The urge to shoulder the financial burden of the family has given way to most of them entering the stock trade.
Housewife Thajunnisa Shajjan, who actively participates in share business at least four to five hours a day, feels proud that she could contribute her mite to the family.
"Trading gives me enormous confidence. Now I think independently and my knowledge on current and world affairs has improved tremendously. Though it was my husband who inspired me into this venture, now I am in a position to advise him on better options."
George Fernandez, Regional Manager of Geojit Financial Services Limited, one of the share broking companies offering scores of services, says, "Woman participating in the equity market is not new as such. It is quite common in metropolises. But what astonishes me is the level of awareness among women in tier-II cities, especially after the market boomed to 12000 points."
"Initially, it was the husbands who took their spouses to the terminals and taught them the nuances. Now, we get more women enrolments through references. Equity or commodity, women clients easily interact among themselves and share their experiences."
"Thereby their knowledge on trading has improved by leaps and bounds and they are in a position to assess the market trend well in advance," he explains.
Most of the women, who successfully trade in the equity market, are in the age group of 35 to 55 years.
Housewife M. Damayanthi says investing in share market is a viable option.
"I started trading just months ago, but I see good money in this business. Compared to the rates offered on fixed deposits by financial institutions, the amount you gain through effective trading is definitely better. It provides me a good source of income. I easily earn a minimum of Rs.3,000 to Rs.4,000 a month."
In most of the apartments, share market has become the focal point of discussion among women.
Mr. George feels that women are courageous. "They are mentally strong and never panic when the market crashes. Panic selling among woman clients is also very minimal. Some are even strong willed to pick shares during that period. They play a wait-and-watch game. On our part we have exclusive terminals for woman clients and a woman employee to take care of them."
But where do these women gain knowledge. Not all of them are well educated or qualified.
Most of them attribute their success to the satellite channels and magazines, which publish the profile of the company, their performance in the market over a period and the market trends.
Mrs. Thajunnisa regularly watches the satellite channels beaming market fluctuations and never fails to read magazines that dedicate most of their pages to market trends. "Once you acquire the knowledge, you can assess and predict better," she says.
S. Kumaravel, Branch Head, Karvy Consultants Limited, says, "It is only a year since more number of women got themselves enrolled. The growth since then is about 30 to 40 per cent."
"The market has become more or less regulated now. Hence, there is more active participation from women. The technological advancement too should get credit. For, trading was not easy 10 years ago."
"Everything had to be done physically, which would place some people, who were near to the trading centre in a better position. But now, it is a total turn around. The whole world is in your hands."
It has also given way to a spurt in growth of share broking offices.
Earlier, they were only a handful but now there are more than 100 offices in the city alone.
Now the trading centres have come closer to the households.
Some of the offices have even employed executives exclusively to get woman enrolments.
Special enclosures
"We have created special enclosures with sufficient woman employees to cater to the needs of our woman clients. Over a period of 10 years equity market has given more returns to the customers and outperformed all asset classes, which has definitely reflected in the number of enrolments. The penetration is such that we have clients even from places like Paramakudi," Mr. Kumaravel beams with pride.
The role of mobile phones is inevitable.
As it is not possible for some of the clients to visit the offices, most of the women do business over phone.
"Monitoring becomes very easy. You need not feel that you are under clutches. You can travel anywhere, but keep an eye on the market trend and whenever you wish to trade just ring your share broking office," reveals Mrs. Damayanthi.
But there is also a risk of losing money in this trade. There are instances where some of the women have lost their amount in their enthusiasm to see profit. "Of course, risk is everywhere. If you are more careful, you can save your skin. But be prepared to face the challenge," says Mrs. Thajunnisa.
Employed women too show a keen interest in trading.
As the share broking establishments see good future in attracting more women, they conduct awareness meetings on investment opportunities in share market.
Some of them are even planning campaigns in association with voluntary organisations.
Women feel that trading in equity market is a wonderful opportunity to spend their time usefully and a venture that builds on their confidence to make them independent.
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