Atlantic Council SOUTH ASIA CENTER
ISSUE BRIEF
The Future of Women in India: Barriers, Facilitators, and Opportunities N. VYAS, MISHA IQBAL, CAPUCINE MARCH 2023 AMITA QUERENET, HARRIS SAMAD, AND IRFAN NOORUDDIN
Introduction
Women and girls across South Asia are more literate and educated than ever before, but these successes have not translated into increased women’s labor force participation and economic opportunities. While increases in girls’ secondary school enrollment and higher education increased in India between 2010 and 2020, for example, the number of working women dropped to 19 percent from 26 percent.1 And while women’s employment in the formal workforce was dismal prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is without question that the pandemic not only stalled the region’s economic growth but also that those hardest hit were women. In India, women made up just 24 percent of the workforce before the pandemic, yet accounted for 28 percent of all job losses as the pandemic took hold. As COVID-19 infections surged in 2020 and 2021, it is estimated that female labor force participation plummeted to 9 percent by 2022,2 and that women lost over two-thirds of their incomes during the lockdown. The South Asia Center serves as the Atlantic Council’s focal point for work on greater South Asia as well as relations between these countries, the neighboring regions, Europe, and the United States. It seeks to foster partnerships with key institutions in the region to establish itself as a forum for dialogue between decisionmakers in South Asia, the United States, and NATO. These deliberations cover internal and external security, governance, trade, economic development, education, and other issues. The Center remains committed to working with stakeholders from the region itself, in addition to partners and experts in the United States and Europe, to offer comprehensive analyses and recommendations for policymakers.
Amid COVID we found that being at home, working, and taking care of the family is a lot of pressure mentally, emotionally, and physically. There needs to be a division of labor. —Female leader from Bangladesh The barriers South Asian women face in the workforce are deep and intersecting, including but not limited to: accessing digital technology; disruptions to supply chains; the dual burden of managing eldercare and childcare; limited physical and mental health services; and the increased risk of gender-based violence (GBV). These are key obstacles to women’s labor force participation, and all were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a joint report published by the International Finance 1
“School Enrollment, Secondary, Female (% gross)-India,” World Bank.
2
Ronojoy Mazumdar and Archana Chaudhary, “90% of Women in India Are Shut Out of the Workforce,” Bloomberg, June 1, 2022, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-06-02/ covid-cut-india-s-women-out-of-the-job-market-now-90-aren-t-in-the-workforce.