As the world grapples with Corona with a scramble for suitable drugs, devices, protective equipment and not least discovering a vaccine, India has turned this necessity into a virtue. The government’s unveiling of a stimulus package is a step towards attaining self-reliance while battling the pandemic. However, unless women, constituting about half of us are made an integral part of this self-reliance script, Atmanirbhar Bharat will remain a pipe dream. A report has estimated that addressing gender inequality could add 18 per cent to India’s GDP.
The persisting unfair deal for the fair sex: economy/employment
Even as economy has long opened up with ‘animal spirits’ having been given free rein, whether it has translated into really freeing or emancipating women has remained a big question. Leave aside socio-cultural prejudices and stereotypes, economically speaking, women have barely come to match the levels of workforce participation and benefits as against their male counterparts. Though the gender gap has narrowed in terms of education, the employment gap has only widened. In rural India, due to shrinking of agriculture sector, women’s participation is declining too. As a whole, the proportion of women joining the workforce has dropped from 32.2 per cent in 2005 to 23.4 per cent last year.
