Childcare, Housework Keep 7 In 10 Urban Women Out of Jobs. Can Flexible Work Change That?

Published 6 July 2026 · india

Childcare, Housework Keep 7 In 10 Urban Women Out of Jobs. Can Flexible Work Change That? Published By, Last Updated: July 06, 2026, 10:05 IST

Childcare, Housework Keep 7 In 10 Urban Women Out of Jobs. Can Flexible Work Change That? Published By, Last Updated: July 06, 2026, 10:05 IST An NSO report says 69 per cent of women in India's 46 cities who remain outside labour force say childcare and household responsibilities are the main reason they are not working. Rapid Read Women in big cities earn, on average, 23 per cent less than men, pointing to inequalities that extend beyond workforce participation into wages and career progression. (AI generated image) India’s biggest cities are often seen as symbols of opportunity. They offer better education, more formal jobs and higher incomes than much of the country. Yet, for millions of urban women, the biggest barrier to employment lies not in the job market but at home. A new survey by the Statistics Office (NSO) has put a number to what researchers have long argued: nearly 69 per cent of women in India’s 46 cities with populations exceeding one million who remain outside the labour force say childcare and household responsibilities are the primary reason they are not working. The finding underlines that even in India’s most urbanised regions, unpaid care work continues to fall disproportionately on women. The same survey also highlights another persistent disparity. Women in these million-plus cities earn, on average, 23 per cent less than men, pointing to inequalities that extend beyond workforce participation into wages and career progression. Urban India Creating Jobs, But Women Aren’t Benefiting The NSO’s broader report paints a picture of rapidly changing urban economies. Service-sector employment dominates India’s largest cities, agriculture accounts for just 1.6 per cent of employment, and regular salaried jobs constitute 58.5 per cent of total employment – far higher than the average across urban India.

Casual labour accounts for only 6.3 per cent, indicating that larger cities generally offer more formal employment opportunities. Women’s labour force participation has also improved over time. In the 46 million-plus cities, female labour force participation rose from 19.8 per cent in 2017-18 to 27.2 per cent in 2025. But the latest findings suggest that while more women are entering the workforce, a large proportion remain excluded because of unpaid caregiving responsibilities rather than the absence of jobs alone. The data also reveals wide disparities across cities in employment and earnings. Thirty-one cities record unemployment rates above the national urban average of 4.9 per cent, while at least one in five young people are neither in employment, education nor training (NEET) in 32 cities. The Invisible Economy Of Unpaid Care Economists have long argued that unpaid domestic work is one of the least recognised contributors to economic inequality. Cooking, cleaning, caring for children, elderly family members and managing households are essential activities that keep families functioning, but they do not count as paid employment. Because these responsibilities continue to be performed largely by women, they often limit the time available for paid work, skill development or career advancement. Previous national Time Use Surveys have similarly shown that Indian women spend several times more hours than men on unpaid domestic services and caregiving every day, reinforcing a gendered division of labour that begins early and often intensifies after marriage and motherhood. The latest NSO findings indicate that this imbalance persists even in India’s largest metropolitan economies, despite greater educational attainment and wider employment opportunities.