New Delhi: India is aiming to lift its female labour force participation to 55% by 2030 from 41.7% in FY24 through interventions ranging from flexible jobs and equal pay to safer workplaces and better childcare support, while formally acknowledging unpaid care work's role in the economy.
"The ministry of labour and employment is working on measures such as flexible and remote work arrangements, equal pay for equal work, safe workplaces and affordable childcare, among others, to incentivise women to join the workforce," a senior government official, aware of the deliberations, told ET.
The plan is to work on all fronts to ensure that more women in India, in the working age group and willing to work, join the workforce, the official added.
The female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) as per the usual status measures the share of women aged 15 years and above who are either employed or actively seeking work during a year. A higher FLFPR is often seen as a sign of greater gender equality and a more dynamic labour market.
The latest current weekly status, pertaining to employment in the last seven days of September 2025, showed FLFPR of 34.1% while for the April-June quarter it stood at 33.4%.
The ministry has set a target to increase women's workforce participation by at least one-third by 2030, aimed towards securing gender justice in the country.
Besides, inter-ministerial discussions are on to develop and formalise the care economy in India, which has a potential to create millions of jobs, mostly for women.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) suggests that investing 2% of India's GDP in the care sector could create 11 million jobs with about 70% going to women.
As per the ILO estimates, unpaid care and domestic work by India is valued to be 10-39% of GDP. If the time spent on unpaid care work was valued based on an hourly minimum wage, it would amount to 9% of global GDP, which corresponds to $11 trillion, it had said.
Labour is in the concurrent list and the central government is expected to put in place a model policy to attract more women to the workforce followed by nudging to states and corporates to up the hiring of women.
The labour ministry, in its draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025, said expanding and equalising access to decent employment for women will help harness India's demographic strength.
"The ministry of labour and employment is working on measures such as flexible and remote work arrangements, equal pay for equal work, safe workplaces and affordable childcare, among others, to incentivise women to join the workforce," a senior government official, aware of the deliberations, told ET.
The plan is to work on all fronts to ensure that more women in India, in the working age group and willing to work, join the workforce, the official added.
The female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) as per the usual status measures the share of women aged 15 years and above who are either employed or actively seeking work during a year. A higher FLFPR is often seen as a sign of greater gender equality and a more dynamic labour market.
The latest current weekly status, pertaining to employment in the last seven days of September 2025, showed FLFPR of 34.1% while for the April-June quarter it stood at 33.4%.
The ministry has set a target to increase women's workforce participation by at least one-third by 2030, aimed towards securing gender justice in the country.
Besides, inter-ministerial discussions are on to develop and formalise the care economy in India, which has a potential to create millions of jobs, mostly for women.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) suggests that investing 2% of India's GDP in the care sector could create 11 million jobs with about 70% going to women.
As per the ILO estimates, unpaid care and domestic work by India is valued to be 10-39% of GDP. If the time spent on unpaid care work was valued based on an hourly minimum wage, it would amount to 9% of global GDP, which corresponds to $11 trillion, it had said.
Labour is in the concurrent list and the central government is expected to put in place a model policy to attract more women to the workforce followed by nudging to states and corporates to up the hiring of women.
The labour ministry, in its draft Shram Shakti Niti 2025, said expanding and equalising access to decent employment for women will help harness India's demographic strength.
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