A study shows that women in India are much more likely to seek formal work if their mother-in-law has a job.
In urban households where the mother-in-law works, daughters-in-law are 70% more likely to work, and 50% more likely to work in rural areas, according to Azim Premji University’s State of Working India 2023 report. this week.
Mothers-in-law are often feared or revered by younger Indian women, who traditionally move in with the groom after marriage. Gender norms, reinforced by a strong intergenerational effect, play a crucial role in the lives of Indian women, who could make up half of the workforce.
The report also shows that the pandemic has pushed more women into self-employment. Before Covid, 50% of women were self-employed. That has risen to 60%, resulting in a decline in real profits.
Women’s labor force participation in India is rising, “but not for the right reasons,” wrote the authors, led by Associate Professor Amit Basole. “Even two years after the 2020 lockdown, self-employment income was only 85% of what it was in the April-June 2019 quarter,” the report said.
Indian women have suffered disproportionately in terms of job losses and wages during the pandemic.