The Distribution of Workforce in India in 1972-73.

Place of Residence	Workforce(in millions)
	Male	Female	Total
Rural	125	69	194
Urban	32	7	39
Total	157	76	233

The above data shows the greater participation of rural population in employment. The rural workers constitute over 83 percent of the total workforce. The reason for such a difference can be found in the fact that people in rural areas have limited resources to earn a higher income and participate in employment more than their urban counterparts. They also cannot afford to stay at home in search of better job opportunities. In urban areas however, a large section of people are able to study in various educational institutions. They also have a large variety of employment opportunities and can look for the appropriate jobs to suit their skills.
Compared to females, more males are found to be working. Over 64% of males were participating in employment in the year for which data has been given. This is because many activities for the households engaged in by the women particularly in rural areas are not recognised as productive work. This narrow definition of work leads to non-recognition of women's work and leads to underestimation of number of women workers in our country.
The difference in the participation rates is also found among rural and urban women. This is due to the reason that where men are able to earn high incomes, the female members are often discouraged by the family members to work.