India’s ambitions of fast and inclusive growth sit uneasily with one stubborn fact: most working-age women are not in paid work. This is puzzling at first glance. Women’s education levels have improved steadily, health outcomes have seen major gains, and aspirations have risen across generations. Yet participation in the labour market remains strikingly low. This disconnect is not just a social concern, it is an economic one. When women are unable to enter or remain in paid employment, households lose income, firms lose talent, and the economy forfeits a major source of growth.
Two constraints stand out. First, women shoulder a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, including childcare, eldercare, and domestic tasks which sharply raises the opportunity cost of participating in paid employment. Second, India lacks a formal framework for part-time employment, depriving workers of flexible, legally protected work arrangements that could help reconcile paid work with care responsibilities. My recent research, jointly with Dr. Ratna Sahay at the Centre for Gender and Macroeconomy, National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi quantifies how addressing these twin barriers could substantially raise women’s labour force participation in India. Popular print media Economic and Political Weekly has also carried this research here: Women’s Labour Market Potential | Economic and Political Weekly.
The weight of invisible work
Across the world, women spend more time than men on unpaid care work, but the imbalance is especially stark in India and South Asia. Time-use data show that Indian women devote roughly twice as many hours as men each day to domestic and caregiving activities. These responsibilities cut across income groups and regions, reflecting deeply embedded social norms around gender roles.
The economic implications are profound. Most jobs in India demand long hours, fixed schedules, and daily commuting. When care responsibilities fall almost entirely on women, paid work becomes difficult to sustain, particularly during life stages such as childbirth or eldercare. Many women respond by withdrawing from the labour force altogether or by taking up informal, low-quality jobs that offer flexibility at the cost of security and progression. While the qualitative link between care responsibilities and women’s employment is well recognised, there is surprisingly little quantitative evidence on how much women’s labour force participation could increase if these constraints were eased.
Why part-time work matters
Globally, part-time employment has been one of the most important ways women stay connected to the labour market. In many advanced economies, part-time jobs are formally recognised, legally protected, and paid on an hourly or pro-rata basis. These arrangements allow workers to balance paid work with care responsibilities without being pushed into informality.
India is an outlier. Labour laws define full-time work but remain silent on part-time employment. Minimum wages are specified per day rather than per hour, and workers with shorter schedules are often treated as casual labour, excluded from social security and basic protections. For women seeking flexibility, this legal vacuum leaves few good options. The absence of formal part-time work effectively turns care responsibilities into a barrier to employment. This legal vacuum discourages both workers and employers from engaging in formal part-time arrangements. For women in particular, the lack of secure, flexible jobs reinforces labour market exit during key life stages such as childbirth or eldercare responsibilities.
A quantitative approach to women’s labour supply: What the research shows
Using a standard job-search model adapted to Indian conditions, Dev and Sahay (2026) examine how unpaid care work and job flexibility shape women’s labour supply decisions. The model builds on established job-search frameworks, capturing a simple but powerful idea: people accept jobs only when wages compensate not just for time spent working, but also for time taken away from unpaid responsibilities.
A central concept in this framework is the reservation wage, the minimum wage at which a person is willing to accept a job. Higher care burdens raise this threshold, making labour force participation less attractive. Calibrated with Indian data, from the Periodic Labour Force Survey, the Time Use Survey, and CMIE’s Consumer Pyramids, the model mirrors key features of the labour market today. Women face higher thresholds for accepting jobs because the opportunity cost of paid work is higher for them.
Simulating the policy reforms, two results stand out. Formalising part-time work on its own makes employment more attractive to women. But the largest gains emerge when flexible jobs are combined with a more equal sharing of care work between men and women. Under this combined scenario, female labour force participation rises by six percentage points, from about 37% to 43%, a sizeable increase by macroeconomic standards.
Lessons from elsewhere
Other countries offer useful reference points. In much of Europe, part-time workers receive the same legal protections as full-time employees, adjusted for hours worked. Scandinavian countries pair flexible work arrangements with generous parental leave and public childcare, enabling women to remain in paid employment across life stages. India’s labour framework has yet to make this shift. The lack of legal recognition for part-time work continues to funnel women into informality or out of the workforce altogether.
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Spain United Kingdom Japan Norway Sweden India |
Work hours < 40 hours Work hours < 40 hours 20 hours < Work hours < 30 hours Work hours < 37.5 hours Work hours < 40 hours Not defined in labour laws |
40 hours 35 - 40 hours 40 hours 37.5 hours 40 hours 48 hours |
Table 1: Examples of Statutory/Statistical Definition of Part-time & Full-time Employment
Broader economic implications
Raising women’s labour force participation has benefits that extend beyond gender equality. Higher participation increases the effective labour supply, boosts household incomes, and supports economic growth. Formal part-time employment can also improve job quality by bringing more workers under the ambit of labour regulation and social security. Moreover, redistributing unpaid care work can have intergenerational benefits. When care responsibilities are shared more evenly, women are better able to invest in their careers, while children benefit from improved household wellbeing and potentially higher public investment in care infrastructure.
Policy priorities
Our findings point to several policy priorities. First, India should formally recognise part-time employment in labour law, with clear definitions, hourly minimum wages, and pro-rata access to social security and workplace protections. This would align India with international best practices and expand the range of viable job options for women. Second, care policies must move to the centre of economic reform. Public investment in affordable childcare and eldercare services can directly reduce the unpaid care burden. Equal and well-paid parental leave for both parents can encourage a more balanced division of care from early stages of family life. Third, workplace flexibility, including remote work and adjustable schedules should be encouraged where feasible, supported by appropriate regulation to prevent abuse. Finally, sustained efforts to shift social norms around gender and care are essential for long-term change.
As India looks ahead to 2047, the question is no longer whether the country can afford to invest in women’s work, but whether it can afford not to.
