Fewer women join better paying formal jobs in FY24, gig works see record rush

Low paying jobs record higehst growth for women

The ratio of women joining better-paying formal jobs hit a three-year low in FY24, even as their participation in low-paying jobs scaled a seven-year high, according to a Moneycontrol analysis.

The proportion of women enrolled in the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF) scheme declined to 19.6 percent in FY24 from 20.7 percent a year back and 21.4 percent in FY22. The ratio had dipped to 18.1 percent during the pandemic.

New enrollments under the less remunerative Employees' State Insurance Corporation, on the other hand, surged 21 percent as against a 19.6 percent rise a year ago.

ESIC caters to lower-paying jobs and applies to establishments with more than 10 workers.

Experts indicate that a higher proportion of women exiting the workforce and a shift of men to gig work could be reasons for this change.

“One reason could be that women who left the workforce owing to pandemic-related disruptions are either staying out of formal workforce or rejoining at lower remuneration,” said Satyaki Roy, associate professor at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development.

“The opportunities for men in informal jobs, which at times tend to pay higher than certain low-paying formal jobs, may also be causing this shift,” he said.

The number of new female enrollments to ESIC rose to 3.5 million in FY24 from 3.3 million in the previous year, whereas male enrolment declined to 13.2 million from 13.5 million.

More exits from EPF

While the share of women in new enrollments to the schemes has remained unchanged, their share in exits has increased.

In FY24, women accounted for over a fifth of the total exits from the scheme. Moreover, not many ended up rejoining.

While the number of men who exited and rejoined the scheme rose 9.5 percent in FY24, the increase was just 6.9 percent for women.

The share of women rejoining the scheme was lowest at 16.8 percent in three years.