Missing Women in Formal Economic Sector: A Case Study of Odisha

Abstract

The issue of \'missing women in the formal economy\' has become increasingly urgent in light of the pandemic\'s profound adverse effects on women\'s social and economic standing. During the lockdown period, the absence of alternative caregiving options resulted in women being disproportionately burdened with caregiving responsibilities. Estimates indicate that the pandemic has led to a 30 percent increase in women\'s unpaid labor. In this context, the state of Odisha merits attention, as it frequently encounters natural disasters and faces the risk of descending into extreme poverty and unemployment due to COVID-19. As a coastal state, Odisha boasts an effective literacy rate of 78.4% (74.2% in rural areas and 87.4% in urban areas), as reported in the latest PLFS Annual Report 2019-20 (statement -4). This achievement is commendable, attributable to the Odisha government\'s concerted efforts to eradicate illiteracy. Notably, despite favorable literacy rates in both rural and urban regions, the state exhibits a lag in female workforce participation, particularly within the formal sector. To effectively analyze this situation and identify the underlying causes of this paradox, a study was conducted to elucidate the historically low Female Labor Force Participation Rates (FLPRs) in Odisha, encompassing both rural and urban areas. For this purpose, secondary data from the National Sample Survey of 2019-20 and the Periodic Labour Force Survey report from July 2019 to June 2020 were utilized to ascertain the actual figures concerning FLPRs in Odisha. By analyzing the data, it was found that, under formal economic sector, only 16 % of women workforce are coming against a national average of 23.8% in Odisha. It is also worth mentioning that the female unemployment rate by 2019-20 was 37.4%, and the Worker Population Ratio was 35.7% for the age group of 15-59 years. The study also reveals that on the basis of regular wage distribution, only 7% of women in rural areas and 47.1% of women in urban areas are getting the salary on a 365 days basis and the rest are in the wings of the unorganized sector. This raises the question: What are educated women in Odisha doing, and how are they spending their time? To solve this unsolved question, this study attempts to find some possible solutions in a productive way.

Introduction

Odisha, a coastal state in eastern India, has a largely agriculture-based economy vulnerable to natural calamities like frequent cyclones. Despite rich natural resources and significant forest cover (33.2%), the state remains economically underdeveloped with lower per capita income compared to many other Indian states. Odisha’s overall literacy rate is 73.45% (2011 census), improving to 78.4% by 2019-20, with female literacy at 64.36%, higher than several other states. However, female labour force participation rates (FLPR) are low—39.5% in rural and 34% in urban areas—though the total FLPR is slightly above the national average.

The study focuses on analyzing women’s labour participation trends, literacy rates, and economic engagement in Odisha, particularly in the formal sector. Using secondary data from sources like Census, NSS, and PLFS reports (2010-2021), the research explores the link between literacy and income opportunities for women and identifies factors affecting their employment.

Key findings include:

• Female literacy rates vary widely within the state, from 31.3% in Koraput to 80.4% in Jagatsinghapur.

• Only 6% of women have undergraduate or postgraduate degrees, below the national average of 10.2%.

• Female workers form 32.1% of urban and 39.5% of rural workforces.

• Female unemployment is higher in urban areas (8.3%) compared to rural (3.8%).

• The dependency ratio in Odisha is 47.4%, slightly above the national average, indicating economic pressure on the working population.

The study aims to propose solutions to improve women’s participation in formal employment and enhance their economic status in Odisha.

Conclusion

India being a large and diverse country, it is important to study in detail the different regional economies. The levels of economic development and the structures of state economies in India vary widely as also their historical experiences. In view of this, state specific studies assume prime significance. Odisha continues to be a “development challenged” region and the severity of development constraints is huge and has persisted since long. The state features on the bottom, in terms of many standard economic and social development indicators. It forms an area with low per capita income and huge deficit of human capital, employment and livelihood avenues. This region not only continues to grapple with the problem of limited employment opportunities, a set of other crucial issues such as rise in earning inequality, low paid jobs, increasing out migration, youth unemployment (& youth idleness), and huge skill deficit to improve employability remain largely unaddressed and unexplored. Keeping this in mind, this study mainly deals with workforce participation of females in organized sector of economy in Odisha because women are most vulnerable in economic arena in Odisha. After analyzing the data from so many perspective related to status of women in formal sector of economy it was found that still women are facing lots of hindrances to get into formal economic sector despite of good literacy rate which means literacy rate do not ensure employment in formal sector by directly indicating to skilled labour force are lacked in the region. To tackle this issue special focus is called for employment intensive sectors such as tourism, handicraft, education, skill training and also on expansion of economic activities to boost employment opportunities in the state. In this direction, there is also an urgent need to compile data on every walks of life in the state on literacy and sill training aspect of female mass by preparing a directory of economic activities, it will be easy to identify employment potential activities in the state and sector-specific policies could to be formulated on this regard. Further to put Odisha’s women on the path of economic development on an accelerated and inclusive growth way there is a need of balanced blend of investment, infrastructure and commercial policies as a whole.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Miss. Rutusmita Mishra, Mr. Amiya Ranjan Jagadev. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.