Role of Women in Atmanirbhar Bharat

Our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has set an ambitious target of making India a USD 5 Trillion Economy by 2024. It is an ambitious target and it looks like an insurmountable mountain to climb when we look at our GDP growth rate for FY 21. No doubt it is a tough target, also we have a strong headwind entering into FY 22 but it is an achievable target nonetheless and this is just another milestone in our path to becoming the next 10 Trillion Dollar economy.

Our PM has an insatiable desire to make India Atmanirbhar, especially in the fields of defense, technology, and manufacturing, but can all these laudable targets be really achieved with half of our population sitting at home?

There are some startling findings in the report published by the World bank on women’s employment which has shaken our conscience and has gotten us into self-introspection mode. In the study, it has been found that the percentage of working women in India has dropped to 27.4% from 43% some ten years ago which is not the right indicator for any progressive nation. COVID 19 pandemic has further exacerbated the problems which women were facing. It was not as if it was smooth sailing for working women before the pandemic but women employees and entrepreneurs bore the maximum brunt of the pandemic, especially those employed in the Hotel industry, airlines industry, travel industry, and MSMEs which are the highest employment generator for women. For industries looking to cut costs, what better way to fire them unfairly.

We did a small survey to find out the impact of the pandemic on working women and women entrepreneurs, how many women are aware of the various initiatives which have been launched by the Government under the Atmanirbhar Scheme, and what is it that they expect for India to become Atmanirbhar and grow in the long run. Sixty-three women responded to our survey and over 30% of the women said that there was a decrease in their remuneration and 10% of them lost their employment and are worse off financially after the pandemic which shall raise many eyebrows especially amongst the policymakers.

The survey shows that women have either lost jobs or have to accept lower salaries but one of the most important revelations of the survey was, an overwhelming majority want a safe and secure working environment.  It is of paramount importance that we pay heed to this basic requirement. Some of the points to make the workplace safer for women

To have better work place for women where in more women are employed, as women feel safer in presence of other women.

Pick and drop from home accompanied by marshals especially during the late working hours.

Adequately lit work places wherein there are no dark spots.

Grievance committees to make the work environment better.

Wage disparity between men and women must end.

One of the important findings of the survey was that 77 % most of the women are positive about India’s growth story in long term and they feel that India’s growth story is here to stay. 45% of the respondents expressed the need for a safe and secured work environment. Around 36% of respondents were expecting exemptions in income tax.

But most of the women (79%) have not availed the benefits of the scheme which are offered by the Government and most of them are not aware of various schemes which are offered by the Government. So what is it that Government needs to do to make women part of this Atmanirbhar Bharat, some of the measures are suggested below:

1. The most important aspect is to provide them a safe and secure work environment wherein they are encouraged to work.
2. Work from home and local offices is what most women prefer. It should be made part of organizational culture.
3. To provide tax benefits, especially women in the lower-income bracket should be provided with additional income tax benefits which will make their role important.
4. To publicize the schemes which Government is offering and make it easier for women to avail these schemes.
5. Some of the schemes can be repackaged to make them attractive for women and exclusively for women entrepreneurs.
6. Organizations that encourage more women participation need to be encouraged in terms of tax sops/ incentives so that more women become part of the workforce.
7. Most of the name of the schemes is in Hindi probably it can be in double word so that people from other non-Hindi speaking regions can also avail these schemes.
8. Law & Order: India is a country wherein hundreds of crimes against women are reported every day. There have been several cases reported of women employees being assaulted by unscrupulous elements while returning home from work. This acts as a deterrent to many parents who worry for the safety of their daughters. It is really regrettable that we have not been able to provide a safe working environment to our women even after seventy years of independence.
9. Support to the nation in terms of manufacturing. India ranks poorly in terms of manufacturing, the manufacturing industry is one that can be a huge source of employment for all people including women, the manufacturing sector can provide large-scale employment especially to women from lower and middle-income groups.

Majority of the women have faith in India’s long term growth story but it is important that Indian industry and Government work in unison for this story to become a spectacular success.

We must find a way to enable our fairer sex to not just survive but thrive and drive the economy to a higher growth trajectory.

Disclaimer : Views expressed are personal and inference is based on the data collected thru questionnaire.

Image credits: Google images