International Women's Day 2024: How can you assert control over your personal finances?

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Every year, in March, we celebrate International Women's Day. The objectives of this day include empowering women to get equal rights in all areas. One of the objectives includes making women financially independent. It can be done by providing equal opportunities for women to participate in the workforce through jobs, self-employment, entrepreneurship, etc. The government, industry, and various other stakeholders are doing their bit to encourage women's participation in the workforce.

In October 2023, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the Periodic Labour Force Survey Report 2022-23. As per the report, the participation of females in the labour force improved by 4.2% to 37% in 2023. The government has taken various initiatives to increase female participation in the labour force. Some of these initiatives include large scale initiatives for girls’ education, skill development, entrepreneurship facilitation and safety in the workplace, etc.

The above chart shows how women's participation in the labour force has increased in the last few years. However, much more needs to be done so that the female participation either reaches the level of men or exceeds it.

As more and more women start earning income, it is important for them to take charge of their personal finances, participate in family investment decisions, do goal-based investing, and achieve their financial goals. In January 2024, DBS Bank and CRISIL released the findings of the «Women and Finance» Survey. According to the survey, 98% of urban working women are actively involved in family decisions. 47% of women make financial decisions on their own. It reflects an ongoing transformative era of financial independence.

Women should