Invisible Labor: The Hidden Forces Limiting Sri Lankan Women’s Economic Roles

Sri Lanka’s persistently low female labor force participation, despite high education levels, stems from entrenched gender norms, heavy care burdens, limited suitable jobs, and widening inequalities across regions and social groups. Addressing this requires systemic reforms in childcare, skills development, workplace safety, flexible work, and gender-inclusive labor policies to unlock the country’s economic potential.

Sri Lanka’s enduring contradiction, strong achievements in women’s education and health alongside chronically low female labor force participation, anchors the Asian Development Bank’s 2025 study, prepared with research inputs from the University of Peradeniya and the ADB Sri Lanka Resident Mission. Despite women forming more than half the population and driving key sectors such as garments, plantations, and foreign employment, only 32% participated in the workforce in 2023, placing Sri Lanka far below global averages. The report underscores that raising women’s participation is an economic imperative, with projections showing a potential 21% boost to GDP if gender gaps were closed.

The Weight of Unpaid Care and Household Expectations

The study reveals how the invisible but overwhelming burden of unpaid care continues to limit women’s opportunities. Women spend significantly more time than men on household chores and caregiving, and having a child under age six reduces a woman’s likelihood of labor force participation by more than half. The presence of older dependents or people with disabilities further restricts access to paid work, especially formal jobs with fixed hours. Social norms reinforce these patterns, casting women as primary caregivers and shaping employer assumptions about their suitability for leadership or demanding roles. Without affordable childcare, eldercare, and disability-support services, women’s choices remain narrow and often incompatible with stable employment.

Education and Skills: Progress Without Matching Jobs

Sri Lankan women have steadily climbed the educational ladder, yet the labor market has not evolved to absorb their skills. Completing A-Levels or tertiary education substantially increases the likelihood of formal employment, but it also raises unemployment rates among educated women who hold out for positions aligned with their qualifications. Digital literacy boosts participation, but only one-third of women possess such skills. English literacy improves prospects mainly in the formal sectors, while the public sector, long a gateway for educated women, has limited growth. This mismatch between aspirations and job availability helps explain why many educated women exit the labor market entirely.

Geography, Culture, and Deep-Rooted Norms

The report highlights notable regional and cultural divides. Rural women often participate more because agricultural work is accessible and socially accepted, while urban women, despite higher education, face fewer suitable opportunities, transport barriers, and safety concerns. Religion also influences outcomes: Muslim, Hindu, and Christian women participate at significantly lower rates than Buddhist women, even after controlling for geography. District-level domestic violence prevalence, used as a proxy for patriarchal norms, correlates with lower participation, revealing the powerful role of social attitudes in shaping economic choices. Women’s daily commutes are another barrier, nearly 90% report experiencing harassment on public transport, pushing many to decline or leave jobs.

Youth and Estate-Sector Realities Under Economic Strain

Young women aged 15–24 face their own complexities. Only 22% participate in the labor force, but most are still in education; just 18% fall into the NEET category. Those who seek work encounter high unemployment, especially among A-Level graduates unable to secure suitable roles. Digital access increases their chances of employment, while estate residence and incomplete schooling reduce them. Estate-sector women overall participate at relatively high levels, above 60%, but largely in low-wage plantation labor driven by necessity rather than empowerment. Their educational attainment and digital access lag far behind national averages, and opportunities for advancement remain limited.

Sri Lanka’s recent crises, Easter attacks, the pandemic, the economic collapse, and the sovereign debt default have deepened these disparities. Women concentrated in tourism, manufacturing, and services faced mass job losses, while school closures intensified caregiving burdens. Many became discouraged workers and withdrew completely. Remote-work options benefited only urban, educated women, revealing another divide in access to opportunity.

The report concludes that unlocking women’s economic potential requires systemic reform: investments in childcare and eldercare, modernized labor laws supporting flexible work, safer transport, expanded vocational and digital training, and workplace protections against harassment. Without these changes, Sri Lanka risks continuing to underuse one of its most vital resources, its women, at a time when economic recovery hinges on broadening participation and opportunity.