Govt policies need to boost women-led development, say experts

The Ujjwala Yojana was started in May 2016 by the government to provide LPG connection to women belonging to below poverty line (BPL) families.

With the Union Budget around the corner, experts say that the gender lens should become part of government policies for women to drive the engine of growth as India aims to become the third-largest economy by 2027-28.

“Providing clean fuel is one way the gender lens can become part of the energy policy. Women should not have a lower life expectancy just because they are cooking food for their families. Also, if women can't network after sunset, it's a public policy failure,” National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP) professor Lekha Chakraborty said.

The Ujjwala Yojana was started in May 2016 by the government to provide LPG connections to women belonging to below-poverty-line (BPL) families.

The experts expressed their views at a panel discussion on ‘We the women - India’s next growth engine’ at the Moneycontrol Policy Next - India’s $10 trillion Run.

“To move economic engines, incentives, and capital matter. We think providing finance to women can be an engine of growth as well as drive social change,” Mahila Money Founder Sairee Chahal said.

As India aims to become the third-largest economy by 2028, there are grave concerns about the low share of women’s participation in the labour force. According to World Bank data, though the Indian economy has grown over 10 times since 1990, its female workforce participation has fallen from 30 percent in 1990 to 19 percent in 2021.

India is currently the fifth-largest economy after the US, China, Japan, and Germany.

“For the longest time, I heard behind closed doors, 'Why do you want to invest in women? They have catfights.' Women are powered, empowerment should be taken out of the dictionary,” She Capital Founder Anisha Singh said.

Enhanced participation of women in the organised sector is necessary to accelerate India’s growth dramatically.

“The narrative has shifted from women-empowerment to women-led development. Social and economic conditions were not conducive for women to enter the legal space. However, the landscape is now changing. 50 percent of law students are currently women,” Bansuri Swaraj, Supreme Court lawyer and BJP Delhi Secretary, said.

India is likely to have the first woman Chief Justice of India in 2027-28. From more women in parliament to more women in workplaces, India needs to fix its skewed gender ratio.

“Women are a huge voter base, and more and more political parties are becoming aware of that. There was a time when women in the Rajya Sabha were there because of their fathers, husbands, and fathers-in-law. We often saw that, even though the face of power was a woman, the repository of power was a man. We need to ensure this does not happen in the 30 percent reservation for women. That is changing now,” BJP Spokesperson Shazia Ilmi said.

Ahead of the assembly polls, the Madhya Pradesh government issued a notification in October 2023 stating that 35 percent of government jobs in the state will now be reserved for women.

The Women's Reservation Bill, which seeks to reserve 33 percent of seats in Lok Sabha and state assemblies, was passed unanimously by both Houses of the Indian Parliament in September 2023.

Also, eliminating the gender pay gap is something men and women have to fight for together. This may be contentious, but the gender pay gap is not a fight between men and women, Ilmi added.

India does need some structural changes, but change is needed in the mindset of women too.

“I was always a high performer, and gender never held me back. But I have also seen the other side, where women need support. So we need representation and role models. Our company has 70 percent women overall, with 60 percent in leadership,” FableStreet Founder Ayushi Gudwani said.