Empowering women is the key to India’s bright future
We live in an interesting time now. Alec Ross in his book, The Industries of the Future, made this point: the ones who owned land amassed political and economic power in the agricultural age, the ones who owned iron and had access to natural resources amassed political and economic power in the industrial age, and now the ones who will own data and controls data will amass political and economic power.
The corollary of Mr. Ross’ point is that from this point forward technical talent will be the most valuable resource in the world.
One doesn’t need muscle power to succeed in the current society anymore, one needs brain power to succeed in the society moving forward.
In my opinion, countries that provide the followings will go on to become politically and economically powerful at a global level.
A Strong foundation for an Open Economy
Incentivizing entrepreneurship and innovation
Protecting foreign investors, firms, and ideas
Attract and generate technical talent
Empower women
Out of all five, I believe “empower women” is the most important element for any country that is looking to become a global power both politically and economically. And some countries have already started to recognize the importance of women empowerment.
Saudi Arabia recently ended its status as the last country on earth to prohibit women from taking the wheel. “Lifting the ban on driving is likely to increase the number of women seeking jobs, boosting the size of the workforce and lifting overall incomes and output,” according to Ziad Daoud, Dubai-based chief Middle East economist for Bloomberg Economics. Lifting the ban could add as much as $90 billion to economic output by 2030.
The progress of women in China over the course of the last several decades is one of the major reasons it is an economic power today. China has 64% of its women working, one of the highest rates in the world. In the US, it is over 56%. China leads the world in the percentage of women in senior management positions — 51 percent. Half of the world’s wealthiest female billionaires live in China.
Jack Ma, founders of Alibaba, once said in an interview, “ the safest thing we do is lend to women entrepreneurs because they always pay it back” he was making the argument for empowering women not because it was fair but because it was good business.
According to The World Bank, report just 27 percent of Indian women were working or actively looking for a job, it is a matter of serious concern that is holding back economic growth.
According to The World Bank, if India’s economy were to make better use of the women in the population then the economic growth rate would rise to over 9%. Increased GDP is great, but our real aim should be that people get to maximize their utility.
This very low percent of Indian women seeking jobs is not for lack of intent. There is evidence that a vast number of educated women do want to get back to their careers but are held back by impediments, such as societal norms and structural problems in labor markets and employment policies.
About three years ago the government of India launched a yojana “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” that aims to generate awareness and improve the efficiency of welfare services intended for girls. The scheme was launched with an initial funding of ₹100 crore (US$15 million) and Haryana is one of the 6 states that got the funding through“Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” yojana.
Beti padhao? All girls of Hisar school flunk Class X, is the statement that I read in The Tribune yesterday.
An excerpt from the article:
It seems the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao campaign is yet to reach Kabrel village of the Adampur segment in the district.
Government Girls Secondary School (GGSS) has produced the worst result of the district this year in the matriculation examination as none of the students in the batch of 24 girls could pass the examination.
Villagers said they had anticipated poor result, as the school had a shortage of teachers in the previous session. The village Panchayat kept on making many rounds of the offices of the district administration, demanding teachers.
India, DRC, US among most dangerous countries for women: poll, is another statement that I read yesterday.
An excerpt from the article:
“The world’s second most populous nation, with 1.3 billion people, ranked as the most dangerous on three of the topic questions — the risk of sexual violence and harassment against women, the danger women face from cultural, tribal and traditional practices, and the country where women are most in danger of human trafficking including forced labour, sex slavery and domestic servitude,” the findings said.
We can clearly see that India has miserably failed in creating a basic environment that is needed for its women to succeed. It has a long way to go. The government needs to get its act together and take women empowerment seriously.
Launching yojanas, starting campaigns and slogans are of no good, until unless they are well-executed. In order for India to reach its true potential, the government needs to get its priorities together, and women empowerment should be its number one priority.
India has the highest volume of technical talent in the world, with a demographic dividend is in its favor: the boost that national economies get after a sharp fall in the birth rate, leading to a situation in which the working-age population is bigger, in some cases much bigger, than the combined dependent population of youngsters and oldsters.
In India, the working-age population is now larger than its combined dependent population of youngsters and oldsters.
India has everything else it needs to become a global power both politically and economically but is missing is the vibrant environment and tools for its women to succeed.
If India fails to empower its women, it will simply not reach its full potential. It will fail as a nation. Period.
And if it succeeds in empowering its women, it will succeed as a nation and women of India will help India succeed at the global level. Period.
