Safety, STEM key for more women at work: Economic Survey 2025-26

WProdigy’s involvement in paid act is rising but scientific discipline training, workplace safety, on-site childcare and affordable transport will improve both quality and quantity of such participation, Economic Survey 2025-26, tabled in Parliament on Thursday said.The labour force participation rate for women, set to account for 48% of the population by 2036, has been rising slowly, from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24, alongside a decline in their unemployment, reflecting a shift toward inclusion and economic empowerment, according to the survey. The rate refers to the share of the working-age population (15+ years) either employed or actively looking for work and is a key economic indicator.“Many highly educated women continue to work in low productivity jobs or part-time roles due to social expectations, mobility constraints, and limited access to flexible formal employment,” the survey stated.Policies to nudge women’s education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM disciplines, will help bridge gaps, enhance skills and ensure better participation in the economy, according to the survey.Mobility remains a key factor in ensuring higher levels of women’s participation in formal jobs, the survey noted. Urban areas offer higher returns to education and better job quality. However, mobility-related barriers restrict women’s ability to take up urban employment, according to the survey.Citing a 2021 World Bank study, the survey said 31% of women cited commuting as a barrier to working and 13% reported childcare responsibilities as a barrier. It called for expanding safety infrastructure and policing for women.Moreover, women often travel during off-peak hours, accompanied by children, and make multiple short trips to handle household chores or perform caregiving activities. The annual economic yearbook underscored the need to professionalize the care-giving economy to raise women employment. These include expanding Anganwadi centres, integrating community crèches, and incentivising employer-linked childcare to ease the “unpaid care burden”.“Key policy interventions could include enhancing visible women police presence for patrols in high traffic and pedestrian areas, especially during off-peak hours (like Kochi’s Women Police Control Room vans and Hyderabad’s SHE Teams).” To improve women’s access to urban jobs, the survey also recommended measures to increase the availability of affordable and safe housing, such as secure hostels and rental housing.Policymakers could look to innovative models in several states to promote women’s participation in the workforce, the survey said. “Telangana’s WE-Hub connects women with start-up ecosystems and investors. Kerala’s Kudumbashree integrates microfinance and collective enterprises to engage women in non-traditional roles, such as construction, logistics, and facility management.“There’s mounting evidence that shows that targeted policies to remove the barriers to female labour force participation is a critical driver of inclusive growth,” said Ashok Pradhan, economist at the Gokhle Institute of Politics and Economics.