A primary mode of both rural and gender empowerment in the Indian context, cognizant of trends in indigenous production of capital and products in present economic conditions, is social innovation and entrepreneurship --through targeted incentivization of women's participation in the labor force and consistent encouragement of wage equality. This paper examines gendered narratives of rural social enterprise functioning and development, focusing on the fashion and accessory industry. Through a

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... mbination of ethnographic and sociological perspectives, the study looks at Indian case studies of rural enterprises and their efforts to foster gender empowerment through financial, sociopolitical, and economic forms. This will be considered through the following factors:-i) employment of women labourers; ii) female leadership and membership in higher organizational hierarchy; iii) improving access for women through demasculinized hiring practices; iv) reducing the wage gap; v) undoing regressive social moralities regarding working women. Thus, the paper is a study in social enterprise development to provide a map to future entrepreneurs and policy makers for more inclusive solutions to rural issues and provide a fresh sociological imagination cognizant of ground-level cultural realities in the subcontinent.