Women advancing in health and education, still missing from workforce: Delhi report

Citing Periodic Labour Force Survey (2017-18 to 2023-24) data, the report underscores that women’s presence in the workforce remains “severely low.”

The Delhi government’s latest statistical report on gender indicators revealed a stark contradiction for women: despite gains in health and improving participation in higher education, their entry into the workforce remains severely low, even as crime against them persists at alarming rates.

Delhi file photo. (ANI)

The findings form the core of “Women & Men in Delhi - 2025,” a statistical publication released by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics, built largely on secondary datasets.

Citing Periodic Labour Force Survey (2017-18 to 2023-24) data, the report underscores that women’s presence in the workforce remains “severely low.”

“Worker-Population Ratio (WPR) in Delhi stood at 14.2% for women in 2023-24 compared to 52.8% for men. Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) was 14.5% for women and 54% for men during the same period,” the report states.

The report cited UDISE PLUS, ministry of education data to show that female teachers dominate Delhi’s education landscape, and their numbers have grown. At the primary level, the number of female teachers per 100 male teachers increased from 363 in 2012-13 to 415 in 2024-25. The trend holds at upper primary, where the ratio rose from 214 to 261, and at higher secondary, where it climbed from 152 to 168.

Women’s enrolment in higher education touched 50.57% in 2023-24, up from 49.08% the previous year, according to NSS data cited in the report.

As per PLFS data, employment patterns highlight structural gaps. In 2023-24, a majority of working women – 70.2% – were in regular wage or salaried roles. By contrast, only 26.4% were self-employed, compared with 40.3% of men. More than 61% of women workers were employed in the broad “other services” category, followed by manufacturing (16.68%) and trade, hotel and restaurant services (12.2%).

The report cited National Family Health Survey (NFHS) data to highlight improvements in women’s health outcomes. Female life expectancy during 2016-20 was 76.2 years – more than three years higher than that of males at 73 years. Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR), meanwhile, fell from 0.55 in 2019 to 0.44 in 2024. Institutional births rose from 84.4% in 2015-16 to 91.8% in 2019-21, and post-natal care coverage increased from 62.3% to 85.4% during the same period. Anaemia among women aged 15-49 dropped from 54.3% to 49.9%.

It also cited Census and NSS datato record a rise in literacy levels: in rural Delhi, literacy among persons aged seven and above rose from 93.8% to 96.3% between 2014 and 2017-18, while urban literacy increased from 89.8% to 92%. Delhi’s overall literacy rate stood at 86.21% in the 2011 Census.

In political participation,the report cited election results from ECI and noted that during the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections, there were 7.24 million registered female electors out of a total of over 15.6 million electors. However, the number of elected women MLAs fell from eight in 2020 to five in 2025. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Delhi, women representation improved from one MP in 2019 to two in 2024.

“Data from National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) shows the rate of crimes against women in Delhi was 133.60 per 100,000 in 2023, more than double the national average of 62.20. Cruelty by husband and his relatives accounted for the highest share among such crimes,” the report added.

The strength of women personnel in the Delhi Police increased from 12,461 in 2023 to 13,220 in 2024, according to Bureau of Police Research and Development.