Kerala’s development discourse has long celebrated women’s literacy, health indicators, and social awareness. Yet beneath these achievements lies a persistent contradiction: women remain under-represented as economic producers, asset owners, enterprise leaders, and decision-makers in the formal economy. Kerala Vision 2047 must therefore move decisively beyond welfare-centric empowerment and reposition women as central economic actors who create value, generate employment, and shape markets. The fifth idea in this vision is clear in intent: women must shift from being beneficiaries of schemes to architects of Kerala’s economic future.
As of the mid-2020s, women’s workforce participation in Kerala remains significantly below the national average despite high education levels. A large proportion of educated women are either unemployed, underemployed, or confined to informal, low-paying work. Kerala Vision 2047 sets a measurable goal: by 2047, women’s labour force participation should exceed 60 percent, compared to roughly one-third today. This requires structural changes in how work is designed, valued, and accessed, not merely motivational campaigns or short-term incentives.
The foundation of this transformation lies in redefining work itself. Kerala’s economy must create large volumes of dignified, flexible, and future-ready jobs that align with women’s life realities without trapping them in low-growth roles. Vision 2047 prioritizes sectors where women can scale rapidly into leadership positions: healthcare services, education technology, food processing, climate services, tourism management, logistics coordination, digital governance, and financial services. The objective is not to feminize certain sectors but to ensure women have equal entry and upward mobility across them. By 2047, at least 40 percent of mid-level and senior roles in these sectors should be held by women.
Entrepreneurship is a critical lever. Kerala has a strong self-help group culture, but much of women-led enterprise remains micro in scale and survival-oriented. Vision 2047 mandates a transition from subsistence entrepreneurship to growth entrepreneurship. By 2035, at least one lakh women-owned enterprises should be operating in Kerala with annual turnovers exceeding ₹50 lakh, and by 2047, this number should cross three lakh. This requires access to larger credit lines, equity funding, professional mentorship, and assured market linkages. State-backed women enterprise funds, credit guarantees, and procurement preferences will be designed to reward scale, innovation, and employment generation rather than just registration numbers.
Asset ownership is another structural gap. Despite social progress, women in Kerala own a disproportionately small share of land, housing, and productive assets. Kerala Vision 2047 sets a clear numerical target: at least 50 percent of all new housing allotments, industrial sheds, and enterprise assets created through public schemes must be registered in women’s names, either individually or jointly. This is not symbolic. Asset ownership increases bargaining power within households, improves credit access, and creates long-term economic security. Over two decades, this shift alone can alter gender power equations more effectively than repeated income transfers.
Education and skill development must also undergo a qualitative shift. While women dominate general higher education, they remain underrepresented in advanced technical, financial, and leadership-oriented domains. Vision 2047 mandates that women should constitute at least 45 percent of enrolment in engineering, applied sciences, data analytics, logistics, and industrial training institutes by 2035, rising to parity by 2047. Special emphasis will be placed on late-entry pathways for women who exited the workforce due to caregiving responsibilities, allowing them to re-skill and re-enter without stigma or penalty.
Care infrastructure is central to economic participation. Kerala Vision 2047 recognizes that unpaid care work is the single largest invisible subsidy women provide to the economy. The state will therefore build a universal care ecosystem that includes affordable childcare centres, eldercare services, assisted living facilities, and community healthcare support. By 2047, no woman should be forced to exit paid work due to lack of care support. The target is to reduce unpaid care hours borne by women by at least 40 percent through public and private service expansion, freeing time and energy for productive work.
Safety and mobility are non-negotiable enablers. Women’s economic participation collapses without reliable transport, safe workplaces, and grievance redressal mechanisms. Vision 2047 commits to universal safe mobility standards across public transport, industrial zones, offices, and educational campuses. This includes surveillance, lighting, rapid-response systems, and strict enforcement of workplace safety laws. The measurable outcome is simple: women’s reported constraints due to safety concerns must fall to statistically insignificant levels by 2047.
Women’s economic power must also translate into decision-making authority. Kerala Vision 2047 sets a target that at least one-third of board members in public sector undertakings, cooperative institutions, and state-supported enterprises must be women by 2035, increasing to 40 percent by 2047. This is not token representation. Leadership pipelines will be built deliberately through training, exposure, and performance-linked advancement so that women influence capital allocation, technology adoption, and organisational culture.
Special attention must be paid to women from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, coastal communities, migrant families, and other historically excluded groups. Vision 2047 integrates gender and social equity rather than treating them as separate agendas. For women from these communities, the state will ensure priority access to education, enterprise support, and leadership programs, with clear monitoring of outcomes. By 2047, intersectional disadvantage should not translate into permanent economic marginality.
Cultural change is the most difficult but most essential component. Kerala Vision 2047 does not assume that economic policies alone will dismantle patriarchal norms. Public messaging, school curricula, media engagement, and local leadership must consistently reinforce the idea that women’s work, ambition, and authority are normal, expected, and valuable. Men must be explicitly included in this transition, not as gatekeepers but as partners in redistributing care and supporting women’s leadership.
By 2047, women in Kerala should be visible not just as educated citizens or welfare beneficiaries, but as factory owners, technology leaders, financial decision-makers, urban planners, and institutional heads. The success of Kerala Vision 2047 will not be measured by how well women are protected, but by how powerfully they participate in shaping the economy. When women become producers of wealth, not just recipients of support, Kerala’s development story will enter its most mature and irreversible phase.
