Lok Sabha Question No. 584 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-02-06
Subject: Female Labour Force Participation
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Rahul Gandhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 584

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06 TH  FEBRUARY, 2023

## FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION

## 584.  SHRI RAHUL GANDHI:

## Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of initiatives are being taken to address the declining female labour force participation in India, particularly in urban areas;
- (b) whether the Government has conducted studies to evaluate the impact of the Covid pandemic on women's participation in the workforce, particularly in the unorganised sector;
- (c) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  offer  incentives  to  employers  to increase recruitment of women, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the measures are being taken to safeguard the rights of women workers and  strengthen  grievance  redressal  mechanisms  in  the  unorganised sector;
- (e) the  initiatives  are  being  taken  to  strengthen  the  implementation  of  the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act), particularly for women in the unorganised sector; and
- (f) the State-wise details of the local committee constituted under the POSH Act, complaints received and disposed of during the last four years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI RAMESWAR TELI)

(a) to (f): The official data on Employment and Unemployment is collected through Periodic  Labour  Force  Survey  (PLFS)  conducted  by  the  Ministry  of  Statistics  & Programme Implementation (MoSPI) since 2017-18. The survey period is July to June  of  the  next  year.  As  per  the  latest  available  Annual  PLFS  reports,  the estimated  female  Labour  Force  Participation  Rate  (LFPR)  and  female  Worker Population Ratio (WPR) on usual status for age 15 years and above during 2017-18 to 2020-21 are as follows:

| Years   |   LFPR (in %) |   WPR (in %) |
|---------|---------------|--------------|
| 2017-18 |          23.3 |         22   |
| 2018-19 |          24.5 |         23.3 |
| 2019-20 |          30   |         28.7 |
| 2020-21 |          32.5 |         31.4 |

Source: PLFS, MoSPI

The above data indicates that the female LFPR and WPR in the country has increased during 2020-21 as compared to 2017-18.

The Government has taken various steps to improve women's participation in the labour force and quality of their employment. A number of protective  provisions  have  been  incorporated  in  the  labour  laws  for  equal opportunity  and  congenial  work  environment  for  women  workers.  These include  the  strengthening  of  constitutional  and  legal  frameworks  such  as progressive  rules  for  maternity  leave  which  has  been  increased  from  12 weeks  to 26 weeks, Prohibition of Sexual Harassment of  Women  at Workplace,  equal  pay  for  equal  work  and  other  initiatives  to  ensure  that women can work in the best possible circumstances. The laws for the safety of women in thework place have been made stricter.

The  Aatmanirbhar  Bharat  Rojgar  Yojana  (ABRY)  was  launched  with effect  from  1st  October,  2020  to  incentivize  employers  for  creation  of  new employment and restoration of loss of employment during Covid-19 pandemic. The terminal date for registration of beneficiaries was 31.03.2022.

The Code on Social Security, 2020 has the provisions for enhancement in paid maternity leave from 12 weeks to 26 weeks, provision for mandatory crèche facility in the establishments having 50 or more employees, permitting women workers in the night shifts with adequate safety measures, etc. The Union  Public  Service  Commission  (UPSC)  and  Staff  Selection  Commission (SSC)  have  exempted  the  women  candidates  from  payment  of  fees  for competitive examinations.

The  Code  on  Occupational  Safety,  Health  And  Working  Conditions (OSH),  2020  has  the  provisions  for  the  employment  of  women  in  the aboveground mines including opencast workings has been allowed between 7 pm  and  6  am,  and  in  below  ground  working  between  6  am  and  7  pm  in technical, supervisory and managerial work where continuous presence may not be required.

The  Code  on  Wages  2019  has  provisions  that  there  shall  be  no discrimination in an establishment or any unit thereof among employees on the ground of gender in matters relating to wages by the same employer, in respect of the same work or work of similar nature done by any employee. Further, no employer shall make any discrimination on the ground of sex while recruiting  any  employee for  the  same  work  or  work  of  similar  nature  in  the conditions of employment, except where the employment of women in such work is prohibited or restricted by or under any law for the time being in force.

To  enhance  the  employability  of  female  workers,  the  Government  is providing  training  to  them  through  a  network  of  Women  Industrial  Training institutes,  National  Vocational  Training  Institutes  and  Regional  Vocational Training Institutes.

Safety and security of women in the country is of utmost priority for the Government. Keeping this in view, the Government has enacted 'The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,  2013'  (SH  Act)  which  aims  to  provide  protection  to  women  against sexual  harassment  at  workplace  and  for  the  prevention  and  redressal  of complaints related to it. The Act covers all women, irrespective of their age, employment status  or  nature  of  work  whether  working  in  public  or  private, organised or unorganised sector. The Act casts an obligation upon employers of  all  workplaces,  public  or  private,  to  provide  a  safe  and  secure  working environment free from sexual harassment, whereby  every employer is mandated  to  constitute  an  Internal  Committee  (IC)  where  the  number  of employees/ workers is more than 10. Similarly, the Appropriate Government is authorized  to  constitute  Local  Committee  (LC)  in  every  district  to  receive complaints  from  organizations  having  less than ten workers  or  if the complaint is against the employer himself. The Act has enough provisions to deal with various aspects of the matter including penal provisions for those who violate the provisions of the Act including for the employers.

Employers are required to organize workshops and awareness programs at  regular  intervals  for  sensitizing  the  employees  with  the  provisions  of  the Act and orientation programmes for members of the Internal committee in the manner as may be prescribed. In addition, being a Nodal Ministry, the Ministry of  Women  and  Child  Development  (MWCD)  issues  advisories  to  all  Central Ministries  /Departments  and  State  Governments/  UTs  from  time  to  time  to organize  workshops  and  awareness  programmes  at  regular  intervals  for sensitizing the employees.

The responsibility of the implementation of the Act at District and State levels rests with the State Government to monitor the implementation of the Act and maintain data on the number of cases filed and disposed of in respect of  all  cases  of  sexual  harassment  at  workplace,  which  are  established, owned,  controlled  or  wholly  or  substantially  financed  by  funds  provided directly  or  indirectly  by  the  State.  The  State/  UT/  district-wise  details  of number of cases of sexual harassment filed and resolved is not maintained centrally.

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