Labour force participation of women in India is quite low: IMF MD

Washington: The labour force participation of women in India is quite low and one of the reasons was insecurity among them in workplace, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said.

Speaking at an event "Women, Work, and Leadership: One-on-One Conversation" on Tuesday, she said, "women just don't feel safe to go to school or to go to work."              

"(In) India labour force participation of women is quite low. There are many reasons for that one of them is insecurity. Women just don't feel safe to go to school or to go to work. It is a fixable problem. It requires commitment to make it safe," Georgieva said at the event being held at its headquarter ahead of the annual meeting later this week.

The female labour force participation in India has fallen to 26 per cent in 2018 from 36.7 per cent in 2005, amid lack of access to quality education and underlying social, economic barriers limiting the opportunities for women, according to a study released in March by Deloitte.

According to the report titled 'Empowering Women & Girls in India for the Fourth Industrial Revolution', 95 per cent or 195 million women are employed in the unorganised sector or are in unpaid work.

The education ecosystem needs to go through a set of system strengthening initiatives, including the introduction of digital and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in schools, which in turn will introduce women to various career choices, it said.

The report highlighted the need to empower women in India through quality education and re-skilling.