{"id":14766,"date":"2021-06-02T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/?post_type=article&p=14766"},"modified":"2026-04-03T19:04:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T13:34:52","slug":"designing-urban-employment-schemes-for-women","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/idronline.org\/kn-in\/article\/gender\/designing-urban-employment-schemes-for-women\/","title":{"rendered":"Designing urban employment schemes for women"},"content":{"rendered":"

With localised restrictions in 34 states and union territories<\/a>, the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic has effectively led to a national lockdown, yet again. Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy<\/a> (CMIE) suggests that the urban unemployment rate neared<\/a> 12 percent in the week leading up to May 9, 2021—up from 9.5 percent in the week ending April 25. In April 2021, India’s labour force participation rate fell<\/a> to 39.9 percent. This is the third<\/a> consecutive month for which it has fallen and is the lowest since May 2020. Experience from the past year, when the urban unemployment rate shot up to nearly 25 percent<\/a> in April 2020, puts the precarious nature of urban employment into sharp focus. This is particularly so for informal workers, nearly 80 percent of whom lost their livelihoods during April and May 2020, as per the State of Working India 2021<\/a> report. The economic shock due to the second wave might further worsen the unemployment crisis.<\/p>

Women were disproportionately impacted by the economic shock of the pandemic last year, as COVID-19 guidelines prevented work in sectors like construction, beauty and wellness, domestic work, sex work, among others. Estimates suggest that nearly 70 percent<\/a> of women in the working population in December 2019 had lost their jobs by April 2020, compared to 35 percent of men. The State of Working India 2021 report also states that 90 percent of men employed in late 2019 were employed in late 2020 as well, whereas the corresponding figure for women was only 50 percent. The second wave may also affect the female labour force participation rate, which was already down to seven percent in urban areas by November 2020, even as female enrolment has improved at all levels of education.<\/p>

The livelihood insecurity of urban workers led to discussions on a centrally sponsored<\/a> urban employment scheme (though these fizzled out due to an apparent financial crunch). Instead, 2020 saw three new state-level urban employment schemes (in Odisha, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand) and continued budget allocations for two existing ones (in Kerala and West Bengal). Additionally, Madhya Pradesh is running a similar scheme with a limited scope, the Yuva Swabhiman Yojana<\/a>, which is available to those aged 21-30 years. Tamil Nadu too is considering such a scheme, as we learn from the Finance Minister’s recent budget speech<\/a>.<\/p>

\"What<\/a><\/div>

It is vital that such schemes be designed to bring women back to the labour force, provide livelihood and income security, and increase women’s agency. An analysis of the existing schemes provides us with seven key design principles to improve the gender-responsiveness of urban employment guarantee schemes (UEGS).<\/p>

Evaluating existing urban employment schemes<\/strong><\/h3>

Of the existing schemes, the ones in Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, and Jharkhand are structured as a guarantee with unemployment allowances, while West Bengal and Odisha offer work when available. There are three similarities in how these schemes are designed:<\/p>