Women’s organisations seek focus on increasing female workforce participation in Union budget

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Women’s organisations and civil society members feel that increasing female workforce participation through employment-linked incentives, flexible work hours, and providing supportive infrastructure, including work site creches, should be a priority of the government in the upcoming Union budget.

Even as the women’s groups lauded the increase in the ‘gender budget’ component of the previous budget, as well as special schemes, including the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana and Namo Drone Didi for financial empowerment for women, they said the unique needs of women and girls, particularly in skilling and livelihoods, as well as investments in the care economy, should be addressed.

“The increased gender budget allocation, reaching ₹3 lakh crore in FY25, reflects a strong commitment to women’s welfare. Looking forward, we need to focus on enhancing women’s workforce participation through employment-linked incentives and flexible work policies,” Ritvika Naidu, director, Prabhu Naidu Private Limited, an organisation working with rural women in Maharashtra.

She said that supporting infrastructure, including workplace crèches, improved public transport, and equal pay initiatives, can enable women to thrive.

As of 2023, the female labour force participation rate (LFPR) in India was 32.7%. This is the percentage of women aged 15 years and older who are economically active.

The organisations also spoke of the need for focus on the quality of jobs available for women, and the need for skilling.

While increase in ‘gender budgeting’ reflects a growing recognition of the importance of mainstreaming of women-led development, there is a need to address the unique requirements of women and girls, particularly in skilling and livelihoods, Sowjanya Kanuri, director, ACT For Women, which works on increasing women’s workforce participation, said.

“Even as female labour force participation rises, it is a pivotal moment for the 2025-26 budget to focus on the quality of women’s jobs and ensure that they are able to access decent and dignified employment, particularly through investments in the care economy,” Ms. Kanuri said.

Neera Nundy, partner and co-founder of Dasra India, expressed optimism that the budget would provide favourable policies and enhanced tax incentives in the upcoming Union budget to unlock greater domestic capital from families, individuals, and corporates.

Kalpana Ajayan, regional head, South Asia, Women’s World Banking, said programmes such as ‘Lakhpati Didi’, ‘PM SVANidhi’ and ‘MUDRA Yojana’ were steadily empowering rural and low-income women to participate in the financial ecosystem.

“However, their true impact hinges on rigorous monitoring and evaluation, assessing their effectiveness in advancing women’s empowerment across various facets, while contributing to broader macroeconomic gains,” she added.

“In our work in credit, with partners like SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India), CGTMSE (Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises), and NABARD (National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development), we see women are responsible borrowers, aspire to larger loans and tailored products, making them a key segment for focused investment,” Ms. Ajayan said.