Skilling the Female Workforce: Empowering Women to boost Economic Growth

India’s economic aspirations are intricately linked to its vast human resource, yet a significant portion remains untapped – the skills and talents of its women. Despite constituting 48% of the country’s population, women represent only 30% of the workforce, a mere 158 million out of the 500 million workforce. According to a McKinsey study, India could add a staggering $770 billion to its GDP by 2025 by offering equal opportunities to women. Skilling the workforce, particularly women, is paramount to unlocking this potential and driving the nation’s economic growth. Empowering women with necessary skills not only enhances their employability but also catalyzes economic progress and societal transformation. The need for skilling our female workforce is not just an economic imperative but a moral one – to ensure that every woman has the opportunity to contribute to and benefit from India’s growth story.

Current State of Women’s Workforce Participation in India

In recent years, there has been a discernible increase in women’s participation in the labor force, as is evident from recent data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) has risen from 23.2% in Q2 FY23 to 24% in Q2 FY24, reflecting a more substantial increase from 23.3% in FY17-18 to 37.0% in FY 22-23. This positive trend is further highlighted by improvements in both rural and urban areas, with LFPR in rural areas increasing from 50.7% to 60.8% and in urban regions from 47.6% to 50.4%. Despite these advancements, the gender gap remains significant. The male LFPR has risen from 75.8% to 78.5% over the same period, revealing a stark disparity between male and female participation rates and indicating that the journey towards gender parity in labor force engagement is ongoing.

The persistent gap in labor force participation is attributable to several entrenched challenges. Women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid labor, including household chores and caregiving responsibilities, which are crucial but often unrecognized in economic terms. This contributes to a skewed perception of women’s labor force participation and can deter their involvement in formal employment. Furthermore, deeply rooted societal norms and traditional gender roles often place domestic responsibilities above career ambitions for women, creating formidable barriers to their entry and advancement in the workforce. The persistence of the gender pay gap, compounded by biased recruitment practices and unequal remuneration across various sectors, exacerbates this issue. Additionally, the prevalence of male-centric professions and the limited availability of diverse job opportunities, particularly in rural areas where agriculture dominates, further restrict women’s employment prospects and advancement.

Imperative Need for Skilling Women’s Workforce

India’s labor market, with its diverse sectors – formal, informal, primary, secondary, and tertiary – presents a complex landscape for women’s economic empowerment. The informal sector alone, contributing over half of the country’s GDP, employs nearly 85% of the workforce. Here, urban women hold a significant presence, with 27-28% working as own-account workers and 12-13% as unpaid family helpers, compared to a much lower percentage for urban men (34-35% and 4-5% respectively). Notably, rural India has seen a rise in female labor force participation, jumping from 18-19% in 2017-18 to 30-32%. Additionally, women’s participation in Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has surged by an impressive 66% over two years, from 21.8 million in 2021-22 to a staggering 36.2 million in 2023-24.

Skilling as a Tool for Bridging the Gender Employment Gap

Despite these advancements, a significant shift towards formalization is crucial, especially for lower-income and semi-skilled women workers. In the secondary sector, which includes mining, manufacturing, and electricity, urban female workers represent only 20-24%, compared to 33-34% of their male counterparts. This low representation reflects a lack of women in feeder institutions like Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs), where a mere 6% of enrolled candidates are women. This gap extends across the skill development landscape.

Initiatives such as the New Education Policy, establishment of additional medical colleges, IITs, IIMs, and skilling programs like Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK), Industrial Training Institute (ITI) under the Directorate General of Training (DGT), Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY), Skill Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP), National Initiative for Proficiency Upskilling (NIPUN), Skill India International Center (SIIC), National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), and Jan Shikshan Sansthan (JSS) all aim to empower women with relevant skills. These programs encompass a wide range of sectors, from traditional trades like tailoring and beauty care to high-growth areas like IT, renewable energy and automotive.

By equipping women with industry-specific skills, these initiatives can unlock a vast potential for economic growth and create a more balanced workforce. Skilling women for the secondary and tertiary sectors can propel them beyond low-paying, informal work, offering them access to better-paying, formal jobs with social security benefits and career progression opportunities.

Leveraging Apprenticeships for Inclusive Growth

Concerted efforts are indispensable to promote an inclusive environment conducive to female workforce participation. Apprenticeships play a pivotal role in empowering women economically by offering structured training programs that combine on-the-job learning with classroom instruction. This approach equips women with practical skills and enhances their confidence and capabilities to excel in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as manufacturing, technology, and skilled trades.

How Apprenticeships can Help Women?

1. Hands-on Experience and Mentorship: Apprenticeships provide women with hands-on experience and mentorship opportunities crucial for career development. For example, women participating in apprenticeship programs in sectors like automotive engineering or information technology gain exposure to industry-specific skills and practices typically acquired through direct experience.
2. Career Pathways and Networking: This exposure not only prepares them for specific roles but also enables them to build networks and gain insights into career pathways that were previously inaccessible.
3. Advanced Skill Sets: Employers are beginning to realize that apprenticeships linked to a degree lead to more advanced skill sets, generate better returns on talent investment, and help create a cost-effective talent supply chain.
4. Community Investments and Brand Equity: Community investments via apprenticeships give significant heft to brand equity, thus driving quality talent to their workforce, ensuring loyalty and productivity.
5. Sectoral Participation: In India, sectors such as automotive (especially in electric vehicles), electronics, and job roles involving robotics, automation, AI, etc., are witnessing a growing participation of women. This trend diversifies the talent pool and fosters innovation and inclusivity within traditionally male-dominated fields.
6. Integration with Education: Integrating apprenticeships with educational programs is particularly beneficial, offering women a pathway to acquire specialized skills.
7. Financial Independence: Apprenticeships provide women with the opportunity to earn while they learn, contributing to their financial independence. This financial empowerment can significantly improve their quality of life and boost their confidence and autonomy.

Currently, women constitute 21% of apprentices in India, indicating progress but also highlighting significant room for expansion and inclusion. Degree Apprenticeship programs have been particularly effective in boosting women’s participation by providing pathways to higher education and professional advancement. These programs are crucial in bridging the gap between educational attainment and employability, offering women opportunities to enter and thrive in sectors where they have been historically underrepresented.

Skilling the women’s workforce is a powerful tool that unlocks not just economic growth, but also social progress and gender equity in India. By equipping women with relevant skills and promoting inclusive apprenticeship programs, we can bridge the skilling gap. This empowers women to move beyond low-paying jobs and access better-paying, formal opportunities in the workforce. This not only fosters a more vibrant and equitable landscape, but also unleashes India’s true economic potential.

Remember, when women are skilled and empowered, India thrives.

References:

• Key Employment Unemployment Indicators
• Promoting Diversity: Women’s Entrepreneurship and Economic Empowerment in India
• How apprenticeships can serve as a vital vehicle to address low women labor participation in India