Over the course of the past three decades, female labor force participation has progressed in many places, but remains behind the rates for male participation in the labor market. Female participation still lags far behind the global average in India, where the government recently removed some archaic labor laws banning women from night shifts, longer hours or certain factory roles. The issues holding women on the subcontinent back from employment reach far beyond laws, however, and include discriminatory employment practices, traditional division of labor and gender roles. Indian female labor force participation dipped in the 2000s and 2010s as more women in the country could afford to stay home, showcasing how recently Indian attitudes on equal employment opportunities have changed.
In the U.S., the growth of female labor force participation stalled, while South Korea is still lagging behind peers despite past gains. The labor force participation rate of U.S. women between the ages of 15 and 64 fell between 2001 and 2015 and only recently surpassed levels from the start of the Millennium again, according to the OECD.
By comparison, many other industrialized countries experienced significant increases in the female participation rate over the years, for example France, Germany or the UK, which achieved female labor participation rates between 73 and 77 percent most recently.
Some economists believe that the fractured state of parental leave in the United States is one of the factors contributing to the plateau in women’s labor force participation during their prime working years. Another reason for the low labor force participation could be related to the ripple effects of the Great Recession. Many workers did not reenter the labor force after the 2008 financial crisis because of stalled wages.
The labor force participation rate measures what portion of a population is currently employed or looking for work. It therefore includes the unemployed, but not those which are not searching for a job.
