Women’s role in business, workforce expands: ASUSE

Women’s participation in India’s economy is rising, both as an entrepreneur and as part of the workforce, according to the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE). The share of female headed proprietary establishments rose to 26.97% in 2025 from 26.17% in 2023-24, with the strongest presence in manufacturing.

Women headed 60.3% of manufacturing enterprises in 2025, up from 58.4% in 2023-24. Among states, Telangana leads at 80.5%, followed by West Bengal (67.6%) and Jharkhand (67.3%), the detailed report released Wednesday showed.


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The statistics ministry had earlier released a factsheet in March. It now conducts the survey on a calendar-year basis, instead of the earlier October-September cycle.

The share of female proprietors in other services rose to 15.4% in 2025 from 14.2% in 2023-24, while in trade it declined slightly to 13.4% from 13.7%. Unincorporated enterprises are non-agricultural establishments that are not registered under the Companies Act, 1956 or the Companies Act, 2013.

Female-led establishments are also contributing to job creation, with around 72% of such units employing at least one female hired worker. This highlights “their role in generating employment opportunities for women”, the ministry said in a statement.
Overall, women accounted for 28.7% of the workforce in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector in 2025, up from 28.1% in the previous year. Their presence remains particularly strong in own-account enterprises, where women make up over one-third (34.24%) of the workforce, compared with 18.72% in hired-worker establishments.
Sector-wise, women constituted 48.3% of workers in manufacturing, followed by 24.1% in services and 18.2% in trade.

Women’s participation in India’s economy is rising, both as an entrepreneur and as part of the workforce, according to the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE). The share of female headed proprietary establishments rose to 26.97% in 2025 from 26.17% in 2023-24, with the strongest presence in manufacturing.

Women headed 60.3% of manufacturing enterprises in 2025, up from 58.4% in 2023-24. Among states, Telangana leads at 80.5%, followed by West Bengal (67.6%) and Jharkhand (67.3%), the detailed report released Wednesday showed.

The statistics ministry had earlier released a factsheet in March. It now conducts the survey on a calendar-year basis, instead of the earlier October-September cycle.

The share of female proprietors in other services rose to 15.4% in 2025 from 14.2% in 2023-24, while in trade it declined slightly to 13.4% from 13.7%. Unincorporated enterprises are non-agricultural establishments that are not registered under the Companies Act, 1956 or the Companies Act, 2013.

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Female-led establishments are also contributing to job creation, with around 72% of such units employing at least one female hired worker. This highlights “their role in generating employment opportunities for women”, the ministry said in a statement. Overall, women accounted for 28.7% of the workforce in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector in 2025, up from 28.1% in the previous year.

Their presence remains particularly strong in own-account enterprises, where women make up over one-third (34.24%) of the workforce, compared with 18.72% in hired-worker establishments.

Sector-wise, women constituted 48.3% of workers in manufacturing, followed by 24.1% in services and 18.2% in trade.