Only 21% Of Bank Money Is Held By Women: Data

The total amount of money deposited in women's accounts constituted 20.8 per cent, or Rs 39 trillion, of the overall Rs 187 trillion deposited across all accounts.

Women account holders hold only one-fifth of the total bank deposits in the country, despite owning one in three bank accounts, according to the latest "Men and Women" report from the National Statistical Office (NSO). This discrepancy highlights significant financial inequalities between men and women.

The data reveals that as of March 2023, women held 36.4 per cent of the total 2.52 billion individual accounts, amounting to 917.7 million accounts. These individual accounts encompass a range of categories, including those held by Hindu undivided families, resident individuals, farmers, traders, professionals, self-employed individuals, wage and salary earners and others.

In contrast, the total amount of money deposited in women's accounts constituted 20.8 per cent, or Rs 39 trillion, of the overall Rs 187 trillion deposited across all accounts.

The financial disparity between metropolitan and rural areas is particularly pronounced. In urban regions, women hold only 16.5 per cent of the total deposited amount, which equals Rs 1.9 trillion. In contrast, women control 30 per cent of the deposited funds in rural areas, amounting to Rs 5.91 trillion. This discrepancy may be partly attributed to the widespread use of Jan Dhan accounts in rural and semi-urban areas.

Additionally, the report highlights that women are significantly underrepresented in the banking sector. Only one in four bank employees is female, with 441,000 women working in banks compared to 1.32 million male employees.

The report also addresses the representation of women in corporate decision-making roles. It reveals that in 2023, only 34,879 women held senior management positions, compared to 186,000 men. Women occupied 762,000 seats on boards of directors, while men held 1.9 million positions. In other managerial roles within corporate firms, there were 738,000 women compared to 1.86 million men, according to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs data.

Although the number of women in senior management roles has risen from 23,685 in 2017 to 34,879 in 2023, the percentage increase for men during the same period was more pronounced, with their numbers growing from 150,300 to 186,900.