Labour Force Participation and Economic Challenges for Women in Post-COVID India

Abstract

Covid-19 has charred the economic backbone of countries across the globe. The pandemic-induced lockdowns have disrupted the economic and social life of several economic actors. With the majority of women workers being employed in the hardest hit informal sector, this chapter mainly attempts to examine the impact of the pandemic on the labour force participation rate of women and their individual and family incomes. The study analyses the data from various international and national reports on female labour force participation, unemployment rate, terms of employment contract and violence against women to draw inferences about the impact of the pandemic on women’s workforce participation rate in post-Covid India. The authors highlight how the pre-existing intra-household inequalities of consumption and expenditure have worsened during Covid-19 and predict its long-term implications for gender relations in India.