India: The long arc of gender-led development

While India’s progress towards gender equality has been significant, further investment in women and girls is essential for the nation’s future.

By Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

For India to unlock its full potential, significant, long-term investments in women and girls are essential.  For generations, women across the world have grappled with cultural norms and policies that produced vast gender disparities across social and economic lines. In India, years of concerted effort by the public sector, private sector, philanthropy, and grassroots, citizen-led movements are sowing the seeds of gender equality. 

Today, 280 million Indian women have bank accounts. Nearly 10 million women work in frontline jobs. And more than 1 million women hold local governance positions. These represent significant strides towards women’s economic and political participation. 

But as far as India has come, the work of gender equality remains. Access to a bank account is just one step toward financial security; a steady job does not ensure that someone can support their family. And despite India’s strides forward, women and girls remain vulnerable to gendered violence. 

Today, growing demands for safety, dignity, and equality for women are ringing across the nation, against a backdrop of another attack that claimed the life of a young woman. These tragedies compound, leading to the alarming fact that nearly one in three women has experienced gendered violence or sexual assault. Indeed, progress and tragedy have coexisted on India’s journey.

This is a moment that promises to define the future for a generation of Indian women. Over 300 million young women will soon enter adulthood, into a world of familiar hardships but of unprecedented opportunities. Their futures—India’s future—will be defined as much by how India addresses its challenges as by what India does.

For our part at the Ford Foundation, we’ve proudly been a partner in India’s journey for over 70 years. We have witnessed the transformative impact of women’s leadership and the positive ripple effects it sets forth across the country—and beyond. 

For example, India’s adoption of a gender-conscious approach to economic growth and development has significantly increased women’s participation in the workforce. Women now constitute over 55% of participants in the national employment program and account for 80% of the country’s food production.

And more than over 10 million women are working on the frontlines of healthcare. This work has empowered women professionally and financially while also enabling more families to live longer, healthier lives—significantly reducing maternal mortality rates and helping to vaccinate 170 million children. 

The Ford Foundation’s early investments in the training and development of frontline women healthcare workers has helped facilitate additional pioneering gender-first approaches to public health, particularly among young people.

Perhaps most importantly, women now have access to programs like direct benefit transfers and financial literacy initiatives which help provide them with a safety net and access to resources to protect their wages.

Self-help groups (SHGs) have emerged as another critical pillar of gender equality. More than 12 million women’s collectives across the country now provide access to affordable credit and opportunities for income generation, while also fostering leadership skills and collective action. These groups empower women economically and socially, as they build networks of mutual support and resilience. These are inspiring innovations that both center gender and deepen democracy.

The compounding benefits of these interventions is evident everywhere one looks, particularly in government.

In 1992, India passed a constitutional amendment that mandates women hold at least one-third of local elected positions. This policy has paved the way for greater female participation in grassroots decision-making. In 21 of India’s 28 states, women hold 50% or more elected seats, with over 1.4 million women serving among the more than 3.1 million elected representatives.

India’s unique model of grassroots democracy— the Panchayati Raj Institutions—offers a powerful model to promote women’s leadership in local governance and decision-making. These institutions specifically incorporate a gendered perspective into local development planning at the village council level, ensuring that women’s voices are heard, and their priorities are accounted for in new development initiatives. As India’s former Permanent Representative to the UN noted, “The Panchayati Raj is a sterling example of direct democracy that facilitates active participation from all.” 

This is meaningful progress, and should serve as a model for women-led development across the Global South.

Of course, across all of these areas, the question remains: How can government leaders, healthcare professionals, education advocates, and SHGs work together to ensure that they reinforce each other, amplifying their collective impact? 

The next phase of development will reach its promise if women are in full sail, and if their leadership is not only considered but prioritized in the design of India’s future.

Centering gender in India is on a determined path. Millions of women and girls are bending the long arc of this journey towards justice. To get there requires collective action from the state, from philanthropy, the private and public sector, and citizens alike—a unified front in pursuit of a better future. We have already seen the progress that vibrant movements have made over the years to close the inequality gap in India.

The path forward is not just about gender equality in India; it is about demonstrating to the world that sustainable development and progress are only achievable when every member of society is empowered to reach their full potential. The world is watching, and India’s success in this endeavor can inspire global movements toward gender equity. Women’s advancement is not only a fixture of progress, but the very foundation upon which we build a more just, equitable, and prosperous future for all. 

Darren Walker is the president of the Ford Foundation and the author of From Generosity to Justice: A New Gospel of Wealth.