SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Hyderabad: The latest Periodic Labour Force Survey conducted by the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) from January-December 2025 recorded very low female participation in Hyderabad’s workforce as compared to men.
While 75.8 per cent of the men were a part of the worker population ratio (WPR), the labour force participation rate (LFPR) stood at 34.6 per cent for women, meaning only one in three urban women.
LFPR refers to the proportion of people who are either working or actively seeking work. WPR only refers to those actually employed.
According to a Times of India report, experts say the gender discrepancy does not directly mean that women are unwilling to work, but could be attributed to various barriers faced by them.
Associate Professor at Centre for Economic and Social Studies (CESS), Venkatanarayana Motkuri explains that the low participation rate can be partly attributed to the ‘discouraged worker’ effect where qualified women stay out of the workforce due to a lack of suitable opportunities.
Factors like safety concerns, commuting challenges, lack of workplace support mechanisms, caregiving roles and family responsibilities might be holding women back, Motkuri told the newspaper.
The survey has placed Hyderabad at the 11th spot among state capital districts with respect to female LFPR. Kohima tops the list with 52.3 per cent female participation, followed by Shillong at 49.8 per cent and Thiruvananthapuram at 45.1 per cent.
Still, Hyderabad has fared better than several other major cities. Jaipur has recorded only 29.9 per cent female participation while Kolkata has recorded 24 per cent and Lucknow 20 per cent.
Higher male participation not indicator of suitable employment
While Hyderabad has recorded the highest urban male worker population ratio, it does not necessarily mean that they are getting jobs according to their qualifications or are working under suitable conditions.
Hyderabad has outperformed several other major cities including Kolkata (72.2 per cent), Bengaluru Urban (69.9 per cent), Dispur (69.1 per cent) and Chennai (67.5 per cent).
Hyderabad’s urban male WPR was also higher than Telangana’s at 71.7 per cent and the national average, which was recorded at 73 per cent.
However, Motkuri added that these figures do not reflect whether the employment is formal or informal, and whether the salaries are adequate. Qualified engineers could be working as gig workers and would still be counted as employed, he said.
Hyderabad’s diversified economy, along with a strong IT sector and industrial base, could be the reason behind the high WPR, Associate Professor at the School of Economics, University of Hyderabad, Krishna Reddy Chittedi, was quoted by TOI.
SOURCE : SIASAT
