Women's participation in economics, education and businesses see Steady Rise: Mospi | Mint

New -Delhi: Women in India gradually acquire land on education, finance, businesses and political participation, the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MOSPI) said in a report published on Sunday. The 26th edition of Mospi’s Women and Men in India 2024 report noted that the Gender Parity Index (GPI) was for entries at the primary and higher secondary higher in FY24 than in FY23 and FY22, which means more girls are now entered. At upper primary and elementary levels, the entry numbers were more or less the same for boys and girls. The Labor Force participation (LFPR) for women 15 years and older has improved significantly and increased from 49.8% in 2017-18 to 60.1% in 2023-2, the report states. In the financial sector, women own 39.2% of all bank accounts and contribute to 39.7% of the total deposits, with their presence most important in rural areas, where they make up 42.2% of account holders. Female participation in the capital market also grows, but the total numbers are small. Between March 2021 and November 2024, the number of Demat accounts increased from 33.26 million to 143.02 million. Of this. The number of women’s account holders rose from 6.67 million in 2021 to 27.71 million in 2024. The MOSPI report has indicated an increase in women-headed companies over the past three years (2021-22 to 2023-24), reflecting the growing economic independence. According to Mospi, political participation among women has also strengthened. The number of male and female voters grew from 173.2 million in 1952 to 978 million in 2024, with an increasing part of the women. In the 2024 general election, female voter emergence (65.8%) exceeded male rise, even if it dropped slightly from 67.2% in 2019. Female entrepreneurship is also on the rise. The number of startups that DPIIT acknowledged with at least one female director rose sharply from 1 943 in 2017 to 17,405 in 2024.