Speaking at the Session on Inclusion and Gender: Building India,
as part of CII’s National Conference and Annual Session 2015, Ms Lalitha
Kumaramangalam, Chairperson, National Commission for Women, emphasized on
the fact that ‘inclusiveness pays’- that hiring women have usually led to
increased productivity and profits and it makes good business sense to invest
in women. She also felt that women need training and capacity building to be
part of the financial inclusion process and there is an urgent need to focus on
women working in the agriculture sector and the Non-timber Forest Product
(NTFP) where 90 percent of the workforce constitutes women. Investments in the
form of skills development and R & D of women friendly machineries and
equipment would be critical.
At the workplace, Ms Kumaramangalam felt that they are
multi-taskers and manage well, however they need mentoring from senior
colleagues, particularly women.
Mr Rajive Kaul, Past President, CII and Chairman NICCO Corporation
said that while women account for almost 48 percent of the population,
participation of women in the labour force, politics and also the corporate
sector has been meagre. While in some fields such as banking and financial
services, women have done exceedingly well, on the whole the situation is not
very good. Less than 2 percent of BSE 500 companies have female CEOs. This
year, 180 companies that are listed on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), have
failed to comply with the rule of having one woman director as required by the
Companies Act.
He also shared that persons with special abilities constitute a
significant 2.2 percent of the country’s population, however, their employment
needs remain largely unmet and there is a skill gap of nearly 10 million.
Further regarding the historically most disadvantaged group, the SC & ST,
access to capital continues to be a challenge. Some of the key elements which
would provide a stimulus in building an inclusive and productive society are
quality education & access to health services, skills development and
provision of social and physical infrastructure that enable participation of
all.
Mr Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, The Skills Academy and Founder &
Non-Executive Vice Chairman, Genpact shared how the female workforce which
comprises around 40 percent of the total workforce at entry level, shrinks the
higher they go with mere 4 percent staying at the senior level.
Ms Pallavi Shroff, Senior Partner, Amarchand & Mangaldas, felt
that while things have moved ahead in terms of women empowerment, challenges
remained not in hiring but retaining the women workforce and felt that
providing an eco-system that ensures safety is one of prime factors to retain
women at the workplace.
Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice Chairman and CEO, Zensar Technologies,
shared his own experience of initiating a ‘women for Excellence’ programme in
his organization that led to a significant increase in the number of women
occupying senior management positions. Dr Natarajan suggested that CSR funds
may be used for training the marginalized and create a large skills base that
can contribute to the country’s development process.
The panelists shared some of the good practices followed by them
to encourage and build an eco-system that welcome women. These included providing
technology support, training and mentorship programmes for women, gender
sensitization workshops for men, offering flexible timing and benefits like
setting up daycare centres for their children.
Government efforts focusing on inclusion like the Beti Bachao Beti
Padhao, Swachh Vidyalaya Programme, skills development and especially the
National Digital Literacy Mission (NDLM) which is working towards enabling all
to use IT and related applications and participate actively in the democratic
process, were much appreciated.
6th April 2015
New
Delhi