The govt and businesses must join hands to empower women economically. This will give a big boost to GDP as well
The 2021 WEF Global Gender Gap Report is damning for India, and gender parity advocates in general. Since its first dip in rate of progress in 2016, this is a repeat, predictably because the pandemic has affected more women than men.
What can one expect when “the structures of our society have been created by males and for males,” as commented by none other than the Supreme Court of India recently? India has slipped from 112 to 140 amongst 156 countries, with only Pakistan and Afghanistan behind it in Asia.
Of the four pillars of the index, India suffered mainly in political empowerment and economic participation (the other two being education attainment and health). Not quite surprising when the labour participation of women is 22 per cent, one of the lowest in the world (comparable countries have 50 per cent).
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
