PATTERN OF FERTILITY RATES AND FEMALE LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION IN MANIPUR abstract

Background: Each emerging country’s fertility rate is falling, and as a result, female labor force participation has shifted. The role of women in achieving the demographic dividend is a problem that emerging countries must address. As a result, in order to reap the benefits from the demographic dividend, gender equality in the workplace must be prioritized. Aim: To study the association between the fertility rate and female work participation in Manipur. Methods and Materials: The Indian Census across the years 1991 to 2011 was accessed, and the descriptive statistics were employed. Results: It was found that among the main workers, Manipur (13.06%) had a substantially lower proportion of the 10-15 years age group than India (35.35%) in 1991, implying that premature married women were more widespread in India than in Manipur. Married women who did not work (housewives) increased further throughout all census years in Manipur (5.47%) and India (14.19%). The main workers were often more concentrated in urban areas than in rural areas in both Manipur and India, indicating that there are more job prospects in urban areas. From 1991 to 2011, Manipur and India saw a general trend of dropping fertility rates across all age groups and economic activity categories. Conclusion: The female labour participation rate is very low when compared to many advanced economies, showing that there is still tremendous space for growth in terms of gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.