Women’s economic empowerment includes women’s ability to participate equally in existing markets; their access to and control over productive resources, access to decent work, control over their own time, lives and bodies; and increased voice, agency and meaningful participation in economic decision-making at all levels from the household to international institutions.

The way to enhance women’s economic empowerment is not just by increasing female employment opportunities, but also reducing the double shift burden women face. There is a need for adoption of the 3Rs approach, which involves Recognising, Reducing and Redistributing the unpaid care work done by women in all areas of policymaking. 

This can be done by facilitating women’s work as investment in public-sector care infrastructure. Public investment of just 2% of India’s GDP in the care economy, could not only generate 11 million jobs, but could also increase women’s economic and social welfare as they venture out into formal work. 

It is pivotal to have women-centric and women-friendly policies in place with an aim to encourage and support women entrepreneurship in India. There is also an urgent need to ensure that significant interventions take place to provide easier access to banks and other financial institutions, as well as tax incentives.

About 20.37 per cent of the MSME industry in India is made up of women-led businesses, which also employ about 23.3 per cent of the labour population.

In India's economy, women entrepreneurs are growing more substantial, and their contributions shouldn't be undervalued. These female entrepreneurs play a crucial role in the Indian economy and have a significant effect on it by generating employment, accelerating development, and fostering prosperity. As per recent figures, women comprise 14 per cent of the total entrepreneurs in India, which works out to 8 million. Also, 10 per cent of all formal enterprises are owned by women.