Big cities offer better jobs, but most women still left out

The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) estimates from the National Statistics Office reveal a mixed picture for women in India's largest cities. While employed women in these cities are more likely to hold regular salaried jobs, the overall female labour force participation rate remains low, indicating that many women are still excluded from the workforce.

In 46 cities with a population of one million or more, 65.1 per cent of employed women are in regular salaried work, compared with 50.9 per cent in urban India overall. This suggests that big cities offer higher-quality jobs. However, female labour force participation in these cities is only 25.5 per cent, lower than the urban average of 27.7 per cent. This means that despite better job opportunities, a smaller proportion of women are working or looking for work.

Several factors explain this paradox. Women often face constraints such as safety concerns, household responsibilities, and lack of affordable childcare and reliable transport. These issues are more acute in large cities, where commuting distances are longer and public transport may be inadequate. Research shows that women prefer jobs closer to home and are willing to accept lower wages to avoid long commutes.

The data also highlight a persistent gender earnings gap. On average, women earn 22.7 per cent less than men. Part of this gap is due to women working fewer hours—about 12.6 per cent fewer per week than men in salaried work. In big cities, the hour gap is slightly larger at 14 per cent. However, even after accounting for hours, age, education, and occupation, a significant unexplained gap remains, pointing to possible gender discrimination.

Unemployment rates are also higher for women. In the 46 big cities, female unemployment (ages 15-59) stands at 9.81 per cent, compared to 6.49 per cent for men. The gender gap in unemployment is larger in these cities than in urban India overall, where female unemployment is 9.07 per cent and male is 6.36 per cent.

The findings suggest that while India's largest cities create better jobs, they have not yet become inclusive for women. Policies aimed at improving female labour force participation need to address not just job quality but also the structural barriers that keep women out of the workforce.