Women In India’s Economic Development
Studies have shown that women in the workplace and gender diversity are key for organisations’ bottom lines. Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women on boards, financially outperform companies with the lowest representation of women on boards.
Gender-diverse teams have higher sales and profits compared to male-dominated teams. A recent Gallup study found that gender-diverse business units have higher average revenue than less diverse business units. The benefits of having more women in the workplace are not limited to just financial gains – the culture of the company benefits from being a more inclusive and diverse workplace where all thrive and contribute their best.
Indía is increasingly focussing on social empowerment and inclusion as an essential part of economic growth. My work in sanitation has shown me how sanitation is intrinsically linked to the empowerment of women. In a study undertaken by Sambodhi, UNICEF, and BMGF, documenting Swachh Bharat Mission’s impact on women – convenience, self-respect and safety were notable impacts on the lives of women.
▪ 91 per cent of women save up to an hour of their day, earlier spent on walking to defecation sites
▪ 88 per cent of women are proud to own a toilet
▪ Since they do not have to go out in the open to defecate anymore, 93 per cent of women feel safer from assault, no longer fearing contracting infections or attacks
Programmes that benefit women are often best run by women as I have seen in the water Samitis where women organise the management of scarce water in their village. A great example of women-led development in sanitation was seen in Jharkhand where tardy progress in providing toilets triggered the mass training of women as masons –“Rani Mistris” – through self-help groups. This uprising of female interest in creating much-needed toilets also led to community-based livelihood opportunities with many of these women graduating to home construction as trained masons.
We can also celebrate success stories encouraging replication. Through the ISC-FICCI Sanitation Awards, we also reward and recognise women sanitation champions amongst which are:
- women SHGs who handle O&M for FSTPs in three major cities of Odisha.
- Project Baala, which enables village-level women entrepreneurs to serve as menstrual health advocates providing information and products in their communities. By selling Baala pads in the neighbourhood, women earn an extra Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 per month on average.
- Aspiya Bano from the Gargeshwari Gram Panchayat, Karnataka, played a pivotal role in making Gargeshwari a 'Hub GP' and in educating neighbouring GPs to adopt the model. Her leadership led to behaviour change and community mobilisation, breaking socio-cultural barriers and promoting gender equality in waste management.
Progress in Indía can only be achieved if we enable and empower our women to be actively engaged in the workplace and in social programmes.
