The report by Magic Bus India Foundation and Bain & Co, titled ‘From Aspiration to Action: Building India’s 400 Million Workforce’, outlines a roadmap to double India’s female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) to 70% by 2047 from 35-40% now for the country to reach its $30 trillion GDP target.
Despite a favourable demographic dividend and supportive policies, India’s workforce projects to add only 110 million women to its workforce, reaching an FLFPR of 45% at 255 million women, by 2047, it said. This leaves a gap of 145 million ‘missing women’ who need to be integrated into the workforce to meet the country’s economic goal.
Navneet Chahal, partner at Bain & Co and a co-author of the report, said: “India’s growth story is unlikely to play out fully without enhanced women’s participation in the labour force, yet their participation remains far below its potential.”
The report highlights the challenges confronting rural and urban women.
According to the report, about 70% of those out of the labour force in FY47 are anticipated to reside in rural areas. Factors like limited job opportunities, higher dropout rates and with women primarily engaged in low-income and unstable work contribute to low FLFPR.Their urban counterparts, meanwhile, face challenges such as wage disparities, job-skill mismatches and the undervaluation of domestic work compared to market jobs.“Empowering women is more than a moral choice; it is also an economic lifeline,” said Jayant Rastogi, global chief executive at Magic Bus India Foundation.
The report categorises Indian women into seven archetypes within the In-Labour-Force (ILF) and Out-of-Labour-Force (OLF) categories. The key OLF category consists of aspirational homemaker (around 86 million), settled homemaker (75 million) and high-potential youth (37 million), while ILF comprises family enterprise and farm assistors (around 52 million), home-based and nano entrepreneurs (39 million), casual labour including gig workers (26 million) and salaried women (23 million).
To close the participation gap, the report identifies four priority archetypes: aspirational homemakers, high-potential youth, home-based and nano entrepreneurs, and casual labour including gig workers.
Chahal of Bain & Co said: “Whether it’s empowering rural women through an ecologically embedded entrepreneurial ecosystem model that solves for skill building, mentorship, market linkages and access to capital, or, enabling professional readiness, growth, and resilience for urban women through tailored skills training, flexible work environment and childcare support, India can unlock $14 trillion in economic value from women alone, making a significant impact on India’s journey to becoming a $30 trillion economy by 2047.”