Report: 24% of women workers in manufacturing, 40% in other services, women unemployment rate higher in cities

The largest share of female workers compared to male workers in the country's urban sector is found in manufacturing (23.9%) and other services (40.1%). This information was presented in a government report titled 'Women and Men India, 2023'. A large proportion of the 6 urban men in this years report have been in the construction (12.%), trade, hotel (26.5%), transport, storage and communications (13.2%) sectors. In rural India, women dominate the agricultural sector as compared to men (49.1%). Female unemployment rate is higher in urban areas than in rural areas. In rural areas, the female unemployment rate (1.8%) has been lower than that of males (2.8%) over the years, while the situation is reversed in urban areas, where female unemployment (7.5%) is higher than male unemployment (4.7% higher than 15- The unemployment rate is highest among urban women aged 29. According to the Annual Periodic Labor Force (PLFS) data, despite progress in all sectors, women still face many barriers to access the labor market. The report states that necessary steps can be taken to adequately address the disparity between men and women in the workforce, including better incentive mechanisms, targeted training programs, job reservations, and creating a safe work environment. The objective is to create a more equitable and supportive framework that promotes women's participation in the workforce as well as addressing specific preferences faced by women workers. Average salary of women in urban areas is 35% lower than that of men. This disparity is greater in urban than in rural areas. Citing the PLFS survey, the report said that the average wage of urban women workers was 35% lower than that of men in the April-June quarter of 2023. The average wage of male workers was Rs. 515 and the average wage of female workers is Rs. was 333. Similarly, the average wage of women workers in rural areas is 31% lower than that of men. Proportion of women in self-employment more than men In terms of self-employment, the proportion of women (71%) is higher than that of men (58.8%). 43.1 percent of rural women were helpers in household enterprises, while the figure for men was only 11%. In urban areas, 50.8% of female workers were in regular salary/wage employment while 47.1% were male workers.

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