The States' Narrative on Women's Work in India

For India to be a developed country by 2047, narrowing the gender gap in labour markets is indispensable. While global evidence points to the fact that narrowing the gender gaps in labour markets has economic benefits, the disaggregated level at the sub-national level and the sectoral level is unclear. For a country like India that has almost 45 percent of the population working in agriculture, but 55 percent of the GDP emanating from the services industry, it is crucial to examine how narrowing the gender gap across the sectoral and state level could boost India’s growth. This policy brief provides an overall narrative on the prevailing gender gaps at the state and sectoral level in India over the last five years, and prescribes the way forward for India by analysing how narrowing the gender gap at the sectoral and state level can be a catalytic force in boosting India’s economic growth.