UNDP India Chief Angela Lusigi has emphasized that reducing women's unpaid care burden through affordable childcare is critical to boosting workforce participation and improving access to skilling programmes. Speaking in an in-person interview with Business Standard, Lusigi revealed that a UNDP study examining why women remain outside the labour force found unpaid care work to be one of the most frequently cited barriers. She noted that women do up to six times more work than men in care work, stating that "if you lift that burden, then that will be an opportunity to have more women coming into the workforce and staying in the workforce." According to Economy & Policy News, Lusigi explained that "I remember there's a study that says that women do up to six times more work than men in care work. So if you lift that burden, then that will be an opportunity to have more women coming into the workforce and staying in the workforce."
Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) Chairman S Mahendra Dev stated that demand-side constraints have become the more important barrier to raising women's labour force participation in India, rather than traditional supply-side factors such as social norms. Speaking at a seminar organised by the Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP), Dev emphasized that weak labour demand has emerged as a major constraint, citing high unemployment among educated women and inadequate job creation in labour-intensive sectors. According to reports from Business Standard, he noted that the high unemployment of educated women - about 40 per cent or so - also shows the demand factor at play. As reported by Economy & Policy News, Dev explained that "I feel that the demand factor is more important, and if suitable jobs are available, women will join the workforce... Also the high unemployment of educated women - about 40 per cent or so - that also shows the demand factor."
Dev highlighted the substantial contribution of women's unpaid work to India's economy, stating that time-use surveys show women work more than men when unpaid work is taken into account. As reported by Business Standard, he revealed that some estimates suggest the value of women's unpaid work amounts to nearly 10 per cent of India's gross domestic product (GDP) if monetised. According to Economy & Policy News, he emphasized that "Time-use surveys say that women work more than men, particularly if you take unpaid work. In fact, some estimates show that if you monetise unpaid work of women, it comes to around 10 per cent of GDP, which is quite high." This figure underscores the significant economic role women play in unpaid domestic and care work, even as they remain underrepresented in formal employment.
According to recent data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) cited by Dev, the women's labour force participation rate stands at around 40 per cent under the usual status measure for those aged 15 years and above. However, as reported by Business Standard, he noted that much of the recent increase has been driven by subsistence work in agriculture, self-employment and unpaid work. The PLFS data also reveals that around 45 per cent of women cited childcare, homemaking and other personal commitments as reasons for remaining outside the labour force, with this figure rising to around 53 per cent in urban areas. As reported by Economy & Policy News, Dev noted that "In urban areas, where women's labour force participation is lower, the share was around 53 per cent, underscoring the importance of strengthening the care economy alongside expanding employment opportunities."
UNDP is working with governments and partners to develop innovative models for providing quality, affordable and accessible childcare, particularly for poorer communities in urban areas. According to Economy & Policy News, Lusigi explained that cluster-based childcare facilities could allow multiple micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to collectively provide care services that would otherwise be beyond the reach of individual firms. Such models could free up women's time and help employers retain trained workers, while also creating formal employment in the care economy by generating demand for trained childcare professionals. Lusigi called for skilling programmes to be more closely linked to employment opportunities, arguing that training should equip young people for jobs that are actually available rather than operate in isolation from the labour market. She emphasized that "In general, in India's development journey, so much is being done to ensure that the last mile is reached, but now we need to build that into the whole skilling ecosystem."
Dev's comments and Lusigi's UNDP recommendations come at a time when women's labour force participation has become one of the most debated issues in India's economic policy and academic circles. As reported by Business Standard, economists argue that raising the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) is critical not only for making growth more inclusive but also for sustaining India's long-term economic expansion. With fertility rates declining and the country's demographic dividend expected to narrow over the coming decades, policymakers and researchers have warned that India risks "growing old before it grows rich" unless a larger share of women enters productive employment. The combined emphasis from both EAC-PM and UNDP suggests that addressing employment creation, job quality, and structural barriers like unpaid care responsibilities may be more effective in increasing women's participation than focusing solely on cultural factors.
