Indian women are leaving the workforce in droves. Since 2005, the percentage of working-age Indian women who participate in the labour force has dropped by 10 percent, the largest drop of any country in the world during the same time period, according to data from the International Labour Organization.

The exodus of Indian women from the labour pool undermines the popular narrative of a modernizing India, where women are free to enter public life as the country sheds its patriarchal past. It also calls into question the effectiveness of the government’s recent efforts to promote gender equality.

In April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself made the case for women in the workplace. “If the capacity of women is built, and they are linked with the development process, then the development of any country is speeded exponentially,” Modi told the Press Trust of India.

By that measure, India’s development ought to be speeding in reverse. Between 1990 and 2005, the percentage of working-age Indian women in the workforce rose from 35 percent to 37 percent. In the last decade, however, the country has reversed course, with female labour participation declining to just 27 percent by 2014. That’s tied for 16th-lowest in the world.

Indian women are leaving the workplace at world's fastest rate

Change in female workforce participation by country, 2005-2014

Country 2005 2014 Change India 37 27 -10 Moldova 47 38 -9 Timor-Leste 32 25 -7 Samoa 28 24 -4 Vanuatu 65 62 -3 China 67 64 -3 Albania 48 45 -3 Lesotho 62 59 -3 Puerto Rico 38 35 -3 Brunei Darussalam 55 52 -3 Thailand 66 64 -2 Jamaica 58 56 -2 North Korea 74 72 -2 Syria 16 14 -2 Finland 57 55 -2 Laos 78 76 -2 Denmark 61 59 -2 New Caledonia 48 46 -2 United States 58 56 -2 Mozambique 87 85 -2 South Africa 47 45 -2 Iran 19 17 -2 Belarus 51 50 -1 Uganda 77 76 -1 Croatia 46 45 -1 Papua New Guinea 71 70 -1 Zambia 74 73 -1 Solomon Islands 54 53 -1 Nepal 81 80 -1 Morocco 28 27 -1 Serbia 46 45 -1 Tanzania 89 88 -1 Liberia 59 58 -1 Iceland 71 70 -1 Virgin Islands (U.S.) 55 54 -1 Hong Kong 52 51 -1 Slovenia 53 52 -1 Argentina 49 48 -1 Namibia 56 55 -1 Venezuela 52 51 -1 Trinidad and Tobago 54 53 -1 Slovakia 51 51 0 Burundi 83 83 0 Rwanda 86 86 0 Montenegro 43 43 0 Angola 64 64 0 Ghana 68 68 0 French Polynesia 47 47 0 Czech Republic 51 51 0 Vietnam 73 73 0 Chad 64 64 0 Burkina Faso 77 77 0 Turkmenistan 47 47 0 Somalia 37 37 0 Uzbekistan 48 48 0 The Gambia 72 72 0 South Korea 50 50 0 Canada 61 61 0 Sierra Leone 66 66 0 Democratic Republic of the Congo 71 71 0 Myanmar 75 75 0 Guam 56 56 0 Portugal 55 55 0 St. Lucia 63 63 0 Ethiopia 78 78 0 Fiji 38 38 0 Kuwait 44 44 0 Nigeria 48 48 0 Libya 30 30 0 Brazil 59 59 0 Ecuador 55 55 0 Poland 48 49 1 Romania 48 49 1 Russia 56 57 1 Sweden 59 60 1 Sri Lanka 34 35 1 Japan 48 49 1 Macedonia 42 43 1 Indonesia 50 51 1 Tajikistan 58 59 1 Equatorial Guinea 80 81 1 Swaziland 43 44 1 Malaysia 44 45 1 Paraguay 55 56 1 Philippines 50 51 1 United Kingdom 55 56 1 Iraq 14 15 1 Tunisia 24 25 1 Sudan 30 31 1 Senegal 65 66 1 The Bahamas 68 69 1 Central African Republic 72 73 1 France 50 51 1 Barbados 65 66 1 Botswana 71 72 1 Norway 60 61 1 Republic of the Congo 68 69 1 Panama 48 49 1 Togo 80 81 1 Niger 39 40 1 Netherlands 57 58 1 Ireland 52 53 1 Zimbabwe 83 84 1 Tonga 53 54 1 Kenya 60 62 2 Bangladesh 56 58 2 Bosnia and Herzegovina 32 34 2 Ukraine 52 54 2 Kyrgyzstan 54 56 2 Hungary 43 45 2 Afghanistan 14 16 2 Georgia 55 57 2 Guinea 64 66 2 Madagascar 84 86 2 Mongolia 55 57 2 Eritrea 78 80 2 Algeria 13 15 2 Italy 38 40 2 West Bank and Gaza 14 16 2 Saudi Arabia 18 20 2 Switzerland 60 62 2 Dominican Republic 49 51 2 Australia 57 59 2 Comoros 33 35 2 Greece 42 44 2 New Zealand 60 62 2 Guinea-Bissau 66 68 2 Cameroon 62 64 2 Yemen 24 26 2 Cote d'Ivoire 51 53 2 Belgium 46 48 2 Benin 66 68 2 Cyprus 54 56 2 Bulgaria 45 48 3 Estonia 53 56 3 Armenia 52 55 3 Suriname 38 41 3 Gabon 54 57 3 Cambodia 76 79 3 Haiti 58 61 3 Kazakhstan 65 68 3 Mauritius 41 44 3 El Salvador 45 48 3 Azerbaijan 60 63 3 Honduras 40 43 3 Mauritania 26 29 3 Bahrain 36 39 3 Germany 51 54 3 Uruguay 53 56 3 Oman 26 29 3 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 53 56 3 Costa Rica 44 47 3 Bolivia 61 64 3 Bhutan 64 67 3 Colombia 53 56 3 Latvia 51 55 4 Egypt 20 24 4 Jordan 12 16 4 Lebanon 20 24 4 Guyana 39 43 4 Djibouti 33 37 4 Cabo Verde 48 52 4 Mexico 41 45 4 Austria 51 55 4 Nicaragua 44 48 4 Belize 45 49 4 Lithuania 51 56 5 Singapore 54 59 5 Cuba 39 44 5 Guatemala 45 50 5 Sao Tome and Principe 41 46 5 Turkey 23 29 6 Qatar 45 51 6 Malawi 79 85 6 Pakistan 19 25 6 Luxembourg 45 51 6 Spain 46 53 7 Macao 59 66 7 Maldives 50 57 7 Malta 30 38 8 Israel 50 58 8 United Arab Emirates 37 46 9 Peru 58 68 10 Chile 38 49 11 Mali 38 51 13

