Closing Women’s Workforce Gap Could Drive Economic Growth: Study

Mumbai: Plummeting fertility is narrowing the window for India to get rich before it gets old. Many more women need to enter and progress in paid work, according to a new study released by Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks in India.

Titled “The Missing Half: Women and India’s Growth Challenge”, the report draws on global evidence, deep analysis of Indian data, and a proprietary survey of nearly 11,000 college-educated women across 42 Indian cities.

The report argues that to sustain a growth of around 7 per cent over 25 years, necessary for ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2050, overall worker participation in paid work must rise from about 47 per cent to nearly 60 per cent. Women’s participation in paid work will be critical to achieving this.

However, at present, India has one of the lowest female labour force participation rates in paid work among G20 economies. Further, even employed women are mostly in agriculture, self-employed, or in unpaid work. Around 60 per cent of women in paid work are in informal arrangements without contracts or social security benefits. Sixty one of women workers are engaged in agriculture. Around 125 million educated women are outside the workforce with 60 per cent of graduates opting to stay out of paid work. Studies show a 20 per cent drop in women’s workforce participation in India post marriage. Participation fell further after childbirth. It is a global challenge: even in advanced economies mothers’ employment falls 25 per cent after childbirth, and earnings 33 per cent. Around 61 per cent of surveyed women cite safety and mobility as the top barrier to entering the workforce.

The report finds India is climbing out of the bottom of the ‘U’ curve formed when countries’ participation is plotted against incomes, but the progress is slow given the growth ambitions. Recent improvements in household infrastructure -- electricity, clean cooking fuel, piped water and better housing -- have eased unpaid work burdens, and rising higher education enrolment among women, is softening the “marriage penalty.”

Concerns around safety, mobility, childcare and inflexible job structures, continues to hold women back. Moreover, India has too few jobs in sectors that are globally dominated by women and employ women at scale.

Re-entry after breaks remains particularly challenging, with women citing rigid hiring norms, skill loss, age bias and limited flexible roles as major hurdles. Structural support, such as childcare, flexible work options, safer commuting and credible return to work pathways, matters far more than inspiration alone.

The report concludes that raising women participation in the workforce is central to India’s long-term growth, and an economic imperative, not just a social addon. It calls for coordinated action to expand jobs in sectors where women work at scale, formalise flexible and parttime roles, invest in childcare and safer urban mobility, remove outdated regulatory barriers, and strengthen leadership pipelines.