The increase in global flow of human capital is welcome. But does it point to an underlying paucity of opportunities and constraint of freedom – educational, social and economic – in our own backyard? There is a negative correlation between improved educational attainment and women’s workforce participation in India. Attributing it only to gender attitudes is faulty as it fails to explain increased participation in higher education. There is, however, a mismatch between jobs, skills and ambitions. The universe of jobs that educated women pursue in India remains limited and growth in white-collar jobs has not kept pace. Opportunities for educated women must expand in numbers and scope.
India’s quest to become a developed economy by 2047 requires this anomaly to be remedied. Women’s economic empowerment is central to gender equality and inclusive growth. So, their rising educational attainment should contribute to, not detract from, the effort. India needs to emerge as an option for the global workforce. That also means improving the quality of opportunities, something that institutions abroad seem to provide more Indians – especially young women – than ever before.