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Chapter-3
Participation

Q1. What are the factors determining women’s labor force participation.
Ans. The magnitude of female participation primarily depends upon:
• The status which the women enjoy in society.
• The extent to which their mobility is allowed.
• The economic exigencies necessitating their participation.
• The availability of suitable jobs.
• The desire on the part of women to avail themselves of these opportunities.
Factors Determining Women’s Labor force:
• Level of economic development
• Style of development
• Available infrastructure
• Government policy concerning employment of women
• Laws relating to employment of women
• Type of work available
• The structure of the family
• Cultural traditions concerning men’s dominance over women
• Cultural traditions concerning women’s economic role and responsibilities
• Fertility level and cultural traditions influencing child bearing behavior
• Availability of child care facilities
• Cultural expectations as to the need for and nature of housework
• Women’s property rights.
• Women’s educational level
• Women’s age at marriage and opportunities to gain work experience prior to marriage.
• Migration behavior
• Women’s access to technology
Female labor force participation is a driver of growth and therefore, participation rates indicate the
potential for a country to grow more rapidly. However, the relationship between women’s engagement
in the labor market and broader development outcomes is complex. The participation of women in the
labor force varies considerably across developing countries and emerging economies, far more than in
the case of men. In the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, less than one-third of women of
working-age participate, while the proportion reaches around two-thirds in East Asia and sub-
Saharan Africa. This variation is driven by a wide variety of economic and social factors including
economic growth, increasing educational attainment, falling fertility rates and social norms. Besides
labor market gender gaps are more pronounced in developing countries, and disparity is highest in
South Asian countries.
The factors that affect labor force rates among women are complex and least understood. We have
seen that the labor force rate among women has declined more than that among males, and the
decline has come about mainly in secondary and tertiary sectors where economic activities have
increasingly shifted from home to factory. It seems that women’s participation in economic activity is
facilitated by the availability of agricultural and household industry work, where they can combine
work activities with household chores, working mostly as unpaid family laborers. Hence, in
determining the future course of labor force participation rates among females, the possibility that
agriculture and household industry will continue to remain important economic activities for the next
half a century or so, will have to be borne in mind.
Economic Status and Female Work Participation Rate: Presently, women produce 50 per
cent of the world’s food supply, account for 60 per cent working force and contribute up to 30 per cent
of official labor force. However, as per UN estimates, they receive only 10 per cent of the world’s
income and own less than one percentage of world’s property.
Greater involvement from women in the labor force has both an economic and a social impact. The
Female Labor Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) for India remains abysmally low at around 27 %
when the male labor force participation rate is 79.9%. Labor force participation rate, female (% of
female population ages 15+) in India has reduced from 31.11% in 1990 to 27.45% in 2016. Labor force
participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) has declining trend during 1990 to 2016.
In the present paper factors affecting to female labor force participation rate in India have been
estimated using regression analysis for the time period 1990 to 2016. Data on all the relevant variables