The world is often considered to be a male-dominated place. Do share your views in the comments below if you have a different take on this?
Why is the world a male-dominated place? This is because most of the leadership positions, whether in politics, society, or personal spaces, are occupied by men. Even today, a vibrant democracy like the United States has not been able to appoint a woman as its president. Importance of women empowerment in India and the world needs a serious discussion.
However, the overall representation of women around the world is gradually increasing. The importance of women in leadership cannot be denied. It’s especially important in a world where we are fighting the problems of gender inequality, violence against women, female foeticide, and much more.
Is The Question Still: How Valuable are Women in Leadership Roles ?
Women in leadership positions not only work towards creating an equitable world but also bring a different perspective to the system. India has witnessed strong women who have been in leadership positions. We hear about freedom fighters like Maharani Lakshmi Bai, educators like Savitribai Phule, and political leaders like Indira Gandhi. All these women have inspired the Indian population in many ways.
Today, when we talk about women’s empowerment, it is important to observe women participation in Indian politics. According to World Bank Data, the percentage of women in the Indian population was 48.4% in 2021. This was less than neighbouring countries like Afghanistan and Bangladesh. However, on the other hand, the fifth National Family and Health Survey (NFHS) found that India had more women than men for the first time in history.
Irrespective of this data, we can safely say that India has a huge population of women as the country is likely to surpass China and become the most populated country in the world. Therefore, the political representation of women in India is extremely crucial. When women or girls are about 50% of the population, there should also be an equal representation of women in politics.
Importance of Women Empowerment in India in Political Leadership
When we talk about women in politics, India has been witnessing an increase in representation. While in 1957, the total number of women candidates in the Lok Sabha elections was only 45, it went up to 716 in the last Lok Sabha elections of 2019. This was also a significant growth as compared to the 2014 elections when 668 women had placed their candidature for Lok Sabha elections.
Almost all the major parties in the country have been fielding more women candidates for the elections. In the 2019 Lok Sabha, India had the highest-ever number of women leaders. However, at 78, women still made up only 14% of the total leadership. The percentage in Rajya Sabha in 2020 also stood at around 10.2.
So, we can see that women’s participation in political leadership is increasing. However, there is still a long way to go. But the importance of this increase cannot be ignored. This is a strong marker of the empowerment of women in India. Today, we have strong women leaders in the Indian government’s cabinet.
Importance of Women Empowerment in India: More Than Leadership
The importance of women empowerment in India is also related to their participation in the overall election process. Not just in leadership positions, women also need to be active participants in selecting leaders. The country is also performing positively in this area.
In 2019, close to 67% of women voted in Lok Sabha elections, the highest in the country’s history. All these are good signs for India and its women. What we need to achieve is an even greater increase in the percentage of women in the Indian parliament in the coming years.
Women Leading the Way in Other Areas
Another important aspect of women’s empowerment is their representation in corporate leadership. More women in leadership positions in the business world can have a stronger impact on the overall society. It helps in breaking stereotypes and creating role models for future generations. The entertainment industry in India has already created many female role models. Now, the corporate world is also picking up pace.
Women held 17.1% of the board seats in India, according to the seventh edition of Deloitte Global’s Women in the boardroom report. From the 2014 report, when the Companies Act of 2013 required that each board have one woman member, this number grew by 9.4%. While this is impressive growth, there is still a huge scope for improvement in this area.
The report also stated that only 3.6% of board chairs in corporations were occupied by women in 2022. However, on the brighter side, more women are seen in CEO positions as their share went up to 4.7% in 2022 as compared to 3.4% in 2018. So, we can see that the representation of women is increasing but we must strive towards a bigger transformation to achieve parity.
Perhaps, the new-age startups can bring that transformation or at least spearhead it. Reports suggest that women make up 34% of the total workforce in Indian startups and hold around 20% of leadership roles. This is slightly better in comparison to traditional organisations. However, people are looking at entrepreneurs like Vineeta Singh and Ghazal Alagh on popular shows like Shark Tank. This is another positive sign for women in leadership positions in India.
Women Making A Mark Everywhere
Another area in which women are growing their presence constantly is sports. The women’s cricket team has managed to grab the eyeballs of Indian fans in the last few years. This year, the under-19 women’s cricket team also won the world cup and made the country proud. Women athletes like PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Vinesh Phogat, and many others are an inspiration for millions of girls in the country.
Therefore, it can be easily said that the increase of women in leadership positions in the country is a positive sign. India has been working towards women’s empowerment and what we have achieved so far is motivating. This should push us to continue on the same path and create more women leaders in the years to come.
Smile Foundation and Women Empowerment Through Leadership
Smile Foundation imagines the world with an increasingly number of women leaders in it. To achieve that dream, our livelihood initiative, STeP or the Smile Twin e-Learning programme training the youth with a special focus on women to make them employment ready and become a force to reckon with in the near future.
