India needs a gender strategy

Globally, the average labor force participation rate is 50 percent for women and 80 percent for men. In India, the corresponding ratio is similar for men, but noticeably lower for women, at less than 30 percent.

Claudia Goldin recently won the Nobel Prize in Economics for explaining several facets of deep-seated gender gaps in employment. Her research shows that more women enter the labor market if a number of conditions are met: there are suitable jobs (for example in the service sector); are women