# Working women and caste in India: A study of social disadvantage using feature attribution

## TL;DR

This study uses machine learning interpretability to analyze how caste influences women's employment types in India, revealing a shift towards less caste-based discrimination among younger women.

## Contribution

It introduces a novel application of feature attribution methods to understand caste's impact on women's work status and type over generations in India.

## Key findings

- Caste is less predictive of work status for younger women.
- Younger women from disadvantaged castes are increasingly in white-collar jobs.
- Caste remains a significant factor for older women's employment.

## Abstract

Women belonging to the socially disadvantaged caste-groups in India have historically been engaged in labour-intensive, blue-collar work. We study whether there has been any change in the ability to predict a woman's work-status and work-type based on her caste by interpreting machine learning models using feature attribution. We find that caste is now a less important determinant of work for the younger generation of women compared to the older generation. Moreover, younger women from disadvantaged castes are now more likely to be working in white-collar jobs.