The Union Budget 2024 has listed a number of initiatives to support women's entrepreneurship and education in India. With the focus on raising the percentage of women enrolling in schools and colleges and enhancing the quality of education, the budget has set out Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the education sector. In addition, the budget aims to fund girls' postgraduate studies at no cost in several selected sectors, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
However, regarding hiring targets for women, the budget has failed to meet India Inc.'s objectives. Companies are actively trying to boost the proportion of women employees from the recruitment stage, although dropout rates among junior-to-middle-level employees are high. There was a slight rise in female representation after the COVID-19 pandemic, it was raised by a 3 per cent point increase in the number of permanent female employees in the formal sector between FY21 and FY23.
The Gender Gap study by the Udaiti Foundation shows a slight rebound in female representation Post-Covid, with permanent women in services, healthcare, and real estate increasing, while those in information technology, consumer goods, and financial services remain flat. Despite firms revamping retention and hiring strategies, women's participation in the IT sector remains stagnant at 34 to 35 per cent, whereas an increase has been observed in the services sector from 12 per cent in FY21 to 20 per cent in FY23.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman reported a 28 per cent increase in female enrolment in higher education over the past decade, with girls and women making up 43 per cent of STEM courses, the highest globally. She further highlighted the significant support given to women entrepreneurs, stating that 300 million Mudra Yojana loans have been provided to them.
