Tamil Nadu accounts for over 40% of the entire women workforce in India’s manufacturing sector. It is evident not only from multiple field surveys but also from the shop floors of industries in the State. According to the Annual Survey of Industries in 2019-20, released by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, of the 15.8 lakh women working in industries in India, 6.79 lakh or 43% are in Tamil Nadu. The State’s rate of women workforce participation is higher than the national average.
The annual report of the Periodic Labour Force Survey for July 2022-June 2023, released by the National Sample Survey Office, showed that the rate of women workforce (aged 15-59), in both urban and rural areas, was 43.9% as against the national average of 39.8%.
