Kadam, Ashay and Sarkar, Kingshuk, ‘The Role of Gender and Caste in Accessing Livelihood Opportunities in India’, Vol 58, Issue no. 51, Economic and Political Weekly, December 23, 2023
Over the past two decades, there has been a significant decline in female Labour Force Participation (LFP), in line with an overall reduction in labour force engagement. Structural rigidities in India’s manufacturing and service sectors have restricted employment opportunities in the informal sector, where a substantial 90% of the workforce is involved. When compounded with gender bias and caste discrimination, women often find themselves situated at the bottom of the labour pyramid, which limits their employment choices primarily to the agricultural or the informal sector.
While many papers have discussed and traced the decline in female LFP in the country, through the lens of caste, the results of the studies have been conflicting. Many scholars have discussed the importance of education for women to access employment. It is women from higher castes, due to their economic condition, that have historically had a higher chance to access education, translating into better employment. There have also been studies that reveal how women from lower castes opted for public sector jobs, due to reservation. On the other hand, many scholars have also pointed out how women from the upper castes have the lowest work participation rates, with female LFP increasing as we go down the caste hierarchy. This has been attributed to economic instability among the lower castes, which pushes women into the labour market.
