Familiar niches, limited horizons: The gendered landscape of women’s enterprises in informal trade and services

CEDA’s previous analysis of India’s informal manufacturing sector showed that while women account for the majority of enterprise owners, they are concentrated in just four industries and a narrow range of economic activities within them. This article extends the same lens to the other two major sectors of the informal non-agricultural economy, trade and other services. Women own around one-in-seven informal trade enterprises (14.5 percent) and one-in-six informal other services enterprises (16.5 percent) in 2023-24. However, these broad averages mask internal variations. Disaggregating these sectors into their constituent industries and activities helps identify whether women’s ownership is similarly concentrated, and whether some industries or activities present greater opportunities for women’s enterprise ownership than others.

This analysis uses data from the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2023-24, conducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI). ASUSE classifies enterprises according to the National Industrial Classification (NIC) 2008, India’s standard five-level hierarchical framework for categorising economic activities. Each enterprise is assigned an NIC code based on its principal activity. This analysis draws on two levels of the NIC 2008 hierarchy available in ASUSE, namely divisions (broad industry groups) and sub-classes (specific economic activities), and examines women’s enterprise ownership in the trade and other services sectors at both these levels.

Where are women in informal trade? Mostly in retail

A trade enterprise is defined as a unit engaged in the purchase and sale of goods without any intermediate physical transformation and includes intermediaries that facilitate such transactions for a commission or brokerage. In ASUSE 2023-24, the informal trade sector is classified into three industries, following the NIC 2008. These are Trade/repair of motor vehicles, which covers the wholesale and retail trade of motor vehicles and motorcycles (excluding maintenance); Wholesale trade, which comprises the sale of goods to businesses and other commercial users, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles; and Retail trade, which comprises the sale of goods directly to consumers, also excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles.

Figure 1 shows the share of enterprise ownership across the three informal trade industries. Retail trade has the highest representation of women, with women owning about one-in-six retail enterprises (15.5 percent). In contrast, women’s presence is limited in wholesale trade and trade/repair of motor vehicles, where they own only 3.2 percent and 2.9 percent of enterprises, respectively.

Among informal trade activities, women account for a majority of enterprise owners only in the wholesale of intoxicants

Figure 2 presents the two activities with the highest shares of female-owned enterprises within each informal trade industry. In retail trade, women have the highest ownership shares in the sale of perfumery and cosmetic articles (38.9 percent) and sugar, sugar confectionery, and sweetmeat (30.6 percent). In trade/repair of motor vehicles, by contrast, female ownership remains limited even in the two leading activities: women own just 6.1 percent of enterprises selling parts and accessories for motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, and three-wheelers, and 4 percent of those selling new motorcycles, mopeds, scooters, and three-wheelers. Among the leading activities across the three informal trade industries, the wholesale of intoxicants such as wines and liquors is the only activity where women account for a majority of enterprise owners (71.6 percent).

Non-residential social work leads women’s enterprise ownership in the informal other services sector

Figure 3 shows that women constitute a majority of enterprise owners in only three industries within the informal other services sector. Social work activities without accommodation, which comprises non-residential social assistance services such as child day-care and community welfare services, records the highest female ownership at 73.1 percent. Education, covering educational services and instruction, follows at 50.9 percent, while other personal service activities, which include hairdressing and beauty treatment, laundry, and household maintenance services, record 50.8 percent, making both industries almost evenly split between women and men. Beyond these three industries, women own about two-in-five enterprises in advertising and market research (41 percent) and residential care activities (40.1 percent), while their ownership remains below one-in-six in all other industries, reaching just 0.1 percent in other land transport.

Care and social services remain women’s strongest footholds in India’s informal other services sector

Figure 4 identifies the two activities with the highest share of women-owned enterprises within each female-majority informal other services industry. Ownership patterns within these industries are concentrated in distinctly gendered activities. Within social work without accommodation, women own nearly nine-in-ten enterprises engaged in other social work activities (87.9 percent), while they own close to half of enterprises providing services for the elderly and disabled (47.3 percent). Within the education industry, flying schools are classified as education services under NIC 2008 because they provide pilot training and flight instruction. These establishments are covered by ASUSE when they operate as unincorporated enterprises. Among the education activities covered by the survey, flying schools have the highest female ownership (100 percent), although this figure is based on a very small number of enterprises. This is followed by special education for handicapped students at the primary level, where women own more than four-in-five enterprises (84.4 percent). Within other personal service activities, women own nearly all enterprises providing nanny or caregiver (aaya, dhai, governess), and babysitter services (98.7 percent), as well as general household maintenance services (97.6 percent), including activities such as dusting and cleaning of utensils.

Women may remain a minority among enterprise owners in informal trade and other services, but their participation is marked by a distinct concentration in consumer-facing and care-oriented activities, including retail, social work, and personal services. This reflects the influence of longstanding gendered patterns in access to economic opportunities, with women’s enterprises often clustered in activities that align with socially assigned roles and existing networks. Without targeted support to address barriers to entry, access to resources, and opportunities for expansion, women’s enterprises risk remaining confined to a narrow set of activities rather than translating into broader diversification across the informal economy.