The increase in women’s participation in labour force is generally celebrated as an umbrella statement. According to the PLFS report, the labour force participation rate for urban women has increased from 22 to 22.2 per cent, and their worker population ratio has increased from 20.5 to 20.7 per cent. However, these statistics often do not get into the depth of how these numbers change across caste. Studies have previously shown how caste acts as an important pre-market, social identity which impacts labour market outcomes of the workers.

Since identities of caste have historically arisen through the division of labour, these outcomes can get more complicated when they intersect with the identities of gender. Often, we relegate the impacts of caste to a relic of the past. However, a nuanced analysis can reveal interesting insights into gender and caste, and whether meritocracy has indeed successfully replaced caste-based division of labour. Theoretically, labour markets are not unified spaces where workers compete on equal terms. Instead, they are divided into segments that differ in wages, job security, and mobility.

Entry into these segments is shaped not only by skills and education but also by social identity. In India , caste remains a key determinant along which such inequalities are organised. Research shows that caste and gender-based disparities persist in urban labour markets, influencing who accesses better jobs and who remains confined to precarious work. Data from the PLFS 2023-24 shows the continued relevance of these patterns. Urban women are concentrated in a limited set of industries, with ser vices and manufacturing accounting for the majority of employment. Nearly two-fifths of urban working women are employed in........

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