Why is Female Employment Low in Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan, but not Bhutan?

South Asia’s rate of female employment remains well below the global average. Why is this? It’s not religion, it’s not lack of growth. It’s something else.

Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka each have a different majority religion. Śrī Laṅkā is majority Buddhist, but its female labour force participation is half that of Cambodia.

Lack of jobs can’t be blamed either. Śrī Laṅkā is richer than India, Bangladesh and Cambodia. Yet its rate of female employment seems impervious to growth.

What is going on?

And what explains diversity within South Asia? Why is female employment so much higher in Bhutan?