The missing half: Axis Bank study emphasizes getting more women into work

Metro India News | Hyderabad

Plummeting fertility is narrowing the window for India to get rich before it gets old. Many more women need to enter and progress in paid work, according to a new study released by Axis Bank. Titled “The Missing Half: Women and India’s Growth Challenge”, the report draws on global evidence, deep analysis of Indian data, and a proprietary survey of nearly 11,000 college-educated women across 42 Indian cities.

The report argues that to sustain a growth of around 7% over 25 years, necessary for ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2050, overall worker participation in paid work must rise from about 47% to nearly 60%. Women’s participation in paid work will be critical to achieving this. However, at present, India has one of the lowest female labor force participation rates in paid work among G20 economies. Further, even employed women are mostly in agriculture, self-employed, or in unpaid work.

Major demand-side barriers persist

However, non farm jobs in proximity to women’s homes remain scarce. Demand for labour is a general challenge in India, evidenced by high informality and low-quality self-employment even among men; cultural norms do not require women to go through this charade of disguised unemployment. This also slows the shift in norms necessary to accelerate their participation. Concerns around safety, mobility, childcare and inflexible job structures, continues to hold women back.

Global lessons, contemporary relevance

Women themselves shifted to viewing work as a ‘career’ and core to their identity, instead of a ‘job’in many countries. Whereas the gender gaps in income coming from the ‘marriage penalty’ and bias have nearly disappeared, the ‘motherhood penalty’ persists -- entry-level gaps have narrowed, but inequalities widen after childbirth. Occupations that reward long, inflexible hours penalise career breaks. The pressure to choose between careers and children is also why fertility rates are falling.

Commenting on the launch, Neelkanth Mishra, Chief Economist, Axis Bank & Head of Global Research, Axis Capital, expressed the need to raise demand for labour, improve urban infrastructure, remove outdated legal barriers, and work on childcare facilities and workplace flexibility to get the ‘missing half’ into the workforce.

Rajkamal Vempati, Group Executive & Head Human Resources, Axis Bank, said, “India’s growth ceiling is directly tied to its glass ceilings, with 125 million of our educated women remaining on the sidelines.  The next decade of growth belongs to the organizations that redesign careers for fluidity – allowing women to step in and return without penalty.”