There are several likely reasons for the drop off. Sher Verick, an economist at the International Labour Organization based in New Delhi, pointed to increased educational enrollment and a withdrawal from agricultural labour as two likely causes.

Anuradha Chatterji, a manager at the human rights organization CREA, also blamed lax enforcement of workplace sexual harassment policies, which have become more important as women move from rural agricultural work to urban office jobs.

Over the last decade, women in most of the world’s countries have enjoyed greater participation in the labour force: 114 countries out of 185 recorded an increase in the percentage of women who earn incomes. Only 41 countries experienced drops in female labour participation.

Megha Kapoor Mehra, 27, worked at the office of a major accounting firm in Gurgaon for nearly five years, rising quickly through the ranks of the company. But last November, Mehra quit her job when her superiors began to question her commitment to the firm after she announced her marriage engagement.

“People were saying, ‘Your commitment level has changed, your seriousness has changed,’” even though she had continued to work the same amount of hours, Mehra said. “If a man is getting married, I don’t think he would get that kind of reaction at work.”

It seemed as if the firm’s few successful women had been forced at some point to choose their work over their family, a decision men did not have to make.

The pressures from home, too, proved overwhelming. After she married, she moved in with her husband’s family, who were uncomfortable with her leaving for work at 8 in the morning and coming home at 8 at night.

Mehra said she hopes to find a job again, though she does not know when that might be. “I won’t let all my experience and all my knowledge go to waste,” she said.

The Indian economy excludes women like Mehra at its peril. According to a 2012 report by Booz and Company, India’s gross domestic could grow by as much as 27 percent if women worked as much as men.

“Ultimately, from a macroeconomic perspective, women’s participation and engagement in work and entrepreneurship is critical if India is to sustain a high level of inclusive growth,” Verick said.

To be sure, some women who are able to join the workforce do not wish to do so. But many others who would like to work are barred from doing so, often due to customs beyond their control.

In a country where men share very little housework, many Indian women are too occupied with household duties to also take on a job. Others are unable to earn money when the demands of raising children fall squarely on their shoulders.

“Either I had to join my work after my maternity leave, or I had to leave my work,” recalled Madhumita Nath, 32, of her experience at an NGO in Kolkata. “I did try to make things work and to see if the baby can be brought to the office, and if a room could be arranged. We did explore this kind of thing, but things didn't work out.”

Ineke Bezembinder, a spokesperson for Women on Wings, a non-profit that creates jobs for women in rural India, said that for some women, earning an income can provide benefits in addition to having more money to spend.

“Their position in their family and even in their community changes,” Bezembinder said. “In the eyes of their in-laws, they go from being a burden to being someone who looks after the family and contributes to the family income.”