Investigators: Soledad Prillaman and Yamini Atmavilas

Partner Organizations: Udaiti Foundation for Women’s Empowerment; LabourNet India; Quess Corp

Funder: UPS Endowment Fund

Location: India

Status: Data collection & analysis

Abstract

Much has been made of India’s low and declining female labor force participation rate (FLFP), hovering at around 22% (PLFS 2019-20), which is significantly lower than the global average rate of 47% and is the lowest in the G20 save Saudi Arabia (World Bank). India’s low FLFP is particularly concerning as it stands in stark contrast to male labor force participation at 79% and represents a nearly 50% decline over the past fifteen years. In the effort to unpack this puzzle, substantial policy and research attention has focused on the barriers women, particularly young women, face to entering the labor force. Few, however, have investigated the barriers to women’s retention in the labor force. In an original survey we conducted with more than 5,000 recently employed vocational trainees, we found that more than 99% of adolescent women who had accepted a job offer left their job within one year, and only 20% were employed elsewhere. Anecdotal evidence from interviews with leaders in the garment and electronic industries in India suggests that while there is unmet demand for female labor, the duration of women’s employment status is perceived as less reliable; employers commonly assume that female employees will not remain in the labor force for longer than two to three years. Accordingly, our research team has identified a critical point for future intervention: identifying avenues for preventing women’s attrition from the labor force. How do we keep India’s working women in the labor force and transition women’s work from jobs to careers? The ID2 Lab has launched a collaborative research agenda in partnership with the Udaiti Foundation to understand the constraints to women’s labor force retention and test and evaluate mitigation strategies. The Udaiti Foundation is has compiled a database of internal data from several major job training and matching companies in India and has shared these data with the ID2 Lab for analysis. These data will enable us to understand where women are falling out of the labor force and how women’s attrition varies across industries, pay levels, benefit provision, and other labor conditions. Ultimately, the evidence generated by our proposal will enable us to conceptualize informed strategies for improving existing job opportunities that are available to women and to make vocational training and job-matching programs more sensitive to migrant women’s unique gendered needs.