Women empowerment : present status

Women’s economic growth : how it benefits the world.

“ When women participate in economy, everyone benefits”

Women’s economic empowerment is central to realizing women’s

right and gender equality.
Their economic growth includes women’s ability to participate equally
in existing markets, control over their own lives, time , and bodies.
Empowering women in economy and closing gender gaps in world of
work are key to achieving 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
When more women work, economies grow. Women’s economic
empowerment boosts productivity increases economic diversification
and income equality in addition to other positive outcomes.
Increasing women’s and girl’s educational attainment contributes to
women’s economic empowerment and more inclusive economic
growth.
Increased educational attainment accounts for about 50 % of economic
growth in OECD countries over the past 50 years. India is the 27th
member of OECD countries. But for majority of women significant gains
in education have not translated into better labor market outcomes.
Women’s economic equality is good for business.
Companies benefit from increasing employment and leadership
opportunities for women, which has shown to increase organizational
effectiveness and growth. It is estimated that companies with 3 or 4
women in senior management function score higher in all dimensions
of organizational performance.
Women in Indian defense forces:

“ I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship”

India’s armed forces began inducting women officers in 1992. Over the
decades, they have been given combat roles in air force.
Women have been inducted as fighter pilots and have flown sorties
into combat zones; they will be inducted as sailors as soon as ships that
can accommodate them are ready.
Presently, women are inducted in Indian Army through Short Service
Commission (Technical) and Short Service Commission (Non-Technical)
entries.
Women are inducted in all the branches and streams of Indian Air Force
(IAF) service.
In Indian Navy, women officers are inducted through Short Service
Commission in Logistics, Law, Observers, Medical, Dental, Air Traffic
Control (ATC), Pilots (Maritime Reconnaissance Stream), Naval
Armament Inspectorate (NAI) cadre, Naval Architecture, Education,
Sports and Musician Branch.
Government has approved Grant of Permanent Commission to SSC
Officers of NAI Cadre.

The current number of women in three armed forces is :

INDAIN ARMY : 6892
INDIAN AIR FORCES : 1878
INDIAN NAVY : 685
Year wise induction details of women in three armed forces:
Year 2017 2018 2019 2020
Indian army 949 819 364 102
Indian air force 109 86 77 00
Indian navy 57 38 54 18 (in progress)

Opportunities for career in IAF are publicized through print/electronic

media in accordance with the policy on ‘Induction and Empowerment
of Women in Armed Forces’.
The Government has commenced a scheme for induction of women
Short Service Commission (SSC) officers in the fighter stream of the
flying branch in the year 2015.
The IAF has also formulated the requisite gender-neutral Air Hqr.
Human Resource Policies (HRPs) enabling consideration of SSC officers
for permanent commission in all ventures of the IAF.

Indian Navy has also progressively increased the avenues for women to
join the Naval Force from 3 branches in 1992 to 11 branches in 2019.

Women in business :
“Sell the problem you solve, not the product you have”
Historically, india has been a largely male-dominated society in terms of
social and cultural values.
In last century, india has made much progress towards a more equal
and accepting society.
In past couple of decades, women have been increasingly entering the
workforce and reaching top management positions.
Today many women in india hold important roles in politics, social
organizations, and administration.

Reports have indicated that an additional $2.9 trillion of annual GDP

could be added to india by achieving gender parity in workplace by
2025, which is vast 60% higher than business -as- usual GDP in 2025.

In India today, many women are entering positions in what was

formerly considered the male domain. In industries, such as advertising,
banking, the civil service, manufacturing, the police force, and
communication amongst others, we can see a definite increase in the
female percentage of the workforce.
Women such as Chanda Kochhar (CEO of ICICI Bank), Kirthiga Reddy
(CEO of Facebook India) and Vinita Bali (MD of Britannia Industries
Limited) have proven you don’t need to be a man to be the boss in
India.
Chanda Kochhar [CEO of ICICI BANK]
 This Photo by Unknown Author is This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-
licensed under CC BY-SA ND

Kirthiga Reddy [CEO of FACEBOOK india]

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed

These women are role models for slowly but surely increasing
population of Indian educated women with new set of ambitions and
ideals.
Undoubtedly, at the top levels of the Indian state, the importance of
gender parity in business is recognized, and there has been a greater
level of encouragement for women engaging in tertiary education so as
to improve their employment opportunities.
While women still face a level of differential treatment in the workplace
this is a work in progress and the situation is steadily improving.
Women in political participation:
“This is not a men vs women issue. Its about people vs prejudice”

Women in india participate in voting, run for public offices and political
parties at lower levels more than men.
Political activism and voting are the strongest areas of women’s
political participation.
Women have held the posts of president and prime minister in india as
well as chief ministers of various states.
e.g.
Pratibha Patel [served from 2007-2012]

This Photo by Unknown Author

The govt of india directed state and local governments to promote

equality by class and gender including equal pay and free legal aid,
maternity relief, rights to work and education, an raising the standard
of living.
2014 elections:
Women turnout during India’s 2014 parliamentary elections was
greater than compared to men.

According to World Economic Forum's annual global gender gap index

studies, which considers such a broader scale, India has ranked in top
20 countries worldwide for many years, with 9th best in 2013 - a score
reflecting more women's participation in India's political process than
Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, France and United Kingdom.

