WEF Davos 2023: Corporate India should take initiative to increase women participation, says Smriti Irani

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani

Union Minister of Women and Child Development Smriti Irani has expressed her concern over low female participation in the formal workforce of the country and urged the Corporate India to address it. Asking India Inc. to increase women participation in the workforce, the Union Minister also underlined that India Inc. needs to step up in the wake of various women friendly laws announced by the government.

"More and more corporates need to understand that while the government is responsible for framing the legislation, it is the corporate sector that needs to measure up," Irani said, speaking to Moneycontrol on the sidelines of World Economic Forum (WEF) 2023 in Davos.

Hinting that gender discrimination in corporate in India is still a concern, and citing the government's Maternity Benefit Amendment Act which has increased the duration of leaves from 12 weeks to 26 weeks for female employees, Irani questioned whether it is not mandatory for all companies to offer maternity advantages to women employees.

Highlighting that the Narendra Modi government has taken concerted efforts for women empowerment in the country, the Union Minister stressed that amendments were made for allowing women to work in underground coal mines to bring more employment opportunities for them, noting barriers that hinder the progress of women are dismantled.

"There were barriers to getting female-based employment in certain segments, for example, underground mining. PM Modi's reform opened even those segments for women," Irani said.

Citing the example of Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY), Irani said that the government has provided an affordable insurance scheme for the poor and underprivileged people.  It is even unthinkable that at a very low premium could offer a risk coverage of Rs 2 lakhs, she added.

"Access to insurance. Suraksha Bhima Yojana Rs 2 lakh insurance for one rupee premium was unthinkable in the world. But, Modi government did that and provided that insurance support," said Irani.

Reiterating that measures for the welfare of the people and unorganized labour force including women who form a major part of agricultural and construction segments have been taken, Irani said the government implemented insurance, health, pension, and food security schemes from time to time to bring informal workers to the formal workforce.

Irani said, "Our health care plan was another support. Free food was another support. Then you have the pension scheme - Kamgar Yojana. The benefits of formalisation of the labour market are already provided by the Modi government."

Watch : Davos 2023 | Top Highlights From Day 4 Of World Economic Forum

Smriti Irani, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister of IT and Telecom; RK Singh, Minister of Power and Renewable Energy, and Mansukhlal Mandaviya, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, are the four cabinet ministers leading the Indian government delegation at the WEF's Annual Meeting.