Gender Gap in the Labour Market of India’s North‑East: 2011–2012 to 2019–2020

Mridusmita Bordoloi , Rajshree Bedamatta
(2022)

There is a broad agreement that India’s North-Eastern Region (NER) is relatively better off in gender-based development parameters. That being so, one should expect advantageous labour market outcomes as far as the female workforce is concerned.

Using unit-level data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) 2011–2012, and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2019–2020, this paper assesses gender equality in the region by focusing on labour market participation, a crucial aspect of women’s empowerment. The above holds importance in the backdrop of reduced female labour force participation rates in India experienced in the last decade, as well as the overall complexities of NER’s labour market.

The paper’s findings highlight a pronounced and widening gender gap in the labour market indicators of NER compared to the rest of India. The female unemployment rate is much higher in the region than in the rest of India, indicating both supply-side constraints and the inability to create suitable jobs. There is also a wide variation across the eight north-eastern states concerning their performance in key labour market indicators, indicating the need to adopt state-specific policies.

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