In a rapidly advancing economy, one critical question demands attention: where do rural Indian women stand today? With nearly 48% of women still residing in rural areas, their progress remains central to the nation’s broader development. As technology and financial reforms reshape India’s economic landscape, the concern persists — are rural women advancing alongside the rest of the country, or are they being left behind?

India has made notable jump through legal reforms, government schemes, corporate collaborations and grassroots NGO efforts that aim to empower women. These initiatives have contributed to safer, more supportive environments for rural women. However, substantial challenges remain. Many rural areas continue to lack the infrastructure, resources and opportunities necessary for inclusive and equitable growth. Among the most urgent concerns are persistent health vulnerabilities and financial exclusion, both of which hinder the full participation of rural women in India’s development journey.

Her Health Vulnerabilities

Women in rural India face ongoing health challenges, especially in maternal and reproductive care. Limited access to quality healthcare, preventive screenings and proper nutrition compounds their vulnerability. In Jharkhand, for instance, the Food, Nutrition, Health and WASH programme mobilised 3.2 million women through self-help groups (SHGs) to promote hygiene and health underscoring the scale of unmet need.

The National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) reports that over 57% of rural women aged 15–49 are anaemic, revealing a serious public health burden. Maternal mortality remains a critical issue, with India recording a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 97 per 100,000 live births (2018–2020), disproportionately affecting rural regions. At the same time, the rise of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes poses growing risks to the long-term well-being of women.

Without adequate protection mechanisms, women often delay seeking care due to cost, distance or lack of awareness. This leads to preventable health shocks and higher maternal mortality, further weakening household resilience and relegating women’s health needs to secondary status.

Her Financial Vulnerabilities

Despite the growth of entrepreneurship initiatives targeting rural women, financial exclusion continues to undermine their economic agency. According to a 2023 NITI Aayog report, just 14% of Indian women are engaged in entrepreneurial activity, with even fewer represented in the formal sector. Structural barriers persist, including:

Limited access to institutional credit
Inadequate digital infrastructure
Absence of gender-responsive support systems
Social norms that limit decision-making and ownership

While women now hold 42.2% of rural bank accounts, they still face difficulties accessing credit, savings products and digital financial tools. Encouragingly, the number of women borrowers has tripled since 2019, with 60% from rural and semi-urban areas. (From Borrowers to Builders: Women’s Role in India’s Financial Growth Story)

Systemic barriers hindering her overall growth

Beyond financial and health-related challenges, rural women face systemic barriers at the institutional and community levels, where adequate support is often lacking.

Cumbersome, bureaucratic loan processes laden with documentation and procedural delays discourage many from pursuing opportunities.
The absence of structured mentorship and peer support leaves aspiring entrepreneurs without networks to scale and sustain their businesses.
Gender bias and entrenched stereotypes within financial institutions and community settings continue to question women’s credibility and leadership potential.

Overcoming these barriers is essential to realising the full potential of rural women. The way forward must involve making social protection accessible to every woman, particularly those in India’s most remote and underserved regions.

To meaningfully include rural women under the social protection umbrella, we must begin with a clear definition. The International Labour Organisation defines social protection as the provision of social security in response to life risks such as unemployment, disability and maternity as well as support for those experiencing poverty or social exclusion.

This definition reveals that poverty and exclusion disproportionately impact women in rural areas. Globally, over two billion women and girls lack access to any form of social protection. In India, this gap is equally concerning. Even where social protection mechanisms are in place, gender disparities persist. According to UN data, only 50.1% of women access at least one social protection benefit compared to 54.6% of men. Rural women face the highest levels of exclusion.

These figures highlight the urgency of developing a robust, gender-responsive social protection framework — one that not only extends coverage but also propels rural women forward in their journey toward empowerment and economic inclusion.

Government initiatives supporting rural women

To advance women’s empowerment across rural India, the government has implemented several strategic programmes. Some of the most impactful include:

National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM)
NRLM strengthens women’s self-help groups, expands credit access and promotes entrepreneurship building sustainable livelihoods and community resilience.
MGNREGA
With one-third of its jobs reserved for women, MGNREGA ensures fair wages, income security and economic independence.
e-NAM and Cooperatives (NCDC)
By facilitating market linkages and collective bargaining, women gain access to fair pricing and new opportunities in agriculture, dairy and textiles.
Mission Poshan 2.0 and PMMVY
These initiatives promote maternal nutrition and provide direct cash transfers, addressing critical vulnerabilities during pregnancy and early motherhood.
Swachh Bharat, Ujjwala, and Jal Jeevan Missions
Access to sanitation, clean water, and LPG connections improves health outcomes, reduces domestic drudgery and frees up time for education and employment.
Digital Literacy and Mission Shakti
Through digital training and safety initiatives, these programmes enhance women’s access to information, services and institutional support.

42.2 Rural women hold bank accounts contributing herly 40 to total deposits

While government policies set the groundwork, the true test of social protection lies in last-mile delivery ensuring access to health, nutrition and financial tools at the doorstep. Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman programme plays a vital role in bridging this delivery gap, offering targeted support to rural women across multiple dimensions of empowerment.

In FY 2024, Swabhiman reached over 190,000 women across six states, equipping them with access to healthcare, financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills. The programme recognises that sustainable workforce participation is intricately tied to health, dignity and opportunity.

Rural women in India are resilient and ready to lead. Yet their advancement depends on equitable systems — ones that guarantee access to health services, financial resources and sustained opportunities.

Smile Foundation’s Swabhiman initiative provides a credible platform for corporates and civil society to partner with government efforts. By integrating healthcare, vocational training and financial and digital literacy, Swabhiman helps build long-term, community-rooted pathways for empowerment.

