DOI: https://doi.org/10.36347/sjebm.2026.v13i05.002

Pages: 221-226

As women constitute half of India’s total population, the financial inclusion of women should not be treated solely as a social goal but also as an instrument for tapping the nation's untapped development potential. Greater financial inclusion of women can help to generate ripple effects across households, businesses and sectors of the economy. Greater participation of women in financial services is required to break the traditional patriarchal system that suppresses women in all quarters of life, thereby ensuring them greater access to education, employment, health & nutrition and increased political participation. The Government of India has introduced several financial schemes, including Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), among others. However, women's participation in these schemes remains relatively low and unsatisfactory, requiring a special policy thrust to ensure they reach the intended population. Using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s correlation coefficients, the present study examines the extent of inter-state disparities in female participation in the formal financial system, including bank deposits, loans, insurance and government financial schemes and attempts to identify the patterns that influence women's financial inclusion in India. The study confirms the presence of sizeable inter-state disparities in female participation in the formal financial sector and government financial schemes. Loans to Women Self Help Groups per lakh of female population registered the highest degree of inter-state disparities (CV=0.327), followed by Percentage of female employees to the total employees in Scheduled Commercial Banks (CV=0.255). The findings suggest that women-centric financial schemes launched by the government, with fewer documentation requirements and greater financial support for women-only SHGs from banks and other institutional sources of finance,