Female Workforce Participation and Vulnerability in Employment: Evidence from Rural Jharkhand

The aim of this paper is to examine the level of female workforce participation and quality of employment in rural Jharkhand based on primary survey conducted in 1300 households spread across 7 districts. The study has used mixed method approach to understand the work status and barriers faced by women in accessing quality of employment. Our main findings are that rather than geographic factors, female labour force participation varies more with social norms, which usually work in tandem with economic position of a household as reflected in land and asset holdings. In addition, the cultural norms that assign most of the household responsibilities and unpaid work to women prevent them from accessing paid work opportunities. We also find that there exists gender wage gap both in casual wage and in regular salaried job with women workers at a disadvantage. There is a need to design the skilling and employment opportunities for them which will be suitable for the women to balance both paid and domestic work and to close the gender gap in wages and salaries.