Centre working on national policy paper on female labour force participation

National policy document to boost female labour force participation through care economy infrastructure, addressing post-marriage drop in employment rates.

The Centre will soon bring out a national policy document on female labour force participation with a focus on providing an enabling atmosphere like a viable care economy structure.

An inter-ministerial team from the Ministries of Skill Development, Labour, Rural Development and Women and Child Development is working on it, informed sources told The Hindu.

Care economy is the sector of economic activities related to the provision of care, both paid and unpaid, for the present and future populations. It includes direct care, such as feeding a baby as well as indirect care, such as cooking and cleaning, health care, education and other personal and domestic services.

The move comes amid a recent World Bank report which said women faced a sharp drop in their labour force participation post-marriage in India.

According to the report, it is estimated that in India post-marriage, female employment rates drop by 12 percentage points, about one-third of the female pre-marital employment rate, even in the absence of children.

The sources said deliberations were on between the various ministries and that the document would focus on building a care-giving infrastructure to boost women’s participation in the labour market.

One of the initiatives being explored is a core skilling package for caregivers for children, the sources said.