A recent World Bank report highlights persistent gender disparities in employment across South Asia, with women experiencing a significant drop in labor force participation after marriage, often referred to as the “marriage penalty.” It is called.
In India, women’s employment rates decline by 12 percentage points after marriage, to about one-third of their pre-marital employment levels even in the absence of children. On the other hand, men gain a 13 percentage point employment premium when they get married, but this advantage gradually disappears after five years.
“In India and the Maldives, the penalty for marriage among childless women lasts up to five years after the wedding,” the report said, attributing this trend to deep-rooted social norms. In addition to the marriage penalty, women also face a “child penalty,” as caregiving responsibilities often force them out of the workforce.
The report highlights that the labor force participation rate for women in South Asia will be just 32% in 2023, far below the 77% rate for men. Most countries in the region, with the exception of Bhutan, are in the bottom quartile of the World Bank’s global sample of female labor force participation rates.
The role of education in narrowing the gender gap
This study highlights that higher education for both men and women can reduce the marriage penalty. “Women with post-secondary education or who marry men with similar educational backgrounds are less likely to face marriage penalties,” the report said.
The South Asia Development Update, which focuses on ‘Women, Jobs and Growth’, shows the progress the region has made over the past three decades. However, two-thirds of working-age women are still not in the labor force. The report highlights that raising women’s labor force participation to men’s levels could boost regional GDP and per capita income in South Asia by 13 to 51 percent. It could rise by up to 51%,” said Franziska Onsorge, the World Bank’s chief economist for South Asia. She described South Asia, and India in particular, as a “bright spot” in the global economy, but stressed that the potential could be even greater if more women entered the workforce. Poonam Gupta, Executive Director, National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), echoed similar sentiments. “We will target the systemic and social causes of gender disparities in employment, while also making it easier, safer, better paid and professionally rewarding for women to participate in the workforce. We need to make it possible,” she told TOI.
The report calls for a concerted effort to close the gender employment gap in South Asia, and finds that both policy reform and social change are needed to unlock the region’s full economic potential. Emphasized.
