While organising a financial literacy session at the Ladies’ Wing of the Indian Merchants Chamber recently, I was reminded of just how deeply intertwined money, sustainability, and autonomy really are. As the speaker asked questions, many of the women in the room spoke with surprising honesty about how dependent they were on their fathers, husbands, or sons to manage their finances. Some said they had never logged into their own bank accounts. Others admitted to signing documents without fully understanding them, trusting that someone else “knew better".

What stayed with me wasn’t the admission itself, but the matter-of-fact way it was said. There was no embarrassment in their voices, just quiet acceptance, and that acceptance is something we don’t talk about enough.

Until a few years ago, I was one of these women. While I was comfortable making big decisions in my business and could speak confidently about strategy, growth, and cash flow, when it came to building my own personal wealth, I stepped back. I let the men in my life handle it because it felt overwhelming alongside everything else I was managing. Even though my father often encouraged me to take the lead, I had no motivation to do so. Between him and my brother, I knew my finances were being handled carefully and thoughtfully, and that felt like enough.

In India, financial dependence among women is rooted in cultural norms. For generations, money management has been framed as a masculine responsibility. Men earn. Men........

© News18