Unlocking Women’s Work: How The Labour Codes Can Expand Pathways Into Formal Employment

By Vandana Bahri, Director - Women's Economic Empowerment, Children Investment Foundation Fund Rekha Menon, Lead -Women’s Economic Liberty, IPE Global

India is moving with clear intent towards becoming a Viksit Bharat by 2047. Women are central to this journey. Yet their participation in paid work remains low, and more than 90 percent of working women are employed in informal roles. This constrains economic growth and limits the full use of India’s demographic dividend.

The consolidation of 29 labour laws into four labour codes marks a significant reform in India’s world of work. The codes introduce a simpler, more transparent, and modern framework governing wages, workplace safety, working conditions, and social protection. For women, this reform is particularly important. Predictable systems and safe workplaces are essential for entering and sustaining paid employment.

Rising participation, uneven outcomes

Data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey shows a steady rise in women’s economic activity, with the Female Labour Force Participation Rate increasing consistently, especially in rural areas. However, the quality of employment remains a serious concern. Only 19 percent of working women are in regular wage jobs. Most remain concentrated in low-paid, informal, and insecure work with limited protection.

Higher participation has not automatically translated into better earnings or access to benefits. Only one in five women workers has any form of social security coverage. Persistent barriers related to travel safety, workplace facilities, and restrictive social norms continue to limit mobility and access to formal employment. Without addressing these structural constraints, gains in participation risk will remain shallow and reversible.

What the labour codes can deliver for women

The labour codes address several foundational barriers by enabling a shift from informal to formal employment. They simplify employer and worker registration, mandate written appointment letters, and expand social security coverage to categories of workers previously excluded from protection. For women, who are disproportionately represented in informal, home-based, and non-standard forms of work, these provisions are especially significant. Written contracts reduce ambiguity in employment relationships. Simpler registration lowers barriers for small establishments to formalise . Expanded social security improves access to maternity benefits, health coverage, and income protection. Together, these measures provide greater stability, dignity, and protection, supporting sustained workforce participation.

The labour codes also strengthen the link between skilling and employment. Training alone does not translate into jobs if workplaces remain unsafe, informal, or unpredictable. By setting clearer standards on wages, occupational safety and health, industrial relations, and social security, the codes help ensure that skilled women can transition into sustained employment rather than being pushed into short-term or informal work.

While provisions such as maternity benefits and workplace safety are not new, the labour codes consolidate and extend them across sectors and forms of employment, improving consistency in access and enforcement. The codes expand coverage to smaller units and non-standard employment arrangements where earlier labour laws had limited reach. They also reinforce requirements related to sanitation, safe transport, regulated working hours, and fair shift arrangements, all of which are critical for women’s continued participation in paid work.

Importantly, the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code allows women to work at night across sectors, subject to safety provisions and consent. States that have enabled night work with appropriate safeguards have seen a 13 percent increase in women’s employment, underscoring the importance of regulated and safe workplaces. Clear rules on safety, working hours, and employer responsibility have enabled women to enter non-traditional sectors such as warehouses, assembly units, service hubs, and renewable energy sites, which are contributing to growth and generating new employment opportunities.

The labour codes provide the architecture. Effective and uniform implementation across states will determine their ultimate impact.

What must work alongside the labour codes

The labour codes are necessary, but not sufficient. Wider support across the skill and employment ecosystem is essential.

Women need stronger pathways with clear accountability for placement outcomes through government skilling efforts. Outcomes-based skilling models that pay for results rather than enrolments are critical. One such model is the Skill Impact Bond (SIB), an initiative of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship through NSDC, which links provider payments to certification, job placement, and three-month retention, supported by gender-responsive interventions. The Skill Impact Bond has achieved placement rates of 75 percent, with 60 percent of trainees remaining in employment for three months or more. More than 70 percent of these trainees are women.

Employer toolkits and playbooks for bias-free hiring and retention must also be scaled. These include role prioritisation, gender-neutral job advertisements, anti-bias training, and community-based hiring channels. Safe hostels, last-mile mobility, and counselling should be treated as integral components of placement offers, not optional add-ons. These supports are essential for first-time workers and women returning to the workforce to sustain employment. Industry must act as a committed partner in expanding women’s workforce participation. This requires investment in sanitation, lighting, secure transport, shift rules, retention strategies, and workplace safety. States can play a role by introducing women-friendly workplace certification to incentivise best practices. Labour systems themselves need stronger capacity, including trained officers, simple digital compliance processes, and clear grievance redressal mechanisms. These measures enhance transparency and help workers exercise their rights effectively.

Finally, a supportive social environment is critical. Families are more likely to encourage women to take up new opportunities when workplaces are perceived as safe, stable, and aspirational. Social attitudes must shift in step with policy reform.

Formal work must lead to real inclusion. Women need steady earnings, social protection, and dignity at work. Gender-disaggregated data is essential to track outcomes, identify gaps, and guide the next phase of labour reform.

(Disclaimer: Views expressed are the author’s own, and Outlook Money does not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.)