Women Participation in Workforce: A Scenario of India vis-a-vis Punjab

The female work participation rate (FWPR) is a growing concern amongst various developing countries. A growing trend of this rate indicates development. The present study, based on secondary data, exhibits a picture of the status of FWPR in the country and Punjab. India has not been performing well, indicated by the declining rank of the country in overall FWPR. Despite a slight improvement in national figures for the FWPR in 2011 over 2001, the different states exhibit varied trends. Punjab, a benchmark progressive agrarian state is worse off among the state list with the lowest FWPR despite the improvement in sex ratio and literacy rate. The rural-urban trends of FWPR indicate that the gender gap in WPR (work participation rate) was narrower in rural areas than the urban areas. Non-availability of work, attending to household duties and being the sole care takers of the family were reported as some of the reasons for the increase in rate of involvement in household activities by women. The study highlights that beyond strengthening educational qualifications, vocational training, apprenticeship and entrepreneurial training were crucial to improve the economic role of women in the society.