Woman empowerment key to nation's progress

India's development is highly determined by women's progress. Education, digital literacy, financial support for women's businesses would rope in their socio-economic progress.

Hyderabad: Gone are the days when women were confined to the four walls of homes and indulged merely in household chores. Nowadays, women are pacing ahead with hard work, perseverance and talent in domains that were previously male-dominated. Women constitute 48.5 per cent of the country’s population.

While women constitute 70 per cent of China’s workforce, the proportion is merely 24 per cent in India. Lack of women's participation is detrimental to a country’s progress. Empowering women is synonymous with the eradication of poverty. Increasing women's earning would reap huge benefits for society as a whole.

Literacy as a powerful tool

Women's contribution is a requisite for a stable economy. If the majority of women are involved in economic activities, society's prosperity is assured. According to the World Economic Forum, India ranks 139th out of 145 countries in terms of women’s participation in economic activities. We must strive for holistic development by providing social, economic and political equality for women.

Comprehensive growth can be achieved by women's participation in policy design and governance. In order to develop a society holistically, the empowerment of rural women has a pertinent role and it would enable in bringing the social and economic changes for sustainable development.

As an impediment to their progress, Indian women are constantly battling discrimination and abuse from all corners. It is worth mentioning that literacy has a key role to play in woman empowerment. Rural women are lagging behind in higher education and professional skills.

Women's contribution to family welfare, agricultural and rural development of India is insurmountable. About 69 per cent of the total female workforce is employed in the agricultural sector. Apart from crop planning and cultivation, they play a major role in horticulture, food processing, livestock, fisheries and small scale industries. Right from seed selection to harvesting and marketing, they leave no stone unturned. Compared to their male counterparts, women employees' proportion is higher in dairy, animal husbandry and allied sectors. Economic growth would become a reality only when the participation of women increases in every domain.

Nutritional deficiencies have also become an impediment to women’s progress. Even though there are several welfare schemes for women's healthcare, in reality, none of them is fully functional. In order to boost women's progress, the central and state governments must ensure the inflow of capital to women’s associations.

Underprivileged rural women should be given opportunities in skill development, marketing and business. To increase efficiency at work, unemployed young women must be trained with industry-specific skills. The government should focus on subsidized loans for women entrepreneurs and better marketing options.

Skill acquisition and enhancement

Improving accommodation facilities for urban women will encourage them to pursue their goals. Industries must be open to provide more opportunities to women. Since a large number of women work in the unorganized sector; economic and social security in those sectors should be strengthened.

Women should have the freedom to exercise social and financial equality besides basic rights. Oppression of women should be ended. Women should have an equal say in decisions at the workplace or at home. In the milieu where social media platforms are used for business promotions, digital literacy needs to be enhanced. With the right skill set and opportunities, women can become a supreme workforce and spearhead social and economic progress. India can achieve its development goals if women are given a level-playing field.