Nearly 18% jump in women workforce in seven years: Govt data

Female participation in the workforce has witnessed a significant surge, as highlighted in an official document from the Ministry of Labour and Employment released on Monday.

According to the data from Periodic Labour Force Surveys, recorded annually, the rate of women’s employment grew from 22 per cent to 40.3 per cent in a span of seven years. These figures included female workers in both the urban and rural areas between 2017 and 2024.

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The shift in employment trends were more prominent for the rural area with an increase in the women workforce by 96 per cent, nearly an increment of over two-fold, in contrast to employment rates in cities during the same period, which stood at 43 per cent.

While the official data show that the unemployment rate among working women fell from 5.6 per cent in 2017–18 to 3.2 per cent in 2023–24, it has actually risen compared to 2.9 per cent recorded in 2022–23.

Citing the data from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the government claimed an increase in the participation of women in the formal sector. The official document stated that over the past seven years, 1.56 crore women have joined the formal workforce, while the number of women in the unorganised sector recorded on the e-Shram portal until August 2025 was over 16.69 crore.

Outlining an increment of more educated females in the nation’s labour force, the report indicated over a per cent rise in the employability of female graduates between 2013 and 2024. A similar trend was indicated for post-graduate females, with numbers rising from 34.5 percent to 40 per cent between 2017 and 2024.

The share of self-employed women rose sharply by 30 percentage points, from 51.9 per cent in 2017–18 to 67.4 per cent in 2023–24, according to PLFS data. This increase has been linked to government efforts at both the central and state levels, with around 70 schemes at the national level and over 400 at the state level aimed at supporting female entrepreneurs, ranging from Lakhpati Didi to PM SVANidhi schemes as per the official document.