More jobs for Indian women could boost GDP by $700 billion, says report
India could increase its GDP by 16% or $700 billion by 2025 if it brings more women into the workforce, according to a report from the consulting firm McKinsey.
The figure is based on an increase in India’s female labor participation rate from 31% to 41%, bringing 68 million more women into the labor force in the next ten years.
McKinsey’s analysis found that gender equality in India varies significantly by region, with the five most equal states (Mizoram, Kerala, Meghalaya, Goa, and Sikkim) ranking alongside countries such as China and Indonesia, while the least equal (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh) are closer to Chad and Yemen. The least well-performing states are more populous, however, containing around a third of India’s female working-age population.
To achieve the goal of bringing more women into the labor force, the authors of the report call for policymakers to take action in a range of areas including education, financial services, childcare, and infrastructure, as well as addressing attitudes about the social role of women.
McKinsey estimate that global GDP could be increased by $12 trillion if every country matched the progress of the best-performing country in its region on gender parity.
IZA World of Labor author Gianna Claudia Giannelli has written about policies to support women’s paid work in developing countries. In her article, she writes that: “Job and business training policies alone […] are not enough. Women need additional assistance to ease the burdens of family and home care. The demand for childcare services is growing rapidly in developing countries, and governments are taking important steps to provide publicly funded childcare.”
Elsewhere, Sher Verick has also written for us about female labor force participation in developing countries. He argues that: “policies should consider both supply- and demand-side dimensions, including access to better education and training programs and access to childcare, as well as other supportive institutions and legal measures to ease the burden of domestic duties, enhance women’s safety, and encourage private sector development in industries and regions that can increase job opportunities for women in developing countries.”
The McKinsey report The Power of Parity: Advancing Women’s Equality in India can be accessed here.
Related articles:
Policies to support women’s paid work by Gianna Claudia Giannelli
Female labor force participation in developing countries by Sher Verick
Find more IZA World of Labor articles on gender