50:50 female candidates:

In 2019 Indian general election, Naam Tamilar Katchi from Tamil Nadu
fielded 50% women candidates in the total 40 Lok Sabha seats.
It was first party in india offered equal number of seats to men and
women and also in 2021 Tamil Nādu legislative assembly election also
they followed the same 50:50 ratio by offered 117 seats to women in
total of 234 assembly constituencies.

Women with empowering roles in Bollywood:

“ Queens don’t quit, we conquer”

The role of women in the Indian society has changed like it has in
Bollywood movies. A certain movie in the late 1980s 'Biwi Ho Toh Aisi' –
also Salman Khan’s debut -- had a matriarch. But unlike a patriarch, she
was often referred to as "magroor aurat". Because she had arrogance
written all over her demeanor -- a sole propriety of machoism.

This was a period of transitional change -- more so, a lull -- where

similar roles were written for women. The period that preceded this
belonged to the likes of Waheeda Rahman, Asha Parekh, Sharmila
Tagore, Jaya Bachchan, Rekha, Hema Malini, Zeenat Aman, Deepti
Naval, Shabana Azmi, Smita Patil and Sri Devi. With powerhouse
actresses like these, the movies did not need an extra "tadka" of
glamour.
Times changed, and so did the roles of women being written for the
Hindi movies. The lull -- as mentioned earlier -- saw a deluge of action
movies, and actresses did not have much to do in those films.
Even the David Dhawan comedies had little to offer to the actresses,
thus leaving only a little scope for them to show their acting prowess.
It was only with the emergence of the "young romance" genre that
women became an object of desire.
They always were, but the 1990s and the early 2000s had a mix of skin-
show and item numbers. Most of them unasked for.
The 1990’s and the early 2000s was the era of actresses being referred
to as the hero’s “love interest” and rightly so , because they did just
that – loved their hero and nothing else.
There were slaps, and there was ridicule and by that measure “Kabir
Singh” was a gem.
But a special mention to Seshadri’s ‘Damini’ that for the first time . did
not bash males to slam patriarchy. A huge step that was much
appreciated too.
With the emergence of social media, feminism and women
empowerment took center stage in debates and discussions. And in
cinema. So earlier when problematic films were hailed for the
machoism of the hero, the post-2009 phase had people questioning
their societal system.
This was also the phase where actresses took up filmmaking, and
turned writers, directors and producers. They were earlier also involved
in these aspects, but this was the phase of them outshining their male
counterparts. Be it 'Piku', 'NH10', 'Pari', and the likes, there were better
roles for women. And the actresses played them with all their might.
The likes of 'Highway', 'Raazi', 'Queen' and 'Padmavat' centered on
women and did not become another art-house film. They were hailed
as mainstream cinema, and primarily for their superlative content.
Recent years have seen a happier curve for women, as they no longer
need a male superstar to invite audience to theatres. 'Queen', 'Sand Ki
Aankh' and 'Mulk' became a cult just by the virtue of the content, and
author-backed roles written for women.
This is the age of Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut,
Taapsee Pannu, Bhumi Pednekar, Priyanka Chopra, Anushka Sharma,
Vidya Balan and Kriti Sanon, who don't think twice before taking up a
challenging role. This is the age where all kinds of movies are being
made. And women have a special role in each one of them.
Women are being told to not undervalue themselves -- that they are
not second fiddle to men. Not anymore. And these concepts are being
appreciated -- be it 'Queen', 'Nil Batey Sannata' and 'English Vinglish'.
Filmmakers like Zoya Akhtar, Meghna Gulzar, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, Ekta
Kapoor and Nandita Das; and scriptwriters Juhi Chaturvedi and Kanika
Dhillon have broken the glass ceiling when it comes to ruling the sets.
A lot has changed, and a lot needs to improve. Indian cinema, by that
measure, is on the road to recovery. It is now making films that have
the concept as the hero. And the star cast as the heroine. Toxic
masculinity is being called out, and patriarchy is being debunked. The
process has been gradual and is expected to continue.
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PAST TO PRESENT: WOMEN EMPOWEREMNT

Statistics of women labor participation in india

employment

20.52 31.79
20.71

25.68
21.03

21.36
21.72

2005 2010 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

In 2019, about 20.7 percent of women were in the labor force across
India, down from approximately 30 percent in 1990. The labor force
participation rate is an important indicator that reflects the economy’s
active workforce.

Statistics of rape victims in india

rape victims
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
2005 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Axis Title

number of cases reported Column1 Column2

In 2020, the total number of rape cases reported in India amounted to

over 28 thousand. This was a decrease in rape cases compared to the
previous year. Even though many rapes are not reported in the country,
it is an issue that continuously makes news headlines, some leading to
public protests. Although reports of rape have increased in recent
years, it was still associated with shame for the victim, rather than the
perpetrator.

Women in India
India is known to be one of the most dangerous countries in the
world for women. Indian women are constantly in a state of high alert
when alone on the streets, at work or in the markets. Due to India’s
predominantly patriarchal nature, domestic violence is known to be
culturally acceptable. Studies reveal that even a majority of working
women suffer domestic abuse from their husbands. A non-earning
woman’s position further exacerbates vulnerability and dependence on
their male partner as opposed to a woman who contributors financially
to the household. Rampant poverty across the country is the main
driver for low literacy rates and consequently, disempowerment and
abuse among women.

Statistics of literacy