Is Uttar Pradesh stuck with low women’s participation in its labour force?

Given the vast size of UP, it makes sense to look at the state separately from the rest of India in the ongoing debate around low women’s employment.

Data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey shows that in 2022-23, only about 19.8% of young adult women (20-29 years) in UP were either employed or looking for work—known as the labour force participation rate (LFPR)—compared to 33.2% in the rest of India. In urban UP, only 16.3% of young adult women were labour-force participants, while in the rest of urban India, the proportion was close to 30%.

This gap is worrisome, since UP is a young state demographically. In 2021, around 37% of working-age women were in the young adult category, compared to only 31% in the rest of India. Similarly, the proportion of teenagers set to enter the working-age population over this decade is larger in UP.

India’s average total fertility rate (TFR) being 2, UP’s TFR at 2.4 is still above the replacement rate of 2.1, according to the latest National Family Health Survey. The TFR indicates the number of children per woman of childbearing age. So, UP will witness a demographic expansion for longer than relatively prosperous states like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat.

In the age group of 30-59, the gap in women’s LFPR between UP and the rest of India is narrower. However, in urban UP, women’s LFPR in this age group at 17.4% in 2022-23 was only about half of that across the rest of India.

UP is urbanizing fast. As per news reports, the state government expects around 40% of its population to live in urban areas in five years, from around 30% currently. State policies must ensure that women can participate in urbanization and benefit from it.

It is difficult to disentangle supply and demand factors behind low women’s labour participation. The supply-side explanation includes social and gender norms around marriage, housework, care work and restrictions in terms of mobility. Demand-side determinants include a lack of job opportunities, especially near homes and in sectors where women traditionally work.

When average education levels are lower, low-skilled manufacturing sectors are considered conducive for women to take up paid work. Currently, the share of manufacturing in UP’s state economy is only 12%. When Tamil Nadu had a similar per-person real income back in the early 2000s as UP has today, the share of manufacturing in Tamil Nadu’s state economy was around 20%.

The UP government expects manufacturing to be a major driver of economic growth and job creation. The state has the highest number of ‘smart cities’ under development and the construction of several industrial corridors is underway.

But there is a catch. Since UP is landlocked, manufacturing exports rely on ports in other states for shipping. Goods must be transported by rail or road for long distances, increasing transportation costs. 

Port development along industrial corridors would help, but until these new ports are operational and integrated into the state’s transportation network, UP will face higher export costs than states with direct access to coastal ports.

The Niti Aayog’s report on Export Preparedness Index 2022 highlights that, although UP is performing well on export growth, it suffers from infrastructure gaps, power shortages, low foreign direct investment and low manufacturing value addition. Streamlining land acquisition and simplifying regulatory processes would cut delays and lower costs.

Even as manufacturing expands in UP, the ability of women to take up jobs depends on several other factors. One of the main factors is the income-status norm. When the income of their menfolk increases, many Indian women drop out of paid work. 

In India, in general, culturally, women are ‘required’ to take up paid work only if they need to support their families. ‘Not required to work’ is seen as a mark of high status and it also reduces the exposure of women to ‘outsiders.’

Also, Indian women continue to be mainly responsible for childcare, elderly care and household work. Commuting poses another challenge in terms of modes of transport, time taken and safety while commuting.

As the state develops, men’s income will rise first and the status-income effect would come into play. There is some evidence in 2022-23 data that in urban UP, women’s LFPR does not rise among higher consumption deciles as it does in the rest of India.

Men’s incomes also increase faster because they can migrate to other states for work. Women’s migration for work remains low and temporary. According to the Migration in India 2020-21 report, only 0.7% of total female migration was for employment. Men sending remittances back home also lowers the pressure on women to take up paid work to support their families.

There are no easy ways to raise earning opportunities for Indian women. As the data shows, the task is especially difficult for India’s largest state.