94% of women workers rely on salary alone, Grant Thornton survey finds
By Vikram JoshiLife Balance Correspondent, Peepals Shakti
Representative image: rupixen / Pixabay
A Grant Thornton Bharat survey released October 27, 2026 found 94% of women respondents depend on salary as main income and about 69% have no second income.
What Happened
A survey by advisory firm Grant Thornton Bharat, reported on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, found that 94% of the women who took part rely on their salary or employment income as their main source of money, compared with 89% of men. About 69% of women respondents said they had no second source of income at all, and only 20% earned anything from investments. The survey covered 528 working people in India between November 2025 and February 2026, and the firm says its results should not be read as statistically representative of the country's population.
Key Facts
- Survey by Grant Thornton Bharat of 528 respondents, carried out between November 2025 and February 2026.
- 94% of women rely on employment income or salary as their primary income, against 89% of men.
- About 69% of women have no secondary source of income.
- 20% of women respondents earn some investment income.
- Across all respondents, 91% depend mainly on salaries, and fewer than 10% have business, rental or second-job income.
- 63% of all respondents consider themselves financially stable and confident.
- 83% said their savings would cover living expenses for less than a year if their income stopped.
Why It Matters
Feeling financially secure and being financially secure are not the same thing, and this survey shows the gap clearly. Nearly two in three respondents said they felt stable and confident about money, yet more than eight in ten would run out of savings within a year without a pay cheque. For women the cushion looks thinner still: almost all depend on one salary, and seven in ten have nothing else coming in.
That matters for wellbeing as much as for money. A single income stream leaves a household exposed to a job loss, an illness or a career break. A break for childbirth, for looking after children or for caring for ageing parents, with no other income behind it, can turn into lasting financial stress for the family.
The low share of women with investment income also points to a gap in how household wealth is built. If savings and investments sit mainly in a partner's name, or are not built at all, a woman's independence in a crisis, a separation or widowhood can be limited. The survey does not explain why the gap exists, and its sample is small, so its figures are a signal rather than a national measure.
The findings are useful as a prompt for conversation within families: who holds the savings, what would happen if one income stopped, and whether both partners know the household's finances. They are not investment advice, and readers with specific questions should consult a registered financial adviser.
| Measure | Women | Men | All respondents |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rely mainly on salary or employment income | 94% | 89% | 91% |
| No secondary income source | About 69% | Not reported | Not reported |
| Earn investment income | 20% | Not reported | Not reported |
| Savings would last under a year without income | Not reported | Not reported | 83% |
| Feel financially stable and confident | Not reported | Not reported | 63% |
Impact
Short-term: The survey adds to evidence that many salaried Indians, and women in particular, have little buffer if their income stops. It may push employers and financial-literacy programmes to look more closely at women's savings and second-income options.
Long-term: If women continue to depend almost entirely on one salary, the gap in financial security between women and men could widen over a working life, affecting retirement and independence.
Who is affected: Salaried women and their families, women planning a career break for childbirth or care, employers designing benefits such as savings plans, and organisations running financial-literacy programmes for women.
Key Takeaway
In Grant Thornton Bharat's survey, 94% of women workers depended mainly on their salary and about 69% had no second income, a thinner cushion than men reported.
Questions and Answers
What did the Grant Thornton Bharat survey find about women's income?
It found that 94% of women respondents rely on salary or employment income as their main source of money, compared with 89% of men, about 69% have no second income source, and 20% earn investment income.
How many people did the Grant Thornton Bharat survey cover?
It surveyed 528 working people in India between November 2025 and February 2026. The firm says the findings are not statistically representative of India's population.
How long would people's savings last without income?
83% of respondents said their savings would cover living expenses for less than a year if their income stopped, even though 63% said they felt financially stable and confident.
Is this survey a guide to how women should invest?
No. It describes how respondents earn and save; it gives no investment advice. Readers with specific money questions should consult a registered financial adviser.
Disclaimer: Prepared by the Peepals newsroom from publicly available sources with AI assistance. Information is accurate to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication and may change. Images may be representative. Not professional advice. Report an error via our contact page.
By Vikram Joshi, Life Balance CorrespondentCovers Life Balance and more for Peepals Shakti. All stories by Vikram Joshi
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Vikram Joshi is a pen name of the Peepals Global Editorial Team, which researches, fact-checks and publishes every story. The portrait is an illustration.
