BS Number Wise: The surprisingly low number of employed women graduates

A larger share of them remain without work than men, and the disparity is telling in some states

India’s first women graduates, Chandramukhi Basu and Kadambini Bose, faced multiple challenges to earn their college education in the late 1800s. The university refused regular admission, a prejudiced professor unfairly gave a failing grade in a crucial subject, and despite passing exams names would be excluded from the list of successful candidates.

Indian women graduates, like the two pioneers, perhaps today face a host of obstacles when they look for employment. Less than three out of every 10 women graduates are employed, shows the government’s Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2020-21. For comparison, seven out of every ten male graduates