Dr. Saundarya has been a strong advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, she is renowned for her pioneering work in promoting second career opportunities for women in corporate India spanning over two decades. In December 2000, she founded Avtar – an organization that has been at the forefront of the movement for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in India.
The poor, the women, the youth, and the farmers are the four castes for the government, stated Finance Minister Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman in her 2024 budget speech a little over a month ago, indicating that the upliftment and prosperity of these groups are the central government’s primary focus. And she backed her statement with details of a series of initiatives planned for their betterment. Given my passion for fostering a better quality of life for women—which in turn can create a ripple effect across the entire population—I pay special attention to budgetary schemes related to women’s progress. Naturally, announcements such as the expansion of the Lakhpati Didi Scheme, a programme that provides rural women with access to skill development opportunities, financial literacy workshops, financial assistance, and SHGs, lifted my spirits.
Rural women need attention and support, and it is heartening to note that over the years, political administrations have introduced a variety of measures for their well-being and self-sufficiency, such as providing them access to special savings schemes and facilitating self-employment initiatives. When it comes to urban women, their health and safety have rightly received satisfactory focus from the government too, with affordable healthcare services, helpline numbers, women’s safety apps, and cybercrime prevention cells benefitting scores of women in cities.
But what has let me down in this budget—mirroring budgets from previous years—is that the Indian Woman Professional (IWP) has been ignored. Again. The IWP is the white-collar woman working in metros and Tier 1, 2, and 3 cities, and I believe that there is ample opportunity for further governmental action in terms of promoting their economic independence and thereby boosting women’s workforce participation. The National Family Health Survey – 5 states that only 32 percent of married women between 15 and 49 are employed, and a study conducted by Deloitte in 2021 states that women make up just 4.7 percent of CEOs in our country. Where have all the working women gone?
However, I must acknowledge that things have improved gradually, as Ms. Sitharaman noted in her budget speech, in which she stated that female enrolment in higher education has improved and girls account for 43% of STEM students and that this is reflected in women’s participation in the workforce. True, women’s involvement in the formal labor force has improved in the last few years, from about 15% in 2012 to around 25% now. India ranked 127 out of 146 countries in the annual Gender Gap Report of 2023, an improvement of eight places from the previous year, which is a considerable development.
But is this degree of progress satisfactory? Sadly no. Women’s workforce participation rate in India is one of the lowest even among developing nations. The Gender Gap Report stated that India has attained only 36.7 percent parity in economic participation and opportunity. Why has progress concerning women’s contribution to the urban financial system been miserably slow? It is because the government has not treated it as a top priority task. Don’t get me wrong – I again acknowledge the substantive efforts by the government to empower women, especially rural women. However, the urban working woman has been sidelined.
Women’s inclusion in the workforce must see a rapid and marked advancement, simply because of its manifold benefits, not just for women, but for families, organizations, and our nation too. Let me elaborate. Research shows that when a woman is financially independent, her family reaps numerous advantages – For instance, children of working moms grow up into happy adults and have higher self-esteem, according to a study by Kathleen McGinn, a professor of business administration at Harvard. Another study authored by the same professor along with other researchers found that daughters of working moms in the US perform much better at work and earn 23 percent more than those whose moms hadn’t worked during their childhood. Also, when a mom works, research shows that she is much more likely to prioritize the necessities of the house and the kids than the dad, thereby positively impacting family lifestyle & health and children’s education & development. We know that with financial independence, a woman gains confidence and independence in decision-making, and this significantly lowers her susceptibility to being in an abusive relationship. Also, multiple studies show that when an organization fosters gender diversity, it boosts creativity, innovation, collaboration, and profits.
These benefits must be more than enough to make a strong case for why women must work. But wait, there’s more to it – women’s workforce participation directly impacts a nation’s growth. Mckinsey Global Institute’s reports in 2015 found that achieving gender parity in the workplace can help add $700 billion to India’s GDP and $12 trillion to the global GDP by 2025. Remember, Indian women’s contribution to the national GDP is just about 17 percent compared to Chinese women’s contribution to their GDP which is nearly 40%, as per research by the World Bank. This number can become significantly greater by employing women in the formal labor force. In a joint paper published by the WEF in 2018, authors Christine Lagarde, the then IMF Chief, and Erna Solberg, the then Prime Minister of Norway, state that India’s GDP can jump by a massive 27 percent by raising women’s participation in the workforce to the same level as men.
When women play a key role in the formal workforce, it offers a plethora of benefits to everyone, and an undertaking such as this needs active support from the government. When we examine countries that top the gender parity index, such as Norway, Sweden, or Iceland, we see that the government plays a significant role in helping women thrive in the workplace. Take Norway, for instance. In 2002, the Norwegian government increased federal spending on daycares with the sole goal of getting more women into the workforce. In 2018, researchers from the Institute of Social Research in Oslo conducted a study to find out if this measure had resulted in increased workforce participation from women. They found that daycare support from the government had not only boosted women’s engagement in the workforce, but it had also helped elevate more women to leadership roles. In 2003, 28.4 percent of leadership positions were held by women, and by 2008, the number had gone up to 33 percent.
While I do understand that the priorities and challenges of the Indian government and the Norwegian government are vastly different, we must realize that the overall development scenario of India will undergo a complete positive transformation if organizations, mainly MSMEs, and the IWP receive the government’s support. Our country has done well to introduce progressive laws for women – laws that do not exist even in many developed nations. But for these supportive Indian laws to truly help women we need the government to step in. For example, consider the Maternity Benefits Act which mandates organizations to provide six months of paid leave to all expecting moms and a creche within the campus (if the employee count is 50+).
How can MSMEs afford to pay full salaries to their women employees for half a year and not receive their services in return? How can MSMEs afford to set up creche facilities for employees? They cannot. So, smaller organizations look for ways to bypass these laws – they hire women as contract workers to avoid providing these benefits, or worse they do not hire women. Not because they do not want to have women in their workforce; they simply do not have a choice. Also, when women are hired as contract workers, they do not receive PF, gratuity, and other benefits. Hence, understandably, women do not contribute a noteworthy amount to taxation and national GDP.
But if the government extends support to MSMEs by offering tax rebates to those that employ women, tax credits for childcare, and financial support to enable them to provide commute assistance and flexibility to their women employees, it is a win-win for everyone. A detailed study by Avtar in 2015 on the career trajectories of men and women found that 72% of women look for work-life balance in their jobs, and this is attainable only with the help of all these enablers.
This women’s day, I hope we realize that our country cannot progress if nearly 50 percent of our urban population, one that is extremely bright, educated, and productive, is forced to sit out of the workforce. I hope we understand that the IWP is exceptionally worthy of national investment and that she receives the support that she awaits and deserves.
Dr Saundarya Rajesh, Founder – President, of Avtar Group is among India’s most prominent leaders in the space of women’s workforce participation. Avtar, the social enterprise founded by Dr. Saundarya, is India’s only organization that provides both strategy and implementation solutions in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Her work in creating careers for women in the Indian workplace, is unparalleled, for which she is referred to as “The Career Doctor”. Not only is she among the earliest and most impactful voices to speak, write, and teach about gender inclusion, but she has also helped hundreds of companies hire thousands of women professionals through Avtar’s work. A powerful speaker, author, and a very sought-after DEI strategist, Dr Saundarya’s vision is to see young girls from underprivileged families create empowering white-collar careers for themselves. This she influences through Project Puthri. Her journey towards creating inclusive and equitable workplaces is inspirational in helping organizations, communities, and societies harness the true power of diversity!
