IMF urges India to narrow gender gap
India needs more women in its labor market to "fully harness the benefits of demographic dividend," says the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
A new IMF working paper outlines possible policy initiatives to help boost female economic participation in India, asserting that narrowing its gender gap would encourage significant economic growth.
Women’s labor force participation in India is lower than most other emerging market economies. In last year’s Global Gender Gap Report by the World Economic Forum, India ranked 114th out of 142 nations.
Policies suggested by the IMF include: increased labor market flexibility, which would allow more women to be employed in the formal sector; higher spending on education, which would help to increase female human capital; and investment in infrastructure, to make labor entry for women easier.
As Sher Verick acknowledges, increasing female labor force participation in developing countries relies on improving both labor supply and demand. He asserts that improving employment outcomes takes more than raising labor market participation, and that the quality of available jobs is equally important.
Read more here.
Related articles:
Female labor force participation in developing countries, by Sher Verick
Equal pay legislation and the gender wage gap, by Solomon W. Polachek