Why India’s Plans For $30 Trillion Economy Should be Founded on Equality at Home

Figuring as one of the top-most priorities for India in 2025 would be its quest to boost India’s female labor force participation from its current 35-40% to an ambitious 70% by 2047, the year in which the country is expected (or rather hoped) to become a $30 Trillion economy. India faces a critical challenge on this question, as nearly two-thirds of its working-age women remain outside the formal economy. This aspect not only underscores our enormous untapped economic potential but also, unfortunately, highlights deep structural inequities at play. 

The stark urban-rural divide is particularly disconcerting, since the female labor force participation rate (FLFPR) is only 23.8% in urban areas. One would imagine that this figure would be higher as urban areas would theoretically have more economic opportunities. However, a closer look at issues related to this phenomenon, shows the deep-rooted obstacles and multiple barriers that women in cities face, including in terms of safety concerns in commuting and at workplaces, lack of flexible work arrangements to balance family responsibilities, limited access to quality childcare services, workplace discrimination and harassment apart from gender wage gaps and biased hiring practices. 

A recent study showed that 42% of women in corporate jobs face workplace bias, with over a third experiencing insensitive behavior. A hostile work environment can easily drive talented women out of the workforce entirely. When more than 4 in 10 women professionals face bias, it sends a powerful negative message to young women contemplating their career choices. Another report shows that 75% of mothers experience career delays post-maternity, with 40% seeing direct negative impact on both pay and roles, forcing many women to make an impossible choice between motherhood and career advancement.

 The discrimination intensifies as women climb the corporate ladder. The fact that women in leadership roles are twice as likely (34%) to face discrimination compared to entry-level positions (17%) exposes a bitter truth: success doesn’t shield women from bias – it often amplifies it. This creates a self-perpetuating cycle where younger women see their potential mentors and role models being undermined, discouraging them from pursuing leadership ambitions.

Underlying all of this is the persistent burden of cultural expectations. Women are still primarily viewed as caregivers first and professionals second. This leads to women performing disproportionate amounts of unpaid domestic work while simultaneously trying to build careers – essentially working two full-time jobs while being compensated for neither adequately. 

The combined effect is a workforce system that seems designed to push women out at every stage – from entry-level hiring to senior leadership. Without addressing these deeply embedded biases through strict anti-discrimination policies, mandatory diversity training, transparent pay structures, and a fundamental shift in cultural attitudes, India risks losing the enormous economic and social benefits that come from full and equal participation of women in the workforce.

 This is not just about fairness – it’s about the country’s economic future and social progress. Even as recent data shows some improvement in participation rates, significant work remains to be done to achieve gender parity in the workforce. Addressing these multifaceted issues will require targeted policies and societal changes to create an environment where women can thrive economically.

While policymakers and organizations have proposed various interventions ranging from skill development to entrepreneurship support. A key fundamental aspect often overlooked is what Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin terms “couple equity” – the equal sharing of domestic responsibilities between partners. This concept could potentially be the catalyst India needs to transform its workforce gender dynamics.

Goldin’s groundbreaking research, spanning 200 years of United States labor market history, reveals a sobering truth: despite modernization, economic growth, and increased female employment, the gender earnings gap has persisted throughout the 20th century. Her meticulous examination of archives demonstrated that technological advances and economic development alone don’t guarantee gender equality in the workplace.

This historical perspective offers crucial lessons for India, suggesting that its current economic transformation must be accompanied by fundamental social changes to achieve true workforce equity. The persistence of the earnings gap across two centuries in a developed economy like the United States serves as a warning sign for India. It indicates that by merely focusing on economic growth, education, or workplace policies – while crucial – may not be sufficient to close the gender gap. The underlying dynamics of household responsibility distribution must be addressed concurrently. 

The stark disparity in India’s workforce participation – 25% for women versus 82% for men – is not merely a reflection of external barriers, rather it finds its roots entrenched in the uneven distribution of household responsibilities. When women shoulder the primary burden of domestic work and childcare, their ability to pursue career opportunities becomes severely constrained, regardless of their qualifications or aspirations. While creating support infrastructure like crèches and daycare facilities is important, we need to acknowledge that such solutions alone cannot address the fundamental gendered imbalance. 

The real transformation needs to happen within Indian households, where traditional gender roles continue to dictate the division of responsibilities. The concept of “couple equity “ challenges these established norms by proposing a more balanced approach to managing both professional and domestic spheres.

Goldin’s concept of “greedy jobs” – positions that demand long hours in exchange for higher compensation – is particularly relevant in the Indian context. These roles often force individuals, especially women, to choose between family responsibilities and career advancement. In a society where women are expected to prioritize domestic duties, such jobs become practically inaccessible to them, regardless of their qualifications. 

With India aiming for a $30 trillion economy by 2047, bringing 145 million more women into the workforce is crucial. Couple equity could be the key to unlocking this potential by enabling women to pursue full-time careers without the guilt or burden of neglecting domestic responsibilities. It could create more balanced households where both partners can pursue career growth thereby breaking the cycle of gender-based role assignments that limit women’s professional choices. 

However, achieving couple equity requires coordinated efforts across multiple fronts. At the organizational level, it will mean implementing flexible work policies that accommodate both parents, creating workplace cultures that normalize men taking parental leave and designing career progression paths that don’t penalize family responsibilities. 

At the policy level this will mean ensuring introduction of mandatory paternity leave policies, development of incentives for companies and organizations that promote couple equity in diverse ways and creating support systems that enable both partners to maintain work-life balance. At the societal level this will mean expanding affordable childcare options, developing community support networks and promoting shared domestic responsibility through education and awareness. At the individual level it will mean challenging traditional gender role narratives, celebrating role model couples who successfully practice equity in all spaces and encouraging open dialogue about domestic work distribution. 

There are significant costs attached towards implementing equity initiatives at the workplace connected with extended paternity leaves (coverage for temporary replacements during parental leave), administrative costs for managing flexible work arrangements, training programs for managers on managing remote/flexible teams and other infrastructure costs such as setting up on-site childcare facilities, nursing rooms and parent-friendly facilities, redesigning office spaces to accommodate flexible working and costs attached to continuous training and development initiatives like gender sensitivity training programs, career development programs accounting for shared parental responsibilities and mentorship programs supporting working parents.

As India strives to close its significant gender gap in economic participation (ranked 142nd out of 146 countries), couple equity could potentially address not just the symptoms but the root cause of low female workforce participation. Of course, the transformation will not be seen immediately, it needs sustained effort since we will need to alter deeply ingrained social norms and behaviors.

The journey toward couple equity is not just about economic metrics – it’s about creating a more equitable society where both partners can pursue their aspirations without sacrificing family life. As India moves toward its economic goals for 2047, couple equity could be the transformative force that helps achieve not just greater workforce participation, but true gender equality.