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The purpose of the study is to determine the factors influencing the job choices of Indian women working in the informal manufacturing sector. The informal sector has always played a significant role in emerging and developing countries. This study investigates the effect of social cultural norms influencing women informal workers in the manufacturing sector to participate in home-based work (HBW) or non-home-based work (non-HBW) .

Both Quantitative and Qualitative methodology have been used. In accordance with descriptive statistics, a multinomial logistic regression model was employed to assess women's likelihood of participation in home-based activities. To gain a more in-depth insight, semi-structured interviews were used to collect the perspectives of both men and women workers. The data were analysed using narrative analysis.

The findings reveal that a high fixed cost is a key driver of HBW. Workers prefer to work from home when the loss of joint household production due to working outside is substantial. Social and cultural standards play a significant effect in job selection for women. These conventions limit women's employment options, and the current study demonstrates that strong social and cultural standards limit women to home-based jobs only.

Enhancing women's involvement in the public realm is critical and may be accomplished by affirmative action; but, for women to be treated equally in their homes and in society, an attitude shift is necessary. Despite the government's initiatives and regulations aimed at protecting informal women workers, many of the programmes and legislation fall short. The position of women in this environment cannot be improved until and unless the norms of society are flexible and liberal for Indian women. The first step would be to educate people and make them aware of the need to abandon outdated practices and embrace new progressive ideals. It will not be achievable just via government efforts; rather, both the government and society must work together to achieve the same goal.

The author hereby declares that this submission is their own work and to the best of their knowledge it contains no materials previously published or written by another person, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. The author would like to undertake the above-mentioned manuscript has not been published elsewhere or under editorial review for publication elsewhere; and that all co-authors have agreed to have seen and approved the manuscript for submission.

Purpose: Preserving a country’s culture is crucial for its sustainability. Handicraft is a key draw for tourism destinations; it protects any civilisation’s indigenous knowledge and culture by managing the historical, economic, and ecological ecosystems and perfectly aligns with sustainable development. It has a significant role in creating employment, especially in rural regions and is an essential contributor to the export economy, mainly in developing nations. The study focuses on the skills required and existing gaps in the handicraft industry, its development and prospects by considering women and their role in preserving and embodying the traditional art of making handicrafts.

Approach: A framework has been developed for mapping and analysing the skills required in the handicraft sector using econometric modelling; an enormous number of skills have been crowdsourced from the respondents, and machine learning techniques have been used.

Findings: The findings of the study revealed that employment in this area is dependent not only on general or specialised skills but also on complex matrix skills ranging from punctuality to working in unclean and unsafe environments, along with a set of personal qualities, such as taking initiatives and specific skills, for example polishing and colour coding.

Implications: The skills mapping technique utilised in this study is applicable globally, particularly for women indulged in casual work in developing nations’ handicrafts industry. The sustainable development goals, tourism, and handicrafts are all interconnected. The research includes understanding skills mapping, which provides insights into efficient job matching by incorporating preferences and studying the demand side of casual working by women in the handicraft sector from a skills perspective.