In the recent past, our country’s approach to women’s empowerment has undergone a shift. What began as support initiatives aimed at welfare and protection is increasingly evolving into investment in women’s agency and leadership across economic, social and community spheres. Government statistics show that more women are participating in the workforce and entrepreneurship than ever before, with female self-employment rising from about 52 per cent in 2017-18 to 67 per cent in 2023-24. This progress is supported by a network of over 70 central schemes and 400 state programmes aimed at strengthening female entrepreneurship.
At the same time, the gender budget has grown nearly fivefold in the last decade to Rs 4.49 lakh crore in FY 2025–26, reflecting a deliberate shift from ‘women’s development’ to ‘women-led development.’
This evolving landscape presents an important question for philanthropy: Are we evolving fast enough?
For decades, philanthropy has played a critical role in uplifting women through access to education, health services, skilling and livelihoods. That support has been vital. But support alone is no longer sufficient. If the goal is shared prosperity and sustainable social impact, philanthropic capital must move beyond service delivery models and towards partnership models, where women are not just beneficiaries of change, but co-creators of it.
The distinction may appear subtle, but it is transformative.
Traditional philanthropy often addresses the symptoms of inequality – funding training workshops, micro-credit programmes, or welfare interventions. While valuable, these approaches can inadvertently position women as recipients rather than leaders. Partnership, by contrast, requires redistributing both capital and control.
This shift demands a few transformations:
- From access to ownership: Beyond economics, when we empower a woman, we do not just change her life, we transform the lives of everyone around her. When a woman gains confidence in managing finance, running a business, and making monetary decisions, she alters gender dynamics within her household and community. The income she earns is often reinvested in her children’s education, family health, and community welfare, creating what economists call a “multiplier effect” of empowerment.
- From beneficiaries to partners: Actively engaging women in the design and delivery of solutions ensures that programmes are rooted in lived realities, leaving less margin for error. For example: Jindal Foundation’s Project Shubhangi is not just simply distributing sanitary napkins to enabling women to produce and distribute affordable, biodegradable alternatives, creating both health impact and livelihood opportunity.
- From charity to capacity: Rather than transactional giving, the focus is to be shifted to capacity building. Because when a woman learns to earn a living, economies thrive. For example: The Foundation runs comprehensive, long-term capacity-building programmes for women, empowering over 2.7 million individuals. These efforts focus on skill training, vocational development, entrepreneurship, and health, primarily targeting rural and under-served communities.
Across India, we are witnessing what becomes possible when women lead. Self-help groups are evolving into micro-enterprises. Rural artisans are building market linkages and global platforms. Women farmers are adopting climate-resilient practices and strengthening food security in their communities. When women move from participation to leadership, the impact multiplies, for families, for communities, and for local economies.
There is also a generational dimension to this shift. Young women today are entering digital economies, launching startups, and leveraging technology in ways that were unimaginable a decade ago. Yet they often lack access to catalytic capital, mentorship networks and institutional backing. Philanthropy is uniquely positioned to act as risk capital – to support first-time women entrepreneurs, social innovators and grassroots leaders before markets or mainstream finance step in.
Partnership also requires a new way of measuring impact. Success cannot be defined only by the number of women trained or loans disbursed. It must be assessed through agency - increased decision-making power, mobility, leadership roles, and financial independence. True empowerment is reflected not merely in participation, but in influence.
Importantly, this is not about replacing the role of the state or the market. Government investments have laid critical groundwork. Private sector participation is expanding opportunities. Philanthropy’s role is catalytic – to bridge gaps, experiment with new models, and amplify women-led solutions that can scale.
As we mark another International Women’s Day, the conversation must move beyond celebration toward structural transformation. The language we use matters. ‘Supporting women’ implies assistance. ‘Partnering with women’ implies respect, trust and shared ownership.
When women are trusted as leaders rather than treated as beneficiaries, communities become more resilient. When women control resources, families invest more in education and health. When women shape policies and enterprises, outcomes become more inclusive and sustainable.
The question before us is not whether women are ready to lead. The evidence across India suggests they already are. If we are serious about building an equitable and prosperous future, then this is the shift we must make. Not gradually, not symbolically – but intentionally and at scale.
The future of development is not about doing more for women. It is about building more with them.
The author is the chairperson of Jindal Foundation