Women in Ayush Services Workforce: 43% Overall, a Majority in Hospitals

The Brief

• Women represent 43% of the overall AYUSH services workforce, according to the Ministry of AYUSH.
• Their share exceeds half in hospitals, educational institutes, day-care centres and wellness establishments.
• The sector supports an estimated 17.6 lakh livelihoods across all workers, not women alone.
• Workforce representation does not, by itself, establish equal pay, secure employment or access to leadership.

Women in AYUSH Services workforce: Some sectors have over 50% participation

Women make up more than half the workforce in Ayush hospitals, yet their share across the services sector stands at 43%. The figures put women in the Ayush services workforce firmly in focus, while showing why an industry-wide average needs to be read alongside the establishments it covers.

The Ministry of Ayush highlighted the findings in an 8 October release, drawing on a study by the Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS). The assessment covers services associated with Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and Homoeopathy. [1]

Where women’s representation is higher

The ministry reports the following shares. Each percentage refers to women within that segment’s workforce; these figures are not meant to add up to 100%.

Source: Ministry of AYUSH, PIB release, 8 October 2026. Figures reproduced at the precision published in that release.

Here, day-care centres refer to AYUSH service settings, not childcare facilities. The overall figure also describes women’s share of this particular workforce. It is not India’s female labour-force participation rate, which measures a different population and includes people seeking work.

For readers exploring employment and livelihood opportunities for women, the breakdown is useful: Ayush employment extends across treatment, teaching and wellness settings, rather than one uniform category of work.

The employment scale behind the percentages

The sector supports an estimated 1.76 million livelihoods, or 17.6 lakh. More than one million are concentrated in local and standalone clinics. These are estimates of livelihoods supported, not a count of newly created jobs. [2]

PIB’s earlier account of the RIS study describes a survey of 15,914 establishments. It puts the services economy at US$36.92 billion in FY2024–25, with a compound annual growth rate of 16.91% since FY2022–23. That growth figure describes the sector’s economic expansion; it should not be read as the growth rate of women’s employment. [2]

The clinic footprint also matters for policy. Efforts to strengthen employment would need to reach smaller establishments, alongside hospitals and educational institutions. A training or workplace-support programme designed only around large employers could miss a substantial part of this sector.

What policymakers can take from the findings

The figures establish that women are a substantial part of Ayush services. They do not explain how women are distributed between occupations, seniority levels, pay bands or employment arrangements. The ministry’s releases provide no comparable earlier workforce share from which to calculate an increase in women’s representation.

A useful next step would be to publish those breakdowns and track earnings, retention and progression over time. Employers could use the findings to review access to training, predictable schedules and promotion. These are areas for assessment, not evidence that every Ayush establishment has the same shortcomings.

Our examination of what helps women stay in work considers why continued employment deserves attention alongside recruitment. For Ayush institutions, following employees’ progress would help show which practices are supporting lasting careers.

Change in View

The 43% figure deserves recognition for what it establishes: women already make a substantial contribution to Ayush services. Public policy can build on that presence by supporting skills and career progression, while measuring the quality of employment more closely. That would give the next set of numbers greater meaning for the people behind them.

Editorial note and sources

This article uses the Ministry of AYUSH’s public summaries of the RIS study, issued through PIB on 8 October and 30 September 2026. It does not claim independent verification of the underlying survey data. Figures retain their reported scope and periods; policy suggestions are editorial analysis. This is employment reporting, not an assessment of treatment effectiveness.

Sources

1. Ministry of Ayush/PIB: Women Account for 43% of Overall Ayush Services Workforce, 8 October 2026.
2. Ministry of Ayush/PIB: RIS Study Estimates US$36.92 Billion Ayush Services Economy, 30 September 2026.