According to the latest data of the Ministry of Labor, the employment rate of women in 2017-18 was 22 percent, which has increased to 40.3 percent in 2023-24. This almost double growth is an important step towards the economic participation and empowerment of women in the country.

However, the challenges are still intact. Social and cultural obstacles such as domestic responsibilities and sexual stereotypes, can become an obstacle in the path of women. Nevertheless, it is clear from these data that women in India are moving rapidly towards economic freedom.

Women’s employment has increased by 96 percent in rural areas, while in urban areas this figure has been 43 percent. The credit for this change is being given to various schemes and policies of the government, which are focused on making women financially self -sufficient.

The ministry emphasized that the efforts of the Center are contributing to the development of women entrepreneurs. At the national level, 70 central schemes of 15 ministries and more than 400 state level schemes are focused on promoting women entrepreneurship. According to the data, the employment capacity of women graduates has increased from 42 percent in 2013 to 47.53 percent in 2024.

The employment rate of women who have been studying postgraduate and above have also increased from 34.5 percent in 2017-18 to 40 percent in 2023-24. This shows that educated women are now joining the workforce in large numbers than ever before.

PLFS data shows that women self-employment has increased by 30 percent. It has increased from 51.9 percent to 67.4 percent in 2023-24 in 2017-18. Due to which women are really becoming self -sufficient.

As a result of these efforts, 1.56 crore women have joined the formal workforce in the last seven years. The number of female-nervous micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) has also doubled to 1.92 crores, which has created more than 89 lakh employment. The government aims to ensure 70 percent women’s workforce participation by 2047.