Rural India has seen particularly explosive growth: female employment rose by 96 per cent, underscoring a significant expansion in rural workforce participation.
In a dramatic sign of progress, India has witnessed a near doubling of its women’s employment rate between 2017-18 and 2023-24 – rising from 22 per cent to 40.3 per cent, according to recent data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) cited by the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
This surge is accompanied by a sharp drop in female unemployment – from 5.6 per cent in 2017-18 to just 3.2 per cent in 2023-24 – indicating not just more women seeking jobs, but more women gaining them.
Growth Across the Spectrum
Rural India has seen particularly explosive growth: female employment rose by 96 per cent, underscoring a significant expansion in rural workforce participation. Urban areas too registered solid growth, with a 43 per cent rise in women’s employment over the same period.
A large chunk of this growth emerges from formal sector participation. Over the past seven years, approximately 1.56 crore women have entered the formal workforce, as evidenced by EPFO payroll additions. Meanwhile, the e-Shram portal has registered over 16 crore women unorganized workers, connecting them to social welfare schemes.
Entrepreneurship is also booming. Female-led micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) jumped from 1 crore in 2010-11 to about 1.92 crore in 2023-24, signalling that nearly twice as many women now head such ventures. Nearly half of DPIIT-registered startups (around 74,410 of 154,000+) include at least one woman director, revealing a shift towards inclusive leadership.
Policy support plays a decisive role. About 70 central schemes across 15 ministries and over 400 state-level schemes target female entrepreneurship. Schemes like PM Mudra Yojana have channelled 68 per cent of loans to women, while 44 per cent of PM SVANidhi beneficiaries are women, helping to sustain self-employment and street vendor empowerment.
Skills, Education, and Self-Reliance Rising
Enhanced access to education and employability are gaining traction: employability among female graduates improved from 42 per cent in 2013 to 47.53 per cent in 2024. Postgraduate women’s employment rate climbed from 34.5 per cent in 2017-18 to 40 per cent in 2023-24. Moreover, self-employment for women rose from 51.9 per cent to 67.4 per cent over the same period – bolstering the Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) narrative.
The central government has increased its gender-focused budget by 429 per cent over the past decade – from ₹0.85 lakh crore in FY 2013-14 to ₹4.49 lakh crore in FY 2025-26 – shifting from women’s development to women-led development.
A Roadmap for Inclusion
Against this backdrop, India’s ‘Viksit Bharat 2047’ vision envisions 70 per cent female workforce participation. Policy deliberations are already underway, focused on expanding affordable care services, promoting skills aligned with growth sectors, ensuring workplace safety, and leveraging AI and digital platforms to widen access.
The data paints a powerful narrative: India’s women are no longer sidelined – across rural villages and urban centres alike, they are entering, transforming, and leading the economy. With job opportunities rising, more women entering formal employment and entrepreneurship, bolstered by supportive policies and budgets, India is edging closer to its goal of gender-inclusive growth. If sustained, this momentum can rewrite the economic and social fabric of the nation – anchored in women’s empowerment.
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