Labor Participation and Gender Inequalities in India: Traditional Gender Norms in India and the Decline in the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR)

Reduction in gender inequality has become a major component of development agendas, cited as a mechanism for improved access to health care, declining fertility rates, reduced poverty, and increased political and social participation of women. While women’s participation in the labor force is an essential component of increasing gender equity in the developing world, such participation can only be made possible under conditions that allow women to possess the level of autonomy and mobility necessary for engaging in the labor market. In this article, I explain that while women’s labor force participation is an essential component of gender equity, it is not the key to ensuring gender equality. To explain this, I examine India’s decline in women’s labor force participation rate (LFPR) despite its growing economy. I challenge arguments that rationalize that this decline is attributed to the U-shaped hypothesis, and I assert that this decline is associated with existing gendered notions of labor and persisting patriarchal and traditional values that discourage women from re-entering the labor force in the industrial and service sectors.