Exploring Equality in the Indian Workforce

It’s 2024, and LinkedIn data shows that women workforce representation continues to be below men’s across all industries and economies. Top-level positions still remain barely within reach of women workers – globally. While women occupy nearly half of all entry-level positions, they just represent a quarter of C-suite roles. In skilling too, certain skills have a higher gender disparity. In fact, data by Coursera shows that this is highest in enrollment for development of collaboration and leadership skills, teaching and mentoring, among others. 

Gender equality is necessary in a workforce for various reasons. It is intimately connected to a country’s overall economic performance. It helps improve national productivity, organisational performance and hence economic growth. 

In India, the participation of women in the workforce is tremendously less than that of men.While progress has been made in this regard, we are still far from a sexually equal workforce because of various historical factors, social norms, and the patriarchal nature of our society. As of 2024, only 36% of the workers are women, while 64% are men! Over the years, from 2014 to 2024, there has been very slight change in this proportion. While more and more women are entering the workforce, there are still certain industries wherein women participation is lower. 

There has been constant growth in Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) in both urban and rural areas. As of March 2024, women participation had increased to 25.4% in urban areas. Rural areas have seen sharp growth in this regard, with women making up 41.5% of the rural workforce. This comes as a surprise to many, since most people assume that women are employed more in urban areas as compared to rural areas. But in rural areas, women are self-employed and work in the agricultural sector under various government schemes. 

However, women in the workforce face the issue of unequal pay. Multiple times, it has been observed that men are paid more than women for the same amount of work in multiple fields, from sports to entertainment. Men also receive more recognition than what is accorded to women. The Indian government has passed several bills to ensure equality in this sphere, like the Equal Remuneration Act. However due to limited or no transparency in salary structures, it has been difficult to enhance equality. Furthermore, women are highly underrepresented when it comes to leadership roles. As of 2024, only about 18.3% of leadership roles are occupied by women in India. 

The greatest hurdles on this road to equality are the cultural expectations, safety concerns and lack of supportive infrastructure. Our society being historically patriarchal in nature, the role of women was seen as highly domestic – taking care of the hearth and family. The acceptance of women working and building a career is growing slowly and steadily today, but in the late 1940s, for an average household, the idea of women working was unheard of. 

Women in India also face the problem of unpaid labour and vulnerable employment. Since women do a lot of unpaid work like household chores, caregiving, and so on, their contribution is not correctly accounted for. This leads to their underestimation in the workforce. Safety concerns too limit women employment. Inadequate infrastructure and safety measures, together with safety issues in public areas demotivate women from seeking out jobs. 

Therefore, it is necessary to change, in both mindset and government and company policies. Companies and governments should have stronger policies on maternity leaves, security of female workers, inclusive environments and equal pay. There is also a need for incentives and policies that would encourage women to work, and also increase the acceptance of women working outside the house. Women should have opportunities to upskill and land a higher position in the workforce. 

In conclusion, while there has been improvement in the proportion and equality for women in the workforce, the Indian workforce is still far from sexually equal. But with conscious effort and stronger initiatives, we can achieve a workforce where everyone is seen as even handed.