{"id":71898,"date":"2026-04-20T17:57:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:27:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=71898"},"modified":"2026-04-20T18:00:35","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T12:30:35","slug":"women-leadership-gap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-04-2026\/women-leadership-gap","title":{"rendered":"Leadership Gap Amid Rising Female Labour Force Participation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Society, GS3\/ Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Women\u2019s participation in India\u2019s economy has improved in recent years, but their representation in leadership roles remains severely limited.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Status of Female Labour Force Participation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s <strong>Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)<\/strong> increased from<strong> 33.9% in 2022<\/strong> to about <strong>40% in 2025<\/strong>, indicating gradual improvement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>However, this <strong>level remains below the global average of 49% <\/strong>and significantly behind emerging economies such as <strong>Brazil (53%) and Vietnam (69%).<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The World Bank has highlighted that<strong> sustaining nearly 8%<\/strong> annual growth is essential for India to become a <strong>developed economy by 2047, <\/strong>which is unlikely without higher female workforce participation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"efeff0\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"538\" height=\"470\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-111.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-71901\" style=\"--dominant-color: #efeff0; aspect-ratio:1.1447296559257236;width:366px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-111.png 538w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-111-300x262.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 538px) 100vw, 538px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Economic Significance of Women\u2019s Participation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Higher participation of women in the workforce leads to <strong>greater labour supply,<\/strong> <strong>improved productivity, and inclusive growth.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Women\u2019s employment contributes to <strong>better household welfare, improved child nutrition, and enhanced educational outcomes.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Empirical evidence suggests that constituencies represented by women legislators have experienced <strong>higher economic growth by nearly 1.8 percentage points annually,<\/strong> indicating the broader developmental impact of gender inclusion.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Underrepresentation in Leadership Positions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Academia: <\/strong>At the national level, women in professor and equivalent positions have increased from 25.9% in 2011-12 to 29.5% in 2021-22, reflecting slow structural change.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>In premier higher educational institutions female faculty constitute only about <strong>14% in Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)<\/strong> and <strong>19% to 31% in Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Corporate Sector: <\/strong>The share of <strong>female-owned proprietary establishments<\/strong> stands at only <strong>27%,<\/strong> indicating limited entrepreneurial control.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>According to labour force data, for every <strong>100 men in senior roles, there are only 13 women<\/strong>, highlighting a sharp leadership gap.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Women account for only<strong> 7% of board chairpersons in BSE 200<\/strong> companies and <strong>5% in NSE 500 companies<\/strong>, indicating limited influence in strategic decision-making.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Issue of tokenism: <\/strong>The<strong> mandate of appointing at least one woman director<\/strong> on company boards often results in minimal compliance by firms, leading to <strong>tokenistic inclusion rather than substantive participation.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Women remain too few to influence decisions meaningfully, as effective participation requires a critical mass of around <strong>30% representation.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The presence of a <strong>glass ceiling <\/strong>limits women\u2019s upward mobility, as invisible institutional and social barriers prevent them from reaching top leadership positions <strong>despite adequate qualifications and experience.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"e2c0bf\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"540\" height=\"480\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-110.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-71900\" style=\"--dominant-color: #e2c0bf; width:442px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-110.png 540w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-110-300x267.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 540px) 100vw, 540px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Steps Taken by Government<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam (2023): <\/strong>Ensures 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assemblies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Grassroots Representation: <\/strong>Over 20 states have implemented 50% reservation in Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), with nearly 14.5 lakh elected women representatives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financing Women-Led Businesses: <\/strong>Schemes like <strong>Stand-Up India and Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana<\/strong> (where <strong>69%<\/strong> of beneficiaries are women) promote female entrepreneurs.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Mentorship:<\/strong> The <strong>Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP)<\/strong> by NITI Aayog supports networking and mentorship.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Gender budgeting<\/strong> has expanded significantly, increasing to <strong>\u20b94.49 lakh crore in 2025-26<\/strong>, reflecting a <strong>shift towards women-led development<\/strong>, with greater focus on employment, employability, entrepreneurship, and welfare.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Key Challenges<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Structural barriers such as <strong>gender bias in hiring and promotions<\/strong> continue to persist.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Women are <strong>disproportionately concentrated in informal, low-paying, and insecure jobs.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate childcare infrastructure,<\/strong> safety concerns, and mobility constraints limit workforce participation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Weak enforcement of diversity norms and <strong>delayed political reforms <\/strong>further constrain progress.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government should <strong>focus on job creation in labour-intensive sectors <\/strong>such as textiles, electronics, and food processing to absorb the growing female workforce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There is a need to <strong>strengthen childcare infrastructure, maternity support, and flexible work arrangements<\/strong> to enable sustained female workforce participation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ensuring <strong>equal pay, safe working conditions, and prevention of workplace harassment<\/strong> is essential to improve retention and progression of women.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/business\/women-participation-in-economy-rising-but-presence-at-top-dismal-10645640\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>IE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Women\u2019s participation in India\u2019s economy has improved in recent years, but their representation in leadership roles remains severely limited. <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> Status of Female Labour Force Participation <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India\u2019s Female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased from 33.9% in 2022 to about 40% in 2025, indicating gradual improvement. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> However, this level remains below the global average of 49% and significantly behind emerging economies such as Brazil (53%) and Vietnam (69%). <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> The World Bank has highlighted that sustaining nearly 8% annual growth is essential for India to become a developed economy by 2047, which is unlikely without higher female workforce participation. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/20-04-2026\/women-leadership-gap \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-71898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71898"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71905,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71898\/revisions\/71905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}