File picture of Thozhi, a working women’s hostel in Tamil Nadu, at Tambaram
| Photo Credit:
VELANKANNI RAJ B
The availability of affordable, secure, and institutionally legitimate accommodation plays a critical role in enabling educated women to migrate to cities, enter employment, and sustain their careers, according to the latest white paper from the Centre for Finance and Economic Research (CFER) at the Great Lakes Institute of Management.
The study analysed Tamil Nadu’s Thozhi hostels – a government initiative providing accommodation for working women.
Its findings reveal that such state-backed hostels for women function as ‘labour-market infrastructure’.
These hostels, which have been operating at approximately 87 per cent occupancy across Tamil Nadu, house women from at least 12 other states and Union Territories, and enable women to remain in jobs during uncertain early-career phases, build financial independence, defer marriage, and exercise greater control over life decisions.
The report added that formal security systems such as biometric access, CCTV, women-only premises, combined with government affiliation, generate family confidence and enable women to be confident about migrating and working independently.
Meanwhile, food quality, infrastructure maintenance, and the absence of job information or financial guidance were flagged as friction points that reduce the hostel’s effectiveness as a transitional support.
The study was released on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026 in association with the Madras Management Association, at an event here on Friday. The event also saw a release of a white paper on paid work participation and daily work intensity among young adults aged 20–29 years.
Speaking at the event, Gangapriya Chakraverti, India Site Head and Managing Director, Ford Motor Company, emphasised the need for empowerment to move beyond just education.
“India cannot speak of a demographic dividend if half its young women are unable to participate in paid work. Industry has a responsibility to look beyond hiring and examine the structural constraints: housing, mobility, safety, that determine whether women can even enter the workforce,” she said.
Vidya Mahambare, Union Bank Chair Professor of Economics and Chairperson, CFER, Great Lakes Institute of Management, added that the way forward would be for other states to adopt the Thozhi hostels model and recognise affordable accommodation for women as part of its economic infrastructure.
Published on March 6, 2026
