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More women take to STEM at college. But can India Inc stem their exit from jobs?
- The minister also noted the boost to women entrepreneurs and highlighted that 300 million Mudra Yojana loans have gone out to women entrepreneurs
The country has seen a remarkable rise in women joining colleges, and many of them are studying science and technology courses, but that has failed to significantly improve the diversity quotient at corporate India.
Companies are taking conscious steps to increase the number of women employees right at recruitment stage, but the exits in junior-to-middle levels remain high.
“Female enrolment in higher education has gone up by 28% in ten years. In STEM courses, girls and women constitute 43% of enrolment - one of the highest in the world. All these measures are getting reflected in the increasing participation of women in the workforce,” said finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her interim budget speech on Thursday. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Yet, the high number of women graduates will take a while before they boost gender diversity in India Inc.
During and after the pandemic, a large number of women dropped out of employment in both formal and informal sectors due to lack of adequate support and flexibility. The need to head back to work has also led many to opt for gig work. Companies are reworking their policies, such as extended maternity leave, and women leadership programs to boost the participation of women in the workforce.
“The workforce today sees higher participation from educated and qualified women, driven by expectations of respect, dignity, and equality in the workplace. However, workplace policies, culture, and experiences often lag behind these expectations, compounded by stagnant personal and familial dynamics (including the absence of paternity leaves), leading many women to exit traditional employment,” said Pallavi Pareek, chief executive officer (CEO) and diversity, equity and inclusivity adviser at consultancy firm Ungender.
A study of the 2,000-plus companies listed on National Stock Exchange, called the Gender Gap, done by an NGO Udaiti Foundation, noted that the number of permanent women employees in the formal sector has increased by 3 percentage points from FY21 to FY23, showing signs of slight rebound in women representation post-Covid.
The study reveals that the number of women in permanent workforce in services, healthcare, and realty has increased while that in IT, FMCG, and financial services remains flat.
This, despite firms across sectors overhauling their retention and hiring strategies to get more women on board.
Sitharaman also underscored the boost to women entrepreneurs, highlighting that 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans have been given to women entrepreneurs. “The empowerment of women through entrepreneurship, ease of living, and dignity for them has gained momentum in these ten years,” she added.
The limited options available for women in the formal sector after completing their graduation is pushing many to become self-employed. Rosa Abraham, assistant professor at Azim Premji University, has noticed that while the number of women entreupreuners has increased in rural economy, they are yet to start earning. “The government loans have helped many women to become self-employed and now we see families in rural areas where both the man and the woman run their business. But the women are yet to start drawing salaries from their business, which is still some time away,” said Abraham.
The government noted how 8.3 million self-help groups with 90 million women are “transforming rural socio-economic landscape with empowerment and self-reliance”. Called Lakhpati Didi, the self-help group of women earn a sustainable income of at least ₹100,000 per annum per household. “Their success has assisted nearly one crore women to become Lakhpati Didi already...Buoyed by the success, it has been decided to enhance the target for Lakhpati Didi from 2 crore to 3 crore," Sitharaman added.
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Business NewsEconomyMore women take to STEM at college. But can India Inc stem their exit from jobs?
First Published:1 Feb 2024, 03:04 PM IST
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