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Meeting No: 2513 061 6030
Password: labour

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Abstract

Across the globe, women face inferior income opportunities compared with men. Women are less likely to work for income or actively seek work. The global labor force participation rate for women is just over 50 percent compared to 80 percent for men. Women are less likely to work in formal employment and have fewer opportunities for business expansion or career progression. When women do work, they earn less. Emerging evidence from recent household survey data suggests that these gender gaps are heightened due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the recently released economic survey for FY 2023-24, women's participation in India’s labour force has surged dramatically, reflecting a significant leap in gender equality and empowerment. The female labour force participation rate (LFPR) soared to 37 percent in 2022-23, up from a mere 23.3 percent in 2017-18—an shift largely driven by rural women, who dominated in agriculture-related roles. The panel will critically discuss the shifts in LFPR and unemployment rates in India over a period of time.

About the Speakers

Surjit Bhalla

Dr. S.S. Bhalla, is a Senior India Analyst for the Observatory Group, a New York based macroeconomic policy advisory firm and Chairman of Oxus Research & Investments. In 2017, he was appointed as Member of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council. He has been a member of the Secondary Markets Advisory Committee of SEBI and the National Statistical Commission of India. Dr Bhalla writes extensively on economic issues and has recently authored another book titled, The New Wealth of Nations.

Bishwanath Goldar

Bishwanath Goldar is a Retired Professor of Economics of the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi. He has been at IEG from 1979 to 2014, except for three brief stints at a professorial or equivalent position at the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) (1988-90), the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) (2003-04), and the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) (2012-13). During 2015-2016, he was a National Fellow of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), affiliated with IEG. He is a former member of the National Statistical Commission.

Prof. Goldar specialises in industrial economics and international trade. The bulk of his research has been on productivity and employment in Indian industries, wage share and price-cost margin in Indian manufacturing, export performance of Industrial firms, effective protection of Indian industries, impact of trade reforms on the performance of industrial firms, and foreign direct investment in India. He has also undertaken studies on pollution of river water in India and on the environmental aspects of Indian industries including studies on energy efficiency in Indian industrial firms and the impact of environmental performance of industrial firms on their stock prices. He has an M.A. in economics and Ph.D. from Delhi School of Economics (DSE), University of Delhi.