New Delhi, July 21 -- As India inches closer to the $5 trillion economy mark with human capital playing a key role, a critical disconnect emerges in this growth story: the disparate contribution of women to the labour force and the economic loss therein.

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24, the literacy rate for urban women stood at 84.9%; yet their labour force participation rate (FLFPR) was only 28%. In contrast, the gap between literacy and work participation for rural women is smaller at 22 percentage points (see data graph).

While this imbalance is universal, even among developed economies like the US, Japan, Germany and Australia where female literacy rates are nearly 100%, there is an almost 40 percentage...