Context: 

• Over the past two decades, there has been a significant decline in female Labour Force Participation (LFP), which necessitates us to examine the various factors which affect women employment across different spectrums of the society.

Factors affecting Women Employment: 

• • Caste: Studies on caste and LFP have conflicting results.
    • Higher caste women have better access to education and formal sector jobs.
    • Higher caste women have lower LFP due to the economic stability in their families. Even in women headed families, lower LFP is witnessed.
    • On the other hand, Lower caste women have higher LFP due to economic necessity. More often this employment is confined to the informal sector.

• Education: 

• • • Lower-caste women often face economic disadvantages, resulting in a higher share of them being illiterate.  Limited educational opportunities confine them to jobs in the informal sector. 
    • However, if a woman from this background manages to pursue education beyond school, affirmative action policies from the state enable entry into the formal economy, particularly in the public sector. 

• Patriarchy in the society: 

• • Societal expectations from women to primarily focus on housework and care work and manage the needs of a household, mostly prevent them from participating in the workforce.
  • Neglect of female education within the family  due to the emphasis on the education of male children also handicaps the employment prospects of women, mainly in middle class groups.
  • On the other side, women also face legal and economic constraints in their pursuit of employment. For instance, there are laws in many companies that prevent women from working on the night shift.

Benefits of Women employment: 

• Societal good: In any case, irrespective of whether it is the informal or formal economy, women’s participation in the labour force is beneficial for them and the larger society. 
• Voice within the family: Studies show that a woman’s ability to create revenue increases her capacity to make decisions for her and her family.
• Better Reproductive health and Child  health: Education and employment are directly associated with a delayed age of marriage and the age of the first childbirth among women. 
• Child Education: Studies have also shown that when the mother is earning, the chances of a child’s schooling are higher. 
• Protection from Patriarchy: Further, when women have control over resources, they are less susceptible to domestic violence and enjoy more mobility.

Women Labour Force Participation(LFP) not only liberates women from societal and economic constraints but also contributes to shaping a more educated and enlightened future.