Caste, gender and intersectionality in labour market aspirations: evidence from a skill-training programme in India

Sudipa Sarkar, Bhaskar Chakravorty and Clare Lyonette

Oxford Development Studies, 2026, vol. 54, issue 1, 22-40

Abstract: This study examines how social identity shapes future aspirations in a developing country context. Using data from a large-scale skill-training program for rural youth in India, we focus on two key identity dimensions: caste and gender. Our findings suggest that trainees from the socially disadvantaged groups – Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Scheduled Caste (SC) – have significantly lower income aspirations and expectations than trainees from privileged castes. However, caste gaps disappear in expected post-training salaries. Female participants also have significantly lower aspirations and expectations than their male counterparts. These disparities persist even after accounting for background characteristics, including pre-training personality traits and non-cognitive skills. Exploring intersection of caste and gender, we find that disadvantages are cumulative: SC/ST women face the lowest aspiration and expectation levels across all groups. This pattern supports the “double jeopardy” hypothesis, highlighting how overlapping social identities compound disadvantage in shaping individuals’ economic outlooks and perceived future opportunities.

Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1080/13600818.2025.2570943 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:oxdevs:v:54:y:2026:i:1:p:22-40

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.tandfonline.com/pricing/journal/CODS20

DOI: 10.1080/13600818.2025.2570943

Access Statistics for this article

Oxford Development Studies is currently edited by Jo Boyce and Frances Stewart

More articles in Oxford Development Studies from Taylor & Francis Journals
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Chris Longhurst ().