A World Bank data study revealed a 23.4 per cent rise in India’s women labour participation growth. Bhutan follows, growing at a rate of 6.3 per cent, then Pakistan (4.7 per cent), Bangladesh (0.3 per cent), Nepal (1.1 per cent), and the Maldives (1.7 per cent). In contrast, there was a 5.9 per cent decrease in Sri Lanka.

In South Asia, the rate of labour force participation rose from 27.1 per cent in 2019 to 31.6 per cent in 2023. It is significantly lesser than the 54 per cent average in developing and emerging market economies.
According to the World Bank’s South Asia Development Update - Women, Jobs, and Growth, the female labour force participation rate in 2023 was 5–25 percentage points lower than other nations with comparable levels of development, with the exception of Bhutan.

On average after marriage, women's employment rates in South Asia often drop by 12 percentage points. According to the report, education is important since women in Bangladesh, India, and Nepal who have studied beyond secondary school, are lesser affected by the marriage penalty. Furthermore, in Bangladesh and India, a husband's higher education might alleviate the marriage penalty for women.

The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the region could rise by up to 51 per cent if female labour force participation rates were equal to males’. The analysis projects that eliminating the gender gap in employment will boost output in India by 23.42 per cent.
The percentage of women in the labour force has been increasing for the past six years, primarily due to the increased participation of rural women. It went from 23.3 per cent in 2017–18 to 37 per cent in 2022–2023 throughout this period.

There are around 56.5 crore workers in India, of which over 45 per cent work in agriculture, 11.4 per cent in manufacturing, 28.9 per cent in services, and 13 per cent in construction.
According to the Finance Ministry's Economic Survey 2023–24, indicators of the Indian labour market have improved, with the unemployment rate falling to 3.2 per cent in 2022–2023 alone. Furthermore, disparity in unpaid family labour employment between men and women in rural areas was 31.4 per cent compared to just 8.1 per cent in urban areas. Therefore, there is opportunity for female employment generation, especially in rural India, if appropriate strategies are taken.
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