Change in industrial composition of female work participation rates in Himachal Pradesh during 2001 to 2011 a spatial view

Abstract

Female workers play important role in the economic activities and their contribution in the national GDP indicate their extent of being mainstreamed in the economy. The Female Work Participation Rate (FWPR) is determined by the the hierarchy or structure of economy, the level of education attainment, economic and socio-cultural factors. The present study has looked into the district wise work participation rates of female workers in Himachal Pradesh and distribution of female workers in various economic activities according to Industrial composition. The study takes district wise secondary data from Census of India for the period 2001-2011. The study shows that FWPR was highest (44.8 per cent) among the Indian States and UTs in 2011. The high level of FWPR is attributed to large number of small and marginal fragmented lands helping in the increasing share of females in agricultural activities. The district level composition reveals the high FWPR in Kinnaur (59.17 per cent) and Lahul and Spiti (56.97 per cent) in 2011. The highest increase in FWPR was seen in Mandi (6.66 per cent) and highest decline was experienced in Una (-8.41 per cent) during 2001-2011. The sectoral composition shows the decline in FWPR in primary sector from 89.96 per cent to 82.81 per cent during the period. The FPWR in secondary and service sectors have shown increase of 53.8 per cent and 78.6 per cent respectively. The industrial composition of FWPR shows the highest proportion of cultivators during the period 2001-2011. The female cultivators have declined from 85.81 per cent to 76.24 per. On the other hand, other workers have experienced considerable increase from 9.82 per cent to 17.59 per cent. The analysis shows that marginal workers formed the majority of female workforce in the state. The engagement of FWPR in service sector is attributed to the increasing level of female education and skill with less gender discrimination allowing them to become active agent in the process of socio-economic change in the state. newline