India pronounced its commitment to gender equality, decent work and inclusive participation in economic, political and social spheres for women. While the rhetoric of progress fills the air, the lived reality for millions of women in India paints a starkly different picture. Despite carrying a heavy workload, their work remains unaccounted for and unrecognized in the economic realm. What is long overdue is not just recognition, but a demand for true economic justice that ensures their contributions are valued and rewarded.

India’s female labour force participation (FLFP) rose to 31.7% in 2023-24, up from a historic low of 17.5% in 2017-18. While this may appear promising, a closer look reveals a troubling reality. Much of this rise is concentrated in agriculture and informal sectors, contradicting Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin’s U-shaped hypothesis, which posits that women’s labour participation falls with rising incomes and education, but eventually resurges in skilled sectors. That hypothesis does not hold in the case of India. 

Despite rising educational attainment among women, their labour force participation within the working-age group (15–64 years) has declined in the secondary and tertiary sectors. Specifically, women's participation in the secondary sector fell from 18% in 2017–18 to 16% in 2023–24, and in the tertiary sector, it dropped from 25% to 20% over the same period. In contrast, participation in the primary sector increased from 57% to 64%, indicating a shift back toward more traditional forms of employment. A closer look within the tertiary sector reveals a sharp decline in the education sector, where women have historically had higher representation than men—their participation decreased from 8% in 2017–18 to just 5% in 2023–24. 

These trends challenge the conventional assumption that higher education necessarily leads to greater labour market participation among women. The COVID-19 pandemic forced many women into the workforce due to household income loss rather than genuine empowerment. Unlike China, where FLFP remains above 60% despite a steady decline, India continues to lag behind comparable economies, raising concerns about the structural barriers and justice to women’s economic participation.

Despite significant advancements in female education, India still suffers from a massive gender gap in employment. Women’s low participation is compounded by high rates of discouragement, as they are not even seeking jobs. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (2024) reveals that 51% of Indian women aged 15 and above are engaged in unpaid domestic work, compared to less than 1% of men. When both paid and unpaid labour are considered together, women bear a heavier workload than men, highlighting the paradox of ‘time poverty.’

According to the Time Use Survey (2024), Indian women spend an average of 366 minutes daily on work and care-related activities, compared to men’s 330 minutes. However, men allocate 287 minutes to employment, while women dedicate only 71 minutes—exposing stark gendered inequalities. Even among those employed, women spend significantly less time (341 minutes) in paid work than men (473 minutes). These statistics challenge the notion that women have the freedom to participate in the labour market, raising deeper questions about economic justice.

The gender gap in the Indian labour market remains stark across the life course. According to PLFS 2024, for every 100 women aged 15–64 years (the working-age population) in the labour force, there are 185 men. This disparity becomes even more pronounced when disaggregated by place of residence: in rural areas, there are 165 men in the labour force for every 100 women, while in urban areas the gap widens significantly to 267 men for every 100 women.

Women are predominantly concentrated in the primary sector, reflecting limited access to diversified employment opportunities. Notably, this gender gap does not narrow with age, suggesting that social and gender norms continue to constrain women's labour participation even in later life, reaffirming the deeply patriarchal structure of both society and the labour market. Among individuals aged 65 and above, there are 260 men in the labour force for every 100 women. This gap persists across residence categories: in rural areas, 250 men are in the labour force for every 100 women, while in urban areas the disparity peaks at 325 men per 100 women. These figures underscore the persistent marginalisation of urban women in the labour market throughout their lives.

One of the most persistent structural issues in Indian society is the deeply entrenched gendered division of labour, where men are seen as primary earners, and women are expected to shoulder the responsibility of unpaid domestic and care work. Data from PLFS 2023–24 reveals this stark imbalance: 41% of working-age women are engaged solely in unpaid domestic duties, compared to just 0.5% of men. In other words, for every 100 women performing unpaid domestic work, only one man does the same. This gender gap is even wider in urban areas, where women face acute time poverty. Despite urban settings offering better access to markets, improved educational opportunities, and more progressive socio-cultural environments, women’s participation in the labour market remains severely constrained. This paradox shows that it is not just access or opportunity that limits women, but the enduring influence of patriarchal norms and unequal family responsibilities, which continue to exclude women from paid work across their life course.

A feminist once remarked, “The day women demand an account of their labour, the greatest and oldest theft in human history will be exposed.” This statement remains painfully relevant today, where women’s work—whether at home or in the market—is largely invisible, undervalued, and unpaid. A glaring example is cooking, a task overwhelmingly performed by women. From a young age, daughters are taught to cook by their mothers, yet this skill, passed down generationally, is never compensated. However, when cooking is done in commercial settings like restaurants, hotels, or catering businesses, from villages to cities, it is predominantly men who are paid for the same labour. This contradiction reveals how society systematically devalues women’s labour, relegating them to unpaid roles while rewarding the same work when performed by men.

This reflects a broader issue: women’s contributions remain excluded from economic metrics. Work like caregiving and domestic duties, though essential, is confined to the private sphere and undervalued. This systemic exclusion is not incidental—it is deeply embedded in historical structures of Brahmanical patriarchy and the gendered division of labour, which relegates women to caregiving roles while positioning men as breadwinners.

Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s capability approach argues that true welfare is not just about having rights but about being able to exercise them. The fundamental question remains: Are increasing education and opportunities translating into real economic participation for women? If not, why are so many women discouraged from seeking employment? 

Rosa Luxemburg had once said, “Those who do not move, do not notice their chains.” It is time for women to rattle their chains, demand their rightful place and value in the economy, and reclaim their historically stolen labour. It's time to act—demand economic justice and fair value for women's labour. 

Lastly, India’s rising female labour force participation largely reflects distress-driven work rather than genuine progress and economic justice. As we approach the centenary of Independence in 2047, achieving economic justice for women is imperative—without it, the vision of Viksit Bharat will remain an unfulfilled promise. 

Rachna Singh, a PhD scholar at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, works on gender and social inequality. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.