Ruralwomen’s empowerment and livelihood security in India are shaped by acombination of gendered aspects of work participation, access to finance and agencyin household and community decisions. Recent data show measurable gains alongwith sharp state-level differences in this aspect. With respect to livelihood,national data shows that women’s economic participation has strengthened inrecent years. According to Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24, femaleLabour Force Participation rate (LFPR, usual status, age 15+) stands at 41.7per cent and female Worker Population Ratio (WPR) stands at 40.3 per cent,reflecting a major rise compared to previous rounds (PIB, 2024). The ruralfemale LFPR increased considerably between 2017-18 and 2023-24, showing rurallabour markets, public works, and allied activities have been important spacesfor women’s income generation (PIB, 2024).

Acrossstates, empowerment and livelihood pathways vary because economic structure, socialnorms and programme reach differ widely. According to the PLFS pattern, femaleLFPR has increased in most states, with rural areas witnessing major gains,states such as Rajasthan and Jharkhand have shown strong increase in participationin recent evaluations (EACPM, 2024). At the same time, evidence from NationalFamily Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21, shows state-level disparities in women’sempowerment indicators such as agency, decision-making and related indicators),highlighting that increase in one indicator (work) may not always matchimprovements in another (autonomy) (Vignitha, 2024). Empowerment is not onlyabout entering work, it is also about control over earnings, mobility anddecision-making. The recent NFHS 5 data shows that a large share of womenparticipate in key household decisions which often serve as a proxy for agency,yet gaps persist in financial autonomy. For example, it points out that manywomen still lack independent control over spending their own money, with theconstraints being more evident in rural areas, highlighting that income doesnot always translate into bargaining power (Mitra et al., 2024).

Withinthese contradicting scenarios, Self-Help Groups (SHG) have proved to be a majorinstitutional driver of rural women’s livelihood under Deendayal AntyodayaYojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM), which supports savings,credit linkage, livelihood training and collective strength. This programme hasplayed a crucial role in expanding women’s access to formal finance andlivelihood opportunities. The latest data from Periodic Labour Force Survey(PLFS) suggests a positive trend: more rural women are participating inemployment and livelihood systems, while institutional platforms such as SHGsare also growing. However, empowerment remains uneven across states and socialgroups and the next policy push must focus not only on jobs but also on quality work, secure incomes, skill developmentand improved financial and social agency.

Abhimanyu Singh Thakur, Programme Coordinator, IRDF