The term ‘pink-collar job’ is often used by economists to explain female-dominated jobs statistics. Paid jobs all over the world are dominated by men while women work unpaid jobs like child-rearing, house maintenance, and caregiving. Over time, the percentage of women employed in paid jobs has increased. But in India, 45% of women do not work or study. Only 6.5% of men face the same issue. This is because traditionally women are expected to take care of people in a household and men are expected to support them through their income.  

Despite all this, there are some paid-work areas where women are preferred over men. Here are some of the most female-dominated careers in India.

  • Agriculture

Yes, one of the most important industries in the Indian economy. 60% of the Indian population works in the agriculture sector. Women employees are the highest in agriculture especially in rural areas. Around 63% of women work in agriculture but economists say it could be more since most women are employed as unpaid family workers in family farms and family businesses, engaging in activities like taking care of livestock, etc.

  • Nurses

Since women are natural caregivers, it shouldn’t be a surprise that they dominate hospital nursing jobs. Not only in India but around the world, female-dominated jobs statistics show nursing to be the top occupation.

  • Teachers

Let us do a quick run down your memory lane. How many of your school teachers were women? “Most of them,” would be the answer. Caregiving, maternal instincts, and child-rearing skills of women make them the top choice for the teaching profession. It is also viewed as a safe profession for women to work in. The fixed timings and leaves the teaching profession in India provides are much sought after by many women.

  • Public Relations

Women are natural multi-taskers. This comes in handy for public relations jobs where they are expected to organize, communicate and build relationships with clients. Culturally and traditionally women were expected to cook, clean, and take care of all the people in a household. This requires strong multi-tasking skills. Having performed these tasks for centuries, women have become naturally good at multitasking. PR firms have more women employees than men. But prefer men to take up the management position.

  • Social Worker

A field in which women are needed the most would be social work. When addressing complex and sensitive societal issues, people tend to open up more easily to women than to men. The nurturing characteristic of women is needed in social work. The growth of the female workforce in social work is slowly rising. 

In the past, women avoided this job because it paid less or was misunderstood as volunteering, unpaid work. There is still more demand for women in social work than men, hence it enters the list of most female-dominated careers.

  •  Human Resources

Women are at the top level positions in any company’s Human Resources department. 50% of HR personnel in India are women. Their excellent communication and people management skills make them dominate this job.

The above are some of the job positions that became evident when looking into female-dominated jobs statistics in India. Apart from the above jobs, you can find women entering into many male-dominated careers too.