Population Explosion or Demographic Desolation?-Part 2

There have been numerous studies, research papers and books attempting to analyse why women in India drop out of the work force as adults

A demographic dividend is likely and possible when young people in the working age are engaged in p0roductive activities. That seems to be to a problem in India. Close to 50% of the population of India is female. Now, if women, for whatever reasons are not engaged in productive work that counts while measuring GDP, it is meaningless to talk about the benefits of demographic dividend. As the accompanying chart shows, the participation of women in the labour force has been steadily declining for decades; particularly since 2010. There have been numerous studies, research papers and books attempting to analyse why women in India drop out of the work force as adults. The most evident explanation is marriage, children and household responsibilities. Nevertheless, if four out of five women who can contribute to the GDP of India drop out of the workforce, India will definitely struggle to transition from a low income country to a middle income one with a per capita income of more than $ 5000 per year. Ironically, it is women from the poorest cohort of the population who work as manual labour in factories, construction sites, offices, farms and homes while most educated and skilled women “sit”at home.

One good news s that the participation of women in the labour force has increased in the immediate aftermath of the Covid pandemic. Perhaps that could be because of the dire economic situation faced by millions of families during the pandemic. Perhaps it could be because the measures taken by the government to guarantee paid leave and other benefits to new mothers is showing its impact gradually at the ground. Perhaps social norms are gradually changing and women are realising that working is no longer a stigma or taboo. So much for females. In the third and concluding part of this series on population, we will analyse another elephant in the room: the mismatch between skills acquired by contemporary youth and the skills that employers want.