The Worker Population Ratio (WPR) for men in Delhi was 54.5 per cent in 2021-22, says the ‘Women & Men in Delhi – 2023’ report. Why is that figure worrisome? Well, that means very few women are pariticipating in the economy as compared to men. The WPR for women was only 8.8 per cent in 2021-22.
The data was derived from the key gender statistics obtained from the administrative records of state and Central government departments, reports of various surveys/Census and so on.
At the all India level, the WPR for men was 54.8 per cent and for women it was 24 per cent.
The labour force participation rate or LFPR figures weren’t any better. For men, the LFPR stood at 57.5 per cent, while for women it stood at 9.4 per cent in 2021-22. At the national level, 57.3 per cent was the LFPR for the male population and 24.8 per cent for the female population.
According to the broad employment status in Delhi, in 2021-22, 33.1 per cent men were self-employed, while 63.3 per cent men earned regular wage or had salaried jobs. About 3.5 per cent were casual labourers. When it came to women, out of the total number of women in the workforce, only 17 per cent were self-employed, 83 per cent were in the regular wage/salaried category, while none were casual labourers.
As per the distribution of workers in usual status [principal status (ps)+ subsidiary status (ss)] by broad industry division, of the total women in the workforce, 59.74 per cent were engaged in ‘other services’, while 14.73 per cent were engaged in ‘trade, hotel & restaurant’ and 14.19 per cent in ‘manufacturing’ in 2021-22.
Out of total male workers, a good 29.77 per cent were engaged in ‘trade, hotel & restaurant’ in 2021-22 followed by 24.02 per cent in ‘manufacturing’ and 22.87 per cent in ‘other services’ in Delhi.
The unemployment rate or UR was 5.1 per cent for the men in Delhi and six per cent for the women, in 2021-22. At the national level, it was 4.4 per cent for the men and 3.3 per cent for the women!
Interestingly, according to the data from the Bureau of Police Research and Development, as on 1 January, 2021, of the total 90,523 police personnel in Delhi, women accounted for only 10,720!