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How (Not) To Count Indian Women's Work: Gendered Analyses And The Periodic Labour Force Survey, Smriti Rao

Economics, Finance and International Business Department Faculty Works

Unit-level Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data have been helpful in depicting the intensity of the employment crisis in India even before the Covid-19 related economic collapse. However, from the perspective of effective gendered analyses of the economy, the PLFS has failed to improve upon the old Employment–Unemployment Survey (EUS), and in one way has taken a step back, making it more difficult to understand the range and extent of women’s economic activities. It is past time that the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) adopted the now well-established recommendations of feminist economists, and reformed its data definition and data collection …