Female demat account holders have quadrupled since 2021: MoSPI report

Indian women have witnessed increased financialisation since the pandemic

The interest in India’s capital market is not only limited to men, but more women have also turned to the market since the pandemic, a report released by ministry of statistics and programme implementation showed.

The number of female demat account holders has quadrupled since 2021, growing at a similar pace to men. While women held 6.7 million demat accounts in 2021, by the end of 2024, the number had increased to 27.2 million.

India’s total demat account holders has increased from 33.3 million to 143 million, as the market delivered healthy returns.

Between March 2021 and December 2024, BSE Sensex had increased 61 percent.

The financialisation is not limited to demat accounts, MoSPI report titled “Women and Men in India 2024: Selected Indicators and Data” notes that women held 39.2 percent of all bank accounts, with their share higher at 42 percent in rural areas.

The number of establishments with women as heads has also gone up from 24 percent in 2021-22 to 26.2 percent in 2023-24, with the jump coming from manufacturing and services enterprises, where women-headed establishment share went up from 54.1 to 58.2 percent and 10.1 to 14.2 percent, respectively.

“Over the years, there has been an increase in the number of startups recognised by DPIIT with at least one-woman director, reflecting a positive trend in female entrepreneurship. The total number of such startups rose from 1,943 in 2017 to 17,405 in 2024,” the MoSPI report noted.

The increase correlates with more women joining the workforce as well. Labour force participation rose to 41.7 percent in 2023-24 from 23.3 percent in 2017-18.

There has also been an increase in women’s say in the political system has also increased.

“The gender gap in voting has narrowed, with female turnout surpassing male turnout in 2024,” the report said.

Rising women participation was one reason that political parties have been going out of their way to woo women voters with programmes like cash incentive schemes and free bus rides.

Delhi became the latest government to initiate the scheme to provide monthly cash transfer for women from low-income households.