Women’s day relevant stuffs for essay and GS questions on women

Women in Corporate Leadership

In India, women have been historically marginalised from the workforce and comprise about 35.9% of the worker population ratio; the number is starker at the senior and middle management levels where women account for only 12.7% leadership roles as of 2024.

In 2014, the Companies Act, 2013 mandated that at-least one-woman director should be placed on the board of certain class of public limited companies.

In 2015, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) mandated that at least one independent woman director be appointed to the board of India’s top 1000 listed companies.

Beijing Declaration & Platform for Action

In 1995, 4th World Conference on Women (WCW), held in Beijing, was one of the largest ever gatherings of the United Nations, and a critical turning point in the world’s focus on gender equality and the empowerment of women.

It marked a significant turning point for the global agenda for gender equality. The Beijing Declaration was adopted unanimously the UN at the end of the 4th WCW.

Beijing Declaration is an agenda for women’s empowerment and considered the key global policy document on gender equality.

It sets strategic objectives and actