1. Why Are Women Opting Out of India’s Growing Economy?
- Author:
- Alex Tammaro and Alex Katz
- Publication Date:
- 01-2020
- Content Type:
- Commentary and Analysis
- Institution:
- Urban Institute
- Abstract:
- Despite India’s strong economic growth, women’s labor force participation in India has decreased—from 33 percent in 2005, to 27 percent in 2010, to 24 percent in 2019. Even with increased investment in women’s access to education and professional opportunity, women are leaving the labor market, dampening economic productivity and innovation. So why are women opting out? Bhavani Arabandi offered answers in a presentation to Urban Institute staff titled Karma and the Myth of the Indian Superwoman. Arabandi spoke to highly skilled, highly educated Indian women as part of an ethnographic study to determine why they step away from lucrative, fulfilling careers. She examined how structural barriers—the disadvantages, constraints, and discouragement women face—are “treated as normal by society and often internalized.”
- Topic:
- Gender Issues, Labor Issues, Women, Economic Growth, and Participation
- Political Geography:
- South Asia and India