Women as 'Economic Participants’ of the Nation

World over, there has always been, an interest, in understanding the value, that women bring, whether in the corporate arena or elsewhere. Today Countries, Corporates and Communities are recognizing the economic and social aspect of Gender Diversity and Inclusion. While gender inequalities are still rampant across countries, the degree of inequalities differ among the developed economies and emerging economies.

India is placed quite poorly, in the global gender index, currently slipping to 112th position out of 153 nations[1]. The four parameters that are measured are economic participation, educational attainment, health & survival and political empowerment. India currently fares quite well on the educational attainment parameter, yet fares worse off, on the economic participation front, getting a rank of 149 out of 153 countries.[2]

A study by the Boston Consulting Group states, "If all of women's energies can be used in India, it will add one percentage point to the GDP growth rate and add a lot of value both in terms of economic and social development.”[3]

As a nation, while more and more Indian women are getting better access to education and are graduating every year with the requisite qualifications across disciplines, unfortunately, their representation at the workplace and in businesses, has yet to gain traction, to be able to become a force to reckon with. This brings to light the harsh fact, that though women are gaining professional qualifications, especially in domains such as STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), Medicine, Law, Management, Pharma and Lifesciences, etc., their participation at the workplace has been declining over the last two decades. A recent study has pointed out that, three out of four women of working age, are neither working nor seeking employment, which leads to the dismal workforce participation of 23.6 percent [4], while another report states that only 7 percent of urban Indian women have paid jobs.[5] It definitely is worrisome to note that in spite of the rapid urbanization prevalent in India and the fact that women’s educational levels have increased, these factors have failed to improve women’s labor-force participation.

India is gearing up, to become a $5 Trillion economy[6] by the middle of the current decade. One of the best approaches to achieve this goal, would be to identify enablers and create an ecosystem that would integrate more women into the economy as true economic participants[7]. One of the low hanging fruits, that could be plucked, to add to a country’s social & economic development, would be to include a major percentage of the women of working age, to the workforce. 

It is certainly high-time, that Regulators and Policy Makers, understand the gaps in the current set of policies and how the much-needed policy changes, will play an important role in enabling more women to enter and sustain at the workplace. Policies such as parental leave, work place harassment, pay parity, board representation etc., have been introduced over the decades to enable equitable opportunities for women across countries. India still needs to scale up its current policies to match the best-in-class countries, so that the country stands to benefit from increased participation of women economic contributors.

I fully subscribe to having reservations in every sector, for women, to create a potential of women presence that offers prospects of diversity & other governance benefits. The persistent under-representation of women in political life & decision-making has led to a democratic deficit in India. The discrimination that women face in their daily lives, hinders them from demonstrating their full potential & excludes them from benefitting equally from development process. Governance should encourage inclusiveness & participation from all its citizens, irrespective of caste, creed or gender, so that men & women have the opportunity to influence the institutions & policies that affect their lives. Women are still ill informed about their rights and as a result cannot stand up for themselves when discriminated. Society & policies should ensure that there is widespread awareness among women regarding rights & policies that affect them.

Women should no longer be treated as a Minority segment by Society and should be given access to resources, rights & other entitlements as their male counterparts. They should be equally represented in decision-making whether in the household or in the public sphere. Bridging the gap between women’s economic & political activity and their decision-making ability would help in minimizing gender disparities. 

Despite not having a level playing field, there are numerous role models among women, who have succeeded to the pinnacles of their career & personal lives, to stand as shining examples that woman can achieve anything if they set their minds on it. Around the world, as well as in India an abundance of Female leadership has been exhibited in the corporate sector, politics and society, in the recent times.

An Empowered Woman means an Empowered Nation and I sincerely hope that societies, countries and corporates come together, to detract the conclusion made by the World Economic Forum, “That none of us will see gender parity in our lifetimes, as the Global Gender Gap report reveals it would take another 100 years……..”[8]

Let us # choose to challenge the Status Quo………………

[1] https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/global-gender-gap-index-2020-wef

[2] https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf

[3] https://www.bcg.com/ 

[4] https://isbinsight.isb.edu/redefining-the-role-of-women-in-indian-family-businesses/

[5] https://www.economist.com/leaders/2021/02/20/only-7-of-urban-indian-women-have-paid-jobs

[6] https://theprint.in/economy/india-can-still-become-a-5-tn-economy-by-2024-pm-modi-shows-hope-despite-covid-setback/533044/

[7] https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2018/03/17/women-indias-economic-growth

[8] https://www.weforum.org/reports/gender-gap-2020-report-100-years-pay-equality