Together, we can ensure that social protection reaches the last mile and that every woman, no matter where she lives, has the opportunity to thrive. Drop us a mail for a CSR partnership related to women empowerment.

An alarming two billion women and girls worldwide lack access to any form of social protection, such as cash benefits, unemployment insurance, pensions or healthcare, according to a recent report released by UN Women.

The World Survey on the Role of Women in Development report was released October 15, 2024, focusing on the theme, ‘Harnessing social protection for gender equality, resilience and transformation’. An edition of the paper is submitted every five years to the Economic and Financial Committee of the United Nations General Assembly.

Lack of maternity benefits, climate change, impact women

Globally, more than 63% women still give birth without access to maternity benefits. This lack of financial support during maternity leave can severely impact the economic stability of women as well as the well-being of their children.

According to the report, gender-specific risks and vulnerabilities are exacerbated by factors like conflict, climate change and economic shocks. Women are also disproportionately impacted by recent inflation with rising food and energy prices hitting them particularly hard.

Women aged 25 to 34 are 25% more likely than men of the same age to live in households facing extreme poverty. This disparity is worsened by conflict and climate change, with women in fragile settings being 7.7 times more likely to experience extreme poverty than those in stable environments, says the report.

“The impact is always greater on vulnerable populations. Be it COVID-19 or flood, the first to be affected are women. If we look at the underlying factors, it comes back to patriarchal norms. Even when they distribute relief material or cash for women during the floods, it’s men who go first to collect it,” says Prasanna Gettu, founder of The International Foundation for Crime Prevention and Victim Care (PCVC).

What is social protection?

Social protection for women refers to a range of policies and programmes that are specifically designed to reduce poverty, inequality, and vulnerability among women. It aims to ensure that women have access to essential services, resources, and opportunities for empowerment.

Why is social protection of women important?

Due to their reproductive roles and social and cultural norms, women go through periods of vulnerability. They are affected by poverty, violence, and discrimination. Women often take on caregiving roles, which limits their access to paid work. Social protection can help support them with childcare services and maternity benefits. Women also have specific healthcare needs related to reproductive and maternity health care and programmes need to address these and improve women’s access to it.

Despite laws against discrimination, there are still wage gaps, with women being paid less than men in the same role. Social protection programmes can promote fair employment practices.

Social protection programmes are a powerful tool to reduce poverty and gender inequality. It can combat discrimination against girl children, the risk of unemployment women face when they are pregnant and give birth, and provide a safety net against poverty and lack of care in old age.

However, globally, only a minority of women are adequately covered by or have access to existing social protection schemes.

Indian Scenario

India has several social protection programmes aimed at supporting women, focusing on empowerment, health, education, and economic security. For instance, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is a social campaign that aims to improve the status of girls and women by improving the child sex ratio and addressing issues of gender discrimination.

Mahila E-Haat is an initiative for meeting aspirations and needs of women entrepreneurs. It is an online marketing platform for women, where participants can display their products, and help them become financially independent and self-reliant.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, a flagship scheme, provides clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to rural and deprived households, reducing health hazards.

India also has One Stop Centres (OSC), that support women affected by violence, in private and public spaces, within the family, community and at the workplace. They offer legal, medical, and counselling services.

The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY), a government-backed savings scheme for the welfare of girl children, aims to provide financial security for a girl’s higher education and marriage.

Challenges

“On paper we have everything, as per the Indian Constitution, you cannot discriminate against anyone, men and women should be given equal wages and there are special laws and schemes for the social protection of women and children. But it’s all just on paper,” says advocate and social activist Sudha Ramalingam. “People need to be made aware of these laws and schemes and we should devise mechanisms to ensure that the benefits reach the people. NGOs and social activists need to help with the coordination and be part of task monitoring bodies,” says Sudha, who is the founder of Manonmani Trust, which gives free food and shelter to the needy. “We also provide free tuition and constitutional rights education to children in rural areas so that they know what their rights are,” she says.

Prasanna says that the central government comes up with many welfare schemes for women that offer them social protection. “However, these are often not continued. The central government launches initiatives for a few years and then they have to be taken over by the state governments, but they are often not continued,” she says, adding that state governments do launch their own initiatives addressing issues such as access to education for girls and nutritious meal schemes. “While these schemes are aimed at empowering girls and women, there is very little focus on gender-based violence. More concerted effort is required on innovation to look at changing needs.”

Help from NGOs

The promotion of gender equality and women empowerment is a key aspect of UNDP’s Sustainable Development Goals. A community, society, and country prosper when its women are empowered. According to Smile Foundation, skilled women join India’s workforce and contribute to economy; healthy women lay down the foundation for healthy families; aware mothers ensure that their children go to school; empowered women become change makers and support other women.

The Foundation’s women empowerment programme Swabhiman, initiated in 2005, reaches out to marginalised and socially excluded women with interventions in nutrition, healthcare and livelihood.

The mainstay of Swabhiman programme’s community outreach is through change agents, peer educators, community health educators and Swabhiman health volunteers. These change agents are identified from the community and empowered through regular training sessions on relevant issues. They further educate and spread awareness among their peers in the community.

Reproductive and child health, the pilot initiative of Swabhiman, aims to provide basic primary healthcare, address issues of pregnancy, newborn and child health, and facilitate access to public and private health facilities. Efforts are made to provide accessible and comprehensive reproductive health services, education, and resources to women of childbearing age. This includes promoting family planning methods, offering counselling on contraception, and ensuring access to contraceptives and family planning clinics.

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