Researchers from Harvard Kennedy school published a detailed explanation on this in 2018 using the national sample survey.
The first thing they highlighted is that it's not as if the woman don't want to work in fact. A significant portion of both rural and urban are willing to walk.But they fail to do this due to some reasons.
Household work
If we look at urban India. Around 61% of women are involved in domestic duties as compared to only 0.3% of men. The primary reason is that women believe that nobody else would do the housework on their behalf. The national samples survey report for 2014 showed that about 60% of women in rural areas. And 64% in urban areas said they do housework because no other member will carry out the domestic duties in Indian society. All household duties fall on women making it difficult for them to have a job on the other side.
Transportation and safety concerns
Unless you have a business in your home, Almost everyone needs to go outside To carry out their job however Travelling is a privilege which is only accessible to men in rural India. According to 2011 census main travel much longer than women to go to work in most cities. Moreover, most woman need permission to go outside their houses. And many are not allowed to go alone. When mobility is restricted the potential job options for women are restricted too.
3. Wage gap and discrimination
Research shows that woman are paid less Performing the same job with the same qualification A research paper Show that if there were no discrimination Woman would actually earn more than men based on their ability. Two factors Could contribute to this wage gap.
First is maternity leave and second factor is many woman are unable to work till late at night due to safety and travel reasons. Because of these factors, employers feel justified to offer a lower wage to women. The age gap widens, women become demotivated to join the work force.
4. Economic Growth
In rural India, the jobs that a lot of women do are labor-intensive. As soon as the household income increases, the women quit such jobs. Other factors could also be social factors. Apart from that, Many families are uncomfortable with their woman working.
Solutions:
The first and toughest solution is changing the perception towards women, whether it's about their job's mobility or household duties. Campaigns can be helpful for this. But this would not be achieved overnight. We need to persevere over the years.
To solve this problem, the government could try implementing targeted solutions as well, for example, improving transport infrastructure.
Moreover, research has shown that woman spend more time looking for a job than men. This problem could be solved by providing information about job opportunities directly to women. Labour markets need to offer jobs that are acceptable to women.
Most rural women are employed in the informal works. As rural woman gained more education, such labor intensive jobs became less appealing to them.
Due to COVID-19 pandemic, India's economy has suffered a lot. Research from the US has shown that due to lock down. Working woman have had to reduce their working hours a lot more than men. This shows out how even when men and woman are within their homes, Most of the household duties fall on woman.
Conclusion:
Increasing woman's salary or giving equal opportunities to them can be beneficial. But it's not the only thing that matters. Apart from that we have to change our perspective towards women. Rather than putting gender roles on household work. Woman and men both have to equally participate in household work as well as paid work. This Balance can not only bring increment in woman labor but also this can impact on the dowry system of india.