Large number of women engaged in business but still small compared to men

A little over 20% of micro, small and medium enterprises and 47.6% of the total DPIIT recognised start-ups are led by women, government data shows. The findings are a part of the latest Report on Men and Women in India – 2023 that was released by the Ministry of statistics and programme implementation.

Using data from the Udyam Registration Portal of the ministry of MSME, the report said that women-owned MSMEs constitute 20.5% of the total number of MSMEs registered on the portal since its inception on July 1, 2020. “These women-owned MSMEs’ contribution to the employment generated by the total Udyam registered units is 18.73%, involving 11.15% of the total investment,” it further noted. About 10.22% of the total turnover from MSMEs also comes from these women owned enterprises.

The annual report by MOSPI on gender statistics, compiles data on men and women in the country and their participation in economic activities as well as social and health indicators. According to the 2011 Census, India's population stood at 121.1 crore, with 48.5% being female. By 2036, it is expected to reach 152.2 crore, with a slightly improved female percentage of 48.8%.

“The increasing presence of women as entrepreneurs has led to significant business and economic growth in the country. Women-owned business enterprises are playing a prominent role in society by generating employment opportunities in the country, bringing in demographic shifts and inspiring the next generation of women founders,” the report said.

The total number of Start-ups recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade since inception in January 2016 until December 2023 is 1,17,254. Of these, the total number of women-led start-ups (those with at least one woman director) is 55,816 which constitute 47.6% of the total start-ups, revealed the report.

It also revealed that the number of women who are engaged in senior managerial positions in companies have also risen over the years, but they remain still small compared to the total number of men in such positions.  In 2023-24 (upto January 2024), as many as 7.62 lakh women were in the board of directors of companies compared to 19.75 lakh men in such posts. Similarly, 34,879 women were in senior management positions last fiscal compared to 1.86 lakh men. Another 7.38 lakh women were engaged in other managerial positions last fiscal as against 18.6 lakh men in such positions.