Economic Survey 2024: Women achieve landmark 37% labour force participation, driven by rural empowerment

In the recently released economic survey for FY 2023-24, women's participation in India’s labour force has surged dramatically, reflecting a significant leap in gender equality and empowerment. The female labour force participation rate (LFPR) soared to 37% in 2022-23, up from a mere 23.3% in 2017-18—an impressive shift largely driven by rural women, who dominate in agriculture-related roles.

This trend underscores the urgent need to elevate women from traditional agricultural positions into higher value-added sectors, particularly agro-processing, which holds immense potential for enhancing the skills and livelihoods of rural female workers.

The eco survey also pointed out how entrepreneurship among women is on the rise, with 68 percent of loans under the PM Mudra Yojana sanctioned to female entrepreneurs, while 77.7 percent of beneficiaries of the Stand-Up India scheme are women. As digital literacy expands, women constitute over half of the beneficiaries of the Prime Minister’s Rural Digital Literacy Campaign.

Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana

Financial inclusion has also played a critical role in this empowerment journey. The Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana has been a game-changer, leading to the opening of 52.3 crore bank accounts, with an impressive 55.6% of these accounts belonging to women as of May 2024. This has empowered women to take control of household finances, with average bank deposits increasing nearly fourfold since 2015.

Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana

The survey also emphasises the transformative power of rural microfinance, particularly through the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-NRLM which integrates over 89 million women into Self-Help Groups (SHGs). Over 3.5 crore women community resource persons (CRPs) have emerged as vital agents of change, helping to lift their communities out of poverty through various initiatives.

Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

Crucial to this empowerment is the health and education of the girl child. Initiatives like “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” have stimulated cultural shifts towards valuing and investing in girls, resulting in an improved sex ratio at birth and reduced maternal mortality rates.