Empower women at workplace...Really??

Women constitute around 48% of the Indian population, but their participation in the workforce is far lower.

 The western world realized that women could work in jobs which were originally perceived as ‘manly’, it was only when women stepped out of their homes to fill the shoes of the men.

Legislation s have been brought in India also but a lot of groundwork to be done

Women had always been officially encouraged to participate in the workforce. If you visit government schools and government banks, it is not surprising to see a lot of women faces. It is not surprising that there are certain professions in India which are ‘women dominated’, however, when it comes to the women in the corporate world, there are still challenges when it comes to promoting women to higher leadership positions, and providing them with equal pay. Also, as research and international reports suggest, the complete picture is not rosy for India, and that is despite the laws that have been brought by the government to ensure gender pay parity across all professions and age groups. It was in 1976, the ‘Equal Remuneration Act’ was passed by the Indian government.

 "Srikanth Balachandran, Global CHRO, Airtel India, told People Matters, “The India Development Report released by the World Bank states that India has one of the lowest female participation in the workforce, ranking 120th among 131 countries. And that is despite the fact that they constitute 48% of the Indian population.”

 Kaithan & Co, a legal firm told People Matters, “The Equal Remuneration Act 1976 (“ER Act”) does not make any such distinction between the workmen or employees involved in managerial or administrative capacity. The ER Act is uniformly applicable to all men and women employees in matters of employment. Under the ER Act, it is the duty of the employer to pay equal remuneration to men and women workers for same work or work of a similar nature. It applies equally to blue collar and white collar workers.”

The gender pay gap in India has come down by five percentage points. It was 24.8% in 2016. Around 41% of the women surveyed feel that they are not provided with the adequate transport facility, and also highlight that safety is one of their major concerns while considering a job. 33% feel that the attitude of peers, clients, vendors pose as a challenge when it comes to working. 32% also say that they are discouraged from working long hours due to the societal perception and outlook. However, which clearly comes out as a positive surprise as around 44% of the men said that they could act as advocates for gender parity.

Despite the improvement in the overall gender gap, it has also been found in the survey, that the gap continues to increase as one goes up in the hierarchy. For the matter, the World Economic Report on gender gap has already stated that with the current rate of progress, it will require another 200 years to bridge this gap.

Means there is still long time to wait...also where it comes a case of Pregnant working lady, situation often worsen. In-spite of several policies and drama by government, many Indian organizations harass women and scare them that they can loose their jobs, as they wont be having proper time and dedication for the organization.

But don't you think that instead of waiting for so long like around 200 years as said by data, we shall stand ourselves for our dignity and pride. Offcourse say a big YES ladies and take your own stands, as no one else will think for you.