Another week, another compilation of Women Entrepreneur India. This week, we learned from LinkedIn that women entrepreneurs outnumber males, which is a positive indicator for women's empowerment. On the other side, a report from the WEF states that while gender parity has improved in India, the country is still ranked 135th out of 146 nations, which should be taken note of and addressed. In addition to these pieces, we have covered a number of stories about the empowerment of women. Continue reading to learn more about some of the most significant advancements in women's empowerment this past week.
Himachal Women SHGs' Products are highly Sought after on E-Commerce Websites
Among all SHGs in the nation over the past year, the self-help groups (SHGs) of urban women in the state have had the largest online product sales on Amazon and Flipkart. Rakhee Singh, Joint Director, Department of Urban Development, stated that the amount of business done by our SHGs was Rs. 4.40 lakh, which was the largest amount among SHGs nationwide.
According to a data from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Keralan SHGs took second place with sales of Rs. 1.98 lakh during the same period.
To give these SHGs a larger and more consistent market, the Department of Urban Development made these products available on e-commerce platforms.
FIA Global Wins the BRICS Women Innovation Contest, Mulan 2022
FIA Global, India’s leading financial services organization with a mission to bring financial inclusion to every doorstep in the subcontinent, has won the international BRICS Women Innovation Contest 2022, held in Beijing in June 2022.
Seema Prem, the CEO and Co-founder of FIA Global, has been recognized as an outstanding, and dynamic woman entrepreneur, committed to the vision of making financial inclusion simple for banks and their rural customers. Seema has been instrumental in creating socially impactful products and services to meet the needs of unserved communities and markets and lead FIA’s efforts to expand its global footprint.
Emphasizing technology-driven, integrated solutions, her focus is on building high-impact, sustainable programs to reach the last mile. She is also responsible for advocacy, governance, and building strategic relationships with governments, financial institutions and other key partners to support and scale social innovations.
More Women are Using Family Planning Methods: NFHS-5 Survey
Data from the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) show that the adoption of family planning methods by women has increased over time. These statistics show that 62.4 percent of women between the ages of 15 and 49 utilise some form of family planning. In NFHS-4, this rate was 45.5%.
In contrast to the NFHS-4 data, which was generated from responses to a survey conducted in 2015–16, the NFHS-5 data was released in January of this year. Based on responses from 70710 families, including 93124 women and 12043 men, the NFHS-5 fact sheet was created.
India Women Win their First Women's Hockey World Cup Match
After both sides were level 1-1 at the end of regulation time in first classification match of the FIH Women's Hockey World Cup here on Tuesday, India defeated Canada 3-2 in the shootout behind a great performance by captain Savita in front of the goal.
Madeline Secco gave Canada the lead in the 11th minute, but Salima Tete tied the score for India in the 58th minute. However, Savita's bravery in front of the net was what won India their first victory of the competition.
The Indian captain took the initiative and made up to six saves in the shootout, while Navneet Kaur, Sonika, and Neha scored in the match for ninth through sixteenth place.
Up To 15 Percent of Women are Infertile; IVF is Becoming More Popular as a Specialized Industry
As approximately 12–15% of all married young women in India, or 3 crore people, are unable to conceive, infertility is becoming a problem. For in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) professionals, a growing industry that is becoming more organised, this is creating a significant revenue potential. IVF is a sophisticated set of operations used to improve fertility, stop genetic issues, and aid in child conception.
Couples delaying pregnancy after marriage owing to job and life stress, lateness for treatments, female tubular blocks, pollution, poor diet and living conditions, and low male sperm counts are the main causes of infertility.
Gender Parity: India Improves, but is Ranked 135th out of 146 Countries, Says Report
According to the World Economic Forum's (WEF) most recent Gender Gap Report, India's overall position in achieving gender parity improved in 2022, rising five positions to 135 out of the 146 benchmarked this year.
India's gender parity score, which is its seventh-highest in the past 16 years, was 0.629 on a scale where 1 reflects the ideal scenario or "parity," but it still lagged behind its neighbours Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, China, Nepal, the Maldives, and others. In the 2022 edition, Russia was not mentioned by WEF.
The Global Gender Gap Index measures the progress of gender parity across four important parameters (Economic Participation and Opportunity, Educational Attainment, Health and Survival, and Political Empowerment).
LinkedIn Reports that more Indian Women than Males are considering Entrepreneurship
According to a LinkedIn study, more women are choosing to start their own businesses in India, where the proportion of female founders is rising faster than that of their male counterparts. The study also emphasised the alarming pattern of women leaving the corporate ladder and not getting the promotions they deserve, which has an impact on the diversity ratio at the top.
The study indicated that between 2016 and 2021, the proportion of female founders increased by 2.68 times. Comparatively, throughout the same time span, the percentage of male founders increased just 1.79 times. On the other hand, women make up just 18% of India Inc.'s leadership team.
Google & Nasscom built a Call Centre to Support Rural Women Entrepreneurs in Growing their Enterprises
In partnership with a non-profit organisation called ISAP, the Nasscom Foundation and Google established a call centre to assist women farmers in growing their businesses.
According to Nasscom Foundation CEO Nidhi Bhasin, the programme is being operated as a pilot to initially reach out to 20,000 rural women entrepreneurs across six states: Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana, and Rajasthan.
Beti Bachao Beti Padhao to be Implemented in All Districts
According to guidelines released by the Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, the Center's flagship programme for women's empowerment that focuses on increasing sex ratio and educating girl children, will now be expanded throughout the nation.
Currently, the programme is in use in 405 districts. The ministry released thorough instructions for Mission Shakti; these are effective as of April.
In accordance with the guidelines, "the component will aim for zero-budget advertising and encouraging greater spend on activities that have on-ground impact...for promoting sports among girls, self-defence camps, construction of girls' restrooms, making available sanitary napkin vending machines and sanitary pads, especially in educational institutions, awareness about PC-PNDT Act, etc."
