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New Delhi: In April 2025, a government report pointed out that participation of women in the labour force, the financial sector, and the overall economy was growing. This suggests that the gap with men is bridging fast. The increased women’s participation in economic activities could be attributed to greater access to education, digital inclusion, and government initiatives that back women empowerment.
Women’s contribution in India’s economic growth story has seen a massive growth. They are joining the workforce in greater numbers and taking on key roles in financial decision-making and entrepreneurship.
Women's participation in labour force in India has witnessed a rapid rise. The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for 2019-20 showed the female labour force participation rate (LFPR) was 22.2%. LFPR rose to 37% in 2022-2023, up from 23.3% in 2017-2018, the Economic Survey 2022-23 indicated. According to some reports, self-employment among women spiked to 67.4% in 2023-24, up from 51.9% in 2017-18, with rural areas witnessing a rise from 57.7% to 73.5%, and urban areas from 34.7% to 42.3%.
However, there are some hurdles that need to be crossed. The female labour force participation rate in India remains far lower than that of men, which stands at 77.2%. It also falls short of the global average of 50%, according to World Bank estimates. This is largely because of limited access to education, lack of flexible job opportunities, safety concerns, unpaid care responsibilities, and skill development for women across the country. The Mospi's time-use survey for January-December 2024 revealed that women aged 15-59 spent about 305 minutes (roughly 5 hours) daily on unpaid domestic services, compared to just 24 minutes for men.
The ministry of statistics and programme implementation (Mospi)’s 'Women and Men in 2024' report indicated that more and more women are investing in stocks markets. It was revealed that between March 2021 and November 2024, the number of Demat accounts held by women soared from 33.26 million to 143.02 million.
As of March 2024, data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India revealed that women accounted for 33% of the total individual assets under management in mutual funds. The number of officially recognised startups with at least one woman director went up from 1,943 in 2017 to 17,405 in 2024, the report said. This reflects a marked shift in the Indian startup ecosystem, where more women are assuming leadership roles and contributing to economic development.
The Economic Survey 2022-23 pointed out that around 68 per cent of the loans were sanctioned to women entrepreneurs under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY), and 77.7 per cent of the beneficiaries under Stand-Up India are women, as of May 2024. This has gone a long way in women participating in economic development.
With more females joining the workforce, their participation helps in contributing to the national productivity and GDP. Investments get diversified, innovations take a new dimension, and business booms. There is more balanced decision-making and inclusive growth, thereby alleviating poverty and bridging the inequality gap.
