Women form an integral part of the Indian workforce. According to the information provided by the office of Registrar General & Census Commissioner of India, As per Census 2011, the total number of female workers in India is 149.8 million and female workers in rural and urban areas are 121.8 and 28.0 million respectively.  Out of total 149.8 million female workers, 35.9 million females are working as cultivators and another 61.5 million are agricultural labourers.  Of the remaining females workers, 8.5 million are in household Industry and 43.7 million are classified as other workers.

As per Census 2011, the work participation rate for women is 25.51 percent as compared to 25.63 per cent in 2001. The Work Participation Rate of Women has reduced marginally in 2011 but there  is an improvement from 22.27 per cent in 1991 and 19.67 per cent in 1981.  The work participation rate for women in rural areas is 30.02 per cent as compared to 15.44 per cent in the urban areas.

In so far as the organised sector is concerned, in March, 2011 women workers constituted 20.5 percent of total employment in organised sector in the country which is higher by  0.1 percent as compared to the preceding year.  As per the last Employment Review by Directorate General of Employment & Training (DGE&T), on 31^st March, 2011,  about 59.54 lakh women workers were employed in the organised sector (Public and Private Sector).  Of this, nearly 32.14 lakh women  were employed in community, social and personal service sector.

List of protective provisions for women employees:

Some of the important protective provisions for safeguarding the interests of working women are:

Safety/Health Measures

• Section 22(2) of the Factories Act, 1948 provides that no woman shall be allowed to clean, lubricate or adjust any part of a prime mover or of any transmission machinery while the prime mover or transmission machinery is in motion, or to clean, lubricate or adjust any part of any machine if the cleaning, lubrication or adjustment thereof would expose the woman to risk of injury from any moving part either of that machine or of any adjacent machinery.
• Section 27 of the Factories Act, 1948 prohibits employment of women in any part of a factory for pressing cotton in which a cotton opener is at work.

Prohibition of Night Work

• Section 66(1)(b) of the Factories Act, 1948 states that no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any factory except between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• Section 25 of the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966 stipulates that no woman shall be required or allowed to work in any industrial premise except between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• Section 46(1)(b) of the Mines Act, 1952 prohibits employment of women in any mine above ground except between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Prohibition of Sub-terrain Work

• Section 46(1)(b) of the Mines Act, 1952 prohibits employment of women in any part of a mine which is below ground.

Maternity Benefit

• The Maternity Benefit Act, 1961 regulates the employment of women in certain establishments for certain periods before and after child-birth and provides maternity benefits.  The Building and Other Constructions (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 provides for maternity benefit to female beneficiaries of the Welfare Fund.

Provisions for Separate Latrines and Urinals

Provision for separate latrines and urinals for female workers exist under the following:

• Rule 53 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
• Section 19 of the Factories Act, 1948.
• Rule 42 of the Inter State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Central Rules, 1980.
• Section 20 of the Mines Act, 1952.
• Section 9 of the Plantations Labour Act, 1951.

Provisions for Separate Washing Facilities

Provision for separate washing facilities for female workers exists under the following:

• Section 57 of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act, 1970.
• Section 42 of the Factories Act.
• Section 43 of the Inter-State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Act, 1979.

Provision for Crèches

Provision for crèches exists under the following:

• Section 48 of the Factories Act, 1948.
• Section 44 of the Inter State Migrant Workmen (RECS) Act, 1979.
• Section 12 of the Plantations Labour Act, 1951.
• Section 14 of the Beedi and Cigar Workers (Conditions of Employment) Act, 1966.
• Section 35 of the Building and other Constructions (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.  

"VOCATIONAL TRAINING FOR WOMEN" under Directorate General of -Employment & Training

DGE&T is the nodal agency for providing vocational training in traditional and contemporary courses and certification to women to meet the trained skill workforce to the industry and service sector etc. in the country.  These courses help women to achieve their career goals and become independent.  The Women Vocational Training Programme is dedicated to planning and implementing long term policies related to women’s vocational training in the country.

The Institutional framework comprising 11 Institutes in the Central sector offer training courses to women to develop professional skills required to find suitable jobs/self employment and trained faculty position in ITIs etc.  The institutes set up to impart training exclusively for women under the Women Vocational Training Programme are as under:

• National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) for Women, NOIDA
• Regional Vocational Training Institutes (RVTIs) for Women at Mumbai, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Panipat, Kolkata, Tura, Allahabad, Indore, Vadodara and Jaipur
• More over EFC has approved for setting up of New RVTIs in the States of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Goa, Uttarakhand, Bihar, J&K and Tamil Nadu.  These RVTIs would be operational by August, 2015

The National/Regional Vocational Training Institutes for women provide (i) Crafts Training Scheme (CTS) & (ii) Crafts Instructors Training Scheme (CITS) under modular pattern training programmes and Short term training courses, who have passed 10^th or 12^th standard and meet the specified eligibility criteria for various courses.  The CITS courses are specially designed for ITI instructors .  Apart from the regular courses, these institutes also organize short term courses as per the requirements for the industry.  Short term courses include training in employable skills, preparation/use of Audio-visual aids etc. for general women, housewives, students and school drop-outs.  More than 1,10,000 women have been trained since inception of Women Vocational Training Programme in 1977.

In the State sector, vocational training facilities exclusively for women at Craftmen level are provided through a network of Women Industrial Training Institutes/ITCs and Women wings in general ITIs/ITCs under the administrative control of the State Governments.  The Women’s Training in DGE&T is responsible for policy matters, standards, revision of course curricula & implementation of new schemes.  As per information furnished by the respective State Governments, there are about 1431 Women ITIs and women wings in general ITI/ITCs  having a total of 82,390 training seats (as on December, 2013).

Basic Courses	Advanced Courses	Post - Advanced Courses
Dress Making	Dress Making	Principles Teaching
Hair & Skin Care	Beauty Culture & Hair Dressing
Preservation of Fruits & Vegetables	Embroidery & Needle Craft
Electronic Mechanic	Electronics
Stenography (Hindi)	Secretarial  Practice(Hindi)
Secretarial  Practice(English)	Secretarial  Practice(English)
Architecture Draughtsmanship Desk top Publishing	Architecture Assistantship
Computer Operator & Programming Assistant
Fashion Technology
Instrument Mechanic
Catering & Hospitality