The Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) is an economic concept that serves as a vital indicator of women's economic inclusion and empowerment. It is defined as the percentage of women in the working-age population, typically aged 15 years and above, who are either employed or actively seeking or available for work. The FLFPR is calculated by dividing the number of women in the labour force (employed + unemployed) by the total female population in the working-age group.
The concept's application in India has a history of erratic patterns, with the FLFPR peaking at 33% in 1972-73 before undergoing a long-term decline, reaching a low of 23.3% in 2017-18. This decline, despite economic growth and rising female education, highlighted a problem of women withdrawing from the workforce, often due to social constraints, lack of suitable jobs, and the burden of unpaid domestic work.
The FLFPR is primarily measured in India through the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), which is conducted annually by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. The PLFS uses the 'usual status' approach, which determines an individual's activity status based on the preceding 365 days. The FLFPR connects to other labour market concepts like the Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which only counts employed persons, and the gender earnings gap. It is also linked to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), which mandates that at least one-third of the jobs generated must go to women.
The FLFPR has changed recently and significantly, rising sharply from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24, according to the PLFS. This surge was largely driven by women in rural areas, where the rate increased from 24.6% in 2017-18 to 41.5% in 2022-23. However, this rise is often attributed to an increase in unpaid family labour and own-account work, with the share of rural women in agriculture rising to 76.9% in 2023-24, suggesting a shift from unpaid domestic work to low-paid or unpaid self-employment, rather than a growth in formal, salaried jobs. The measurement methodology itself has been debated, with some experts suggesting that better measurement of unpaid work contributed to the recent rise. Protective provisions for women workers, such as the enhancement of paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks under the Code on Social Security, 2020, are government initiatives aimed at improving participation and quality of employment.