India’s financialisation story is increasingly including women. Their absolute numbers, mutual fund assets and use of systematic investment plans have expanded sharply. The real story is not that the gender gap has disappeared, but that more women are exercising direct control over long-term financial assets.
In March 2026, NSE said women constituted nearly 25% of its registered investor base and that roughly 2.5 crore women had entered the capital markets over the previous decade. At the time NSE’s total registered investor base crossed 13 crore. Together, these figures demonstrate a substantial increase in women’s participation. The mutual fund industry data shows that participation has deepened beyond account openings. According to AMFI’s March 2026 report, based on industry-wide data as of December 2025, women constituted 26.3% of unique individual mutual fund investors, up from 24.2% a year earlier. Their mutual fund assets more than tripled from ₹5.44 lakh crore in December 2020 to ₹17.86 lakh crore in December 2025. Women consequently held 34.6% of total individual-investor mutual fund assets, a considerably larger share than their proportion of investors.
SIPs have been central to this rise: The number of SIP accounts held by women tripled to 2.93 crore in the 5 years between December 2020 and December 2025. The assets accumulated through them increased more than fourfold, from ₹1.21 lakh crore to ₹5.26 lakh crore. The share of women’s SIP assets held for more than five years also rose from 11% to 21%. This is stronger evidence of sustained participation than the mere opening of new investment accounts.
The growth was not just confined to major metropolitan cities. In the top 30 cities, women’s SIP accounts increased from 52 lakh in December 2020 to 1.51 crore in December 2025. In cities beyond the top 30, they rose even faster—from 34 lakh to 1.41 crore, an increase of more than four times. AMFI attributes this broader participation to factors including greater workforce participation, expanding financial awareness and improved access through digital investment platforms. Women are also allocating more of their portfolios to growth assets. Equity-oriented schemes accounted for 65% of women’s mutual fund AUM in March 2025, compared with 40% in March 2020.
The gender gap remains considerable. Women still form only about one-fourth of NSE’s investor base. It is also important not to reduce the trend to stereotypes: investment behaviour varies with income, age, knowledge and individual circumstances. Gender, and for that matter even age or demographic based labels do not serve any real purpose. More broadly, SEBI’s Investor Survey 2025 found that while 63% of Indian households were aware of at least one securities-market product, only 9.5% participated. Complexity, inadequate knowledge, fear of losses and lack of trust are the barriers that we need to address. Not some gender based label that gives no real value.
The next stage must therefore focus on financial capability rather than simply focusing on gender, age or any other label. Regional-language education, transparent advice, workplace financial-wellness programmes and greater involvement of women in household investment decisions can help turn access into durable financial independence. While the rise of women investors is already reshaping India’s financial landscape; achieving genuine participation will require the trend to become broader, deeper and more sustained.
The author is the Co-founder and Partner at Arunasset Investment Services.