Bridging gender-based skills gaps for India's progress

India's demographic curve bends towards the young. In developed countries, the labor force is shrinking due to aging factors. However, India's median age is only 28. From an economic perspective, a younger workforce translates to an advantage, driving rapid development and growth. But even as some of India's youth push the country to become a world power, many are being left behind in the process. Women's participation in the country's workforce has been woefully insufficient, and this must change if India is to reap its demographic dividend. The empowerment of our women is also the key to generational social transformation.

Why is India abandoning its women? Do Indian women self-select into unfavourable career choices in adulthood, given their primary responsibility of caring for children and running the household? Can women focused on pursuing professional careers not maintain a work-life balance as childcare costs rise and there are few alternative part-time job options? Are women withdrawing from formal employment?

One solution to closing the gender gap in India's workforce is to focus on the country's 253 million young people, 48.5% of whom are young women. Why is it a mandate? Because women in the workforce not only mean a stronger economy, but also lasting social change and well-being. Gender equity and the resulting opportunity to work translates into eradicating deep-rooted injustice, disparities, and disadvantages of women in Indian homes.

Stereotypical gender bias, which disadvantages women relative to men, is one of the most common barriers to women's access to employment. While an Indian woman spends 25% of her time on unpaid care and domestic work, a man spends only 2.5% of his time on such activities. Such disparities change women's priorities and push them away from the formal labor market. Covid has further exacerbated this situation, having a disproportionate impact on working women. The convergence of gender, poverty and marginalization has played out during the pandemic, to make women, and certain categories of them, particularly weakened.

Government participation

The Government of India (GOI) has recognised women as a priority group under the Skill India mission. Furthermore, the recent announcement by the Government of India to conduct a follow-up study to assess the impact of PMKVY on women's participation in the labor market is a much-needed intervention to understand the correlation between skills development and the employability of women. women. The Indian government could formulate an incentive-based approach with gender targets for all courses under its National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF). Reward mechanisms can be created so that training partners become eligible for additional financial support if new modules are designed for training women, or if there is an increase in enrolment and placement of female candidates, particularly in non-traditional occupations.

To conclude

Literacy alone is unlikely to translate into gainful employment until targeted support is extended to the female workforce. What we need is a bouquet of women-centred empowerment initiatives that include socio-economic support, relevant skills, guaranteed jobs and investments to reduce barriers and create an accessible gateway for that woman can enter into various sectors of the economy, actively contributing to the progress of India. Empowering women requires tremendous efforts on multiple fronts for true financial and social inclusion.

(The Author is the Manager

Advocacy and Communication ASDC)