segregation of occupations and sectors persists in India, leading to limited growth in job opportunities for women and reduced participation rates.
• Economic Impacts: The rapid adoption of new technologies in response to the pandemic has resulted in widespread unemployment, particularly due to business closures and job losses.
  • This has widened the skill gap among job seekers.
• Population Growth: The increasing population and labor force contribute to rising unemployment in India, making it challenging for economic growth to keep pace with population expansion.
• Insufficient Investment: Insufficient investment in unorganized sectors, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), and rural development exacerbates unemployment among women.
  • Combined with safety concerns and regressive social norms, this leads to underemployment or unemployment.
• Financial Burden: Calculations suggest that funding 150 days of work per year at ?500 daily wages would cost around 1.5% of the GDP. Factoring in material and administrative expenses, this could increase to around 2%.

Proposed Solutions:

• Government Initiatives: The government has introduced protective provisions in labor laws to ensure equal opportunities and a supportive work environment for women.
• Need for Women's Urban Employment Guarantee Act (WUEGA): To address urban unemployment comprehensively, there is a call for a national-level Women's Urban Employment Guarantee Act (WUEGA) and a Decentralized Urban Employment and Training Scheme akin to MGNREGA for rural women.

Vision for Women's Urban Employment Guarantee Act (WUEGA):

• The vision for WUEGA entails women comprising at least 50% (ideally 100%) of the program management staff, fostering gender inclusivity and empowerment at all levels of decision-making.
• Involving women and local communities in program management can enhance the constitutional principle of decentralization, ensuring grassroots participation and ownership.
• Every worksite under WUEGA would be equipped with essential facilities, including childcare services, to support working mothers and promote their participation in the workforce.
• Job opportunities provided by WUEGA will be accessible within a 5-km radius of each participant's residence, with free public transportation available for women, ensuring ease of access to employment opportunities

What are Some Key Urban Employment Initiatives?

• Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY): Launched under Atmanirbhar Bharat package 3.0, ABRY incentivizes employers to create new employment opportunities while providing social security benefits and addressing employment loss during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan (PMGKRA): PMGKRA focuses on providing immediate employment and livelihood opportunities to distressed individuals, emphasizing the creation of public infrastructure and livelihood assets in rural areas.
• Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM): DAY-NULM aims to alleviate poverty and vulnerability among urban poor households by facilitating access to self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities.
• Women-led Waste Management: In Karnataka, women-led initiatives in waste management have empowered women to manage waste collection and drive 'Swacch' vehicles, leading to successful outcomes and increased acquisition of driving licenses among women.
• Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY): PMRPY incentivizes employers to generate new employment opportunities, thereby contributing to job creation across various sectors.
• National Career Service (NCS) Project: NCS offers comprehensive career-related services including job matching, career counseling, vocational guidance, and information on skill development courses, internships, and apprenticeships.
• PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi): PM SVANidhi provides collateral-free working capital loans up to ?10,000 with a one-year tenure to approximately 50 lakh street vendors, enabling them to restart their businesses post the Covid-19 lockdown.

Way Forward:

• Existing urban work opportunities, such as plantation and harvesting reeds on floating wetlands, should be expanded and tailored to local needs through inclusive community consultations.
• Introducing incentives, such as automatic inclusion in welfare boards, can serve as a mechanism to provide essential benefits like maternity entitlements, pensions, and emergency funds, thereby promoting economic security and social welfare for women.
• Closing gender gaps and empowering women align with the Sustainable Development Goals, underscoring not just ethical and constitutional obligations but also the potential for women's increased workforce participation to drive economic growth.
• Addressing societal norms and challenges that hinder women's workforce participation is crucial for fostering an inclusive and equitable work environment.
• Furthermore, the implementation of additional initiatives and policies aimed at promoting women's participation in the workforce will play a pivotal role in advancing the female labor force participation rate in India.