Smart Rural Women: Role of Digital Technologies in Enhancing Female Labour Force Participation in Rural Economies

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-559-1_43How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Female labour force participation; Digital technologies; Rural women; Entrepreneurship; Empowerment; PLS-SEM

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to address critical gaps in defining how digital tools and technologies augment entrepreneurship among women from low income and resource backgrounds in India. It observes the extent to which technology can affect empowerment and economic agency, offering fresh perspectives on existing literature.

Methodology: We synthesized data exclusively from Scopus, Web of Science, and IEEE databases, fortified by statistical sources (McKinsey, Deloitte, Statista, Financial Express). Primary data was collected from women in tier three and four regions of India using a survey with a five-point Likert scale. A Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to analyse the relationships between access to digital tools, digital financial services, entrepreneurship, and empowerment. The implications and reach of ICT, mobile banking and social commerce apps are also discussed. Amartya Sen’s capability approach acts as the ground framework for women’s workforce engagement in the light of digitalisation.

Results: The rate of digital adoption varied significantly corresponding with higher labour participation. Three out of four research questions obtained C-alpha values of above 0.8, indicating that internet connectivity, fintech usage and entrepreneurial activity are all interlinked and share a positive relationship with labour force participation. Features like mobile banking and e-marketplaces increased entrepreneurial activities because of enhanced decision-making autonomy. “Smart rural women” emerged as a cohort leveraging technology for market access and financial agency in rural areas.

Conclusions: Access to digital tools and technologies could meaningfully diminish structural barriers to female labour force participation, through knowledge acquisition and connects to broader markets. However, regional and cultural divides persist signalling a generational effort. The study calls for region and context-specific infrastructure investments and digital literacy programs that are scalable and able to penetrate deeply. Future research should investigate precise enablers for formal labour market integration to guide the right policy interventions.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Meera Vijay
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/04/19
TI  - Smart Rural Women: Role of Digital Technologies in Enhancing Female Labour Force Participation in Rural Economies
BT  - Proceedings of the Global Innovation and Technology Summit “AAROHAN 3.0”_HSS track (GITS-HSS 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 669
EP  - 679
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-559-1_43
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-559-1_43
ID  - Vijay2026
ER  -