Rural women’s empowerment and livelihood security in India areshaped by a combination of gendered aspects of work participation, access to finance, and agencyin household and community decisions. Recent data show measurable gains along withsharp state-level differences in this aspect. With respect to livelihood, national datashows that women’s economic participation has strengthened in recent years. According tothe Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023-24, female Labour Force Participationrate (LFPR, usual status, age 15+) stands at 41.7 per cent, and the female WorkerPopulation Ratio (WPR) stands at 40.3 per cent, reflecting a major rise compared to previous rounds(PIB, 2024). The rural female LFPR increased considerably between 2017-18 and 2023-24,showing rural labour markets, public works, and allied activities have been importantspaces for women’s income generation (PIB, 2024). Across states, empowermentand livelihood pathways vary because economic structure, social norms, and programmereach differ widely. According to the PLFS pattern, female LFPR has increased in moststates, with rural areas witnessing major gains, such as Rajasthan and Jharkhand haveshown a strong increase in participation in recent evaluations (EACPM, 2024). At the sametime, evidence from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21, shows state-leveldisparities in women’s empowerment indicators such as agency, decision-making, and relatedindicators, highlighting that an increase in one indicator (work) may not always matchimprovements in another (autonomy) (Vignitha, 2024). Empowerment is not only about enteringwork, but it is also about control over earnings, mobility, and decision-making- making. The recent NFHS 5data show that a large share of women participate in key household decisions, whichoften serve as a proxy for agency, yet gaps persist in financial autonomy. For example, itpoints out that many women still lack independent control over spending their own money,with the constraints being more evident in rural areas, highlighting that incomedoes not always translate into bargaining power (Mitra et al., 2024). Within these contradictingscenarios, Self-Help Groups (SHG) have proved to be a major institutional driver ofrural women’s livelihood under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural LivelihoodsMission (DAY-NRLM), which supports savings, credit linkage, livelihood training, andcollective strength. This programme has played a crucial role in expanding women’s access toformal finance and livelihood opportunities. The latest data from the Periodic LabourForce Survey (PLFS) suggests a positive trend: more rural women are participating in employmentand livelihood systems, while institutional platforms such as SHGs are also growing.However, empowerment remains uneven across states and social groups, and the next policypush must focus not only on jobs but also on quality work, secure incomes, skill development,and improved financial and social agency.

AbhimanyuSingh Thakur, Programme Coordinator, IRDF