The Marriage Penalty: Understanding India's Low Female Labour Force Participation?

One of my favourite pastimes during taxi rides in Mumbai is striking up a conversation with the driver – you never know the pearls of wisdom you may come across. During a fateful ride, as I curiously interrogated Raj’s (name changed) origins, the topic of his daughter came up. Upon hearing that she got married after schooling and has been a housewife ever since, I could not help but ask “What did she dream of becoming?” Raj bluntly replied, “Why should she dream when she knew she would get married.”  

While jarring, this perspective reflects the prevailing social norms. But does the data confirm Raj’s views? Does marriage extoll a penalty? According to ILO estimates, India’s female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) - women working, available and looking for work - only increased from 30% in 1990 to 31% in 2023. To contextualise this figure, the average FLFPR hovers close to 50% worldwide, placing India well behind. What can explain women's persistent but puzzling labour force participation in India?

It is well established globally that men participate more in the labour force as women disproportionately shoulder caregiving responsibilities. In India, the gap is stark. Why is that? New research by the World Bank suggests that married women in India reduce their labour force participation after marriage by 12.1%, before even factoring in childbearing. By comparing married women with and without children, researchers find marriage itself to be a key barrier to women’s economic participation. The penalty also lasts 5 years after marriage, illustrating its long-term nature.

Source: Bussolo et al. (2024). Note: Employment rate of 0 indicates the average FLFPR.

Sticky Social Norms: The Core Driver

It would not be an economist’s blog without using demand and supply to dissect a complicated problem. On the supply side aka the number of married women entering the labour force, entrenched social norms loom large. Women often exit the workforce after marriage to conform to the expectations of a ‘good woman’ focused on domestic work and childcare. The cultural expectations after marriage often prioritize the household over individual aspirations. Those who remain in the labour force are less able to latch onto new opportunities, and promotions with higher salaries due to the unequal care burdens, often exiting the labour force permanently.

While historically it has been challenging to capture the effects of social norms on FLFPR, an online experiment from an Indian matchmaking website provides insights. The experiment highlights that profiles of

women who have never worked receive 15-22% more interest in the marriage market compared to women who want to keep working …. predominant in the higher castes, potentially given associations with more conservative gender beliefs.

Marriage can also act as a penalty long before women get married. Aviral Pandey demonstrates that in Bihar, it can be expected to not allow young women to work pre-marriage, fearing it might hurt their prospects in the marriage market. Additionally, marriage can act as a deterrent to educational attainment as returns to education are perceived to be low, further affecting their opportunities in the labour market. In a country where marriage is near universal, these findings highlight how the institution of marriage may deter women from joining the labour force and/or continuing to work after marriage.

Institutional barriers further compound the problem. Frustrations such as the persistent wage gap, discriminatory workplace policies, and archaic labour regulations prevent women from entering high-paying jobs. For instance, several states including Karnataka, bar women from working in the abrasive blasting industry due to its unsafe nature, even though women in states such as Maharashtra, successfully perform the same roles. These laws indicate no scientific justification and push women into lower-paying roles, encouraging them to drop out of the workforce.

Research by the Economic Advisory Council of the Government of India also finds that with expected interstate variations,

Marriage lowers LFPR of women significantly – but the decline is much higher in urban areas compared to rural areas.

The disparity is mainly driven by urban workplaces failing to offer the same flexibility that rural areas, particularly agricultural jobs (sometimes unpaid) provide. While they might be accessible employment options, the low pay and lack of career growth raise the question of whether the recent rise in FLFPR reflects economic distress rather than changing norms.

Socio-economic Impact of the Marriage Penalty

The marriage penalty has significant socio-economic implications. Firstly and most importantly, more (married) women working raises (individual) household income, and tax revenues and reduces poverty, and burden on public coffers. Another World Bank study suggests that if FLFPR in South Asia matched male rates, the region's GDP could grow by 13-51%. Specifically, India's aspiration of achieving a $30 trillion GDP and attaining developed-nation status by 2047 hinges on FLFPR reaching 70% by 2047. An additional 145 million women are required to be added to the workforce to make the dream a reality. Addressing the marriage penalty could be the critical first step.

Besides economic growth, increasing FLFPR is about enhancing the well-being of women through greater agency. Being involved in economic activity, even under challenging conditions, builds confidence, social capital and an opportunity to escape the grip of the household and in some instances, domestic violence. There is also sufficient evidence to suggest that contributing to household income can shift intergenerational attitudes, creating a major ripple effect.

Rethinking Policy Solutions

The point of this analysis was not to vilify marriage but rather to understand the barriers it creates, so we can craft effective solutions. Increasing the opportunity costs or stakes for non-participation in the labour force should be key. For example, the online experiment on spousal preferences revealed that women earning high incomes before marriage weakened the preference for a housewife. While closing the gender pay gap would help to mitigate the penalty, this scenario presents a double-edged sword. Research suggests that if the

wife’s share of income in the family exceeds that of her husband’s, she is less likely to work and more likely to earn less than her potential if she does work.

Unfortunately, the largest obstacles that keep married women out of the labour force are found in the household and not the workplace. Hence, policies must directly increase the costs of unfavourable social mores. These policies can look like campaigns targeting awareness towards men, boys, and families, subsidising elder and child care, and offering flexible hours to men and women, among other measures, to reshape gender attitudes. Countries like Sweden following such supportive policies suggest that barriers can be overcome.

Along with cultural shifts addressing broader supply-side barriers is equally vital. Fieldwork suggests that married women want to work but closer to home. Fostering local job opportunities, providing reliable transport options and handling safety concerns can make a difference, especially in rural areas. Increasing access to education, particularly higher education, along with providing information on booming sectors and driving programs that enhance socio-emotional skill training such as problem-solving, negotiation etc can increase the likelihood of women working outside the home and remaining in the workforce after marriage.

Structural biases will continue unless more women are brought into the fray of policymaking. Integrating their voices into the discussion will ensure that the solution reflects their needs and lived experiences. At the household level, equalising gender roles is tantalisingly paramount. Men need to attach their weight to household chores. Tasks like washing dishes, cooking food, and buying vegetables, which can feel like a full-time job, should be shared between spouses.

Confronting the marriage penalty is critical for unlocking India's female workforce potential and achieving its economic aspirations. Reimagining marriage and the norms around it is no small task and will not be an overnight process. Yet by sowing the seeds for change now, through policy changes and societal awareness, we can transform the narrative of women’s capabilities, regardless of marital status. While the realities discussed are sobering, I also hear the occasional sentiment, 'When my daughter grows up, she will become a doctor/lawyer/engineer' I hope to hear these dreams fruition but we must first ask ourselves: what role can we play in challenging the status quo and creating an equitable future for all?