正文
labour force survey”, designed
to provide quarterly and annual snapshots of employment in the country.
2018年，印度政府统计局发布了首份“周期性劳动力调查”，旨在按季度和年度反映印度的就业状况。
That year the proportion of women aged 15 and above who were in work was a miserable 23.3%, far below the global average of 53%. By contrast, the labour-force participation rate (LFPR) among Indian men was 75.8%.
那一年，印度15岁及以上女性的就业比例仅为23.3%，远低于全球平均水平的53%。相比之下，印度男性的劳动力参与率（LFPR）高达75.8%。
But the rate has picked up healthily every
year since, rising to 41.7% in the latest survey released in September. For a
country marked by deep gender inequality, a change this rapid and in the
correct direction seems like
unalloyed
good news. Is it?
但此后，这一比例呈现出逐年健康上升的趋势，在9月份发布的最新调查中，女性就业比例已上升至41.7%。对于一个长期存在严重的性别不平等问题的国家而言，如此迅速且方向正确的变化看似是纯粹的好消息。然而，事实果真如此吗？
Not everyone is convinced. One explanation
offered by sceptics is that the rise is the result of changes in the way the
government measures the rate. The International Labour Organisation (ILO),
which does not include unpaid workers (such as those who help out on the family
farm), pegs female LFPR lower, at 33% last year against the official 37%.
并非所有人都对此持乐观态度。怀疑论者提出了一种解释：这一上升主要是政府衡量比例方式变化的结果。国际劳工组织（ILO）的计算方式（不计入无薪工人，如那些在家庭农场无偿劳动的人）显示，女性 LFPR 较低，去年为33%，而官方数据则为37%。
Yet there is no disputing the trend. The ILO, like the government, shows the rate rising sharply in recent years, especially since the pandemic (see chart). Moreover, measurement changes may have had a one-time effect, says Amit Basole of the Azim Premji University in Bangalore, author of the “State of Working India” report. But it would not explain consistent rises.
然而，这一上升趋势本身是无可争议的。国际劳工组织与政府数据均显示，近年来女性 LFPR 急剧上升，尤其是自疫情爆发以来。此外，《印度工作状况》报告的作者、班加罗尔阿齐姆-普雷姆吉大学的阿米特·巴索尔指出，测量方式的变化可能只产生了一次性影响，但这并不能合理解释持续的上升趋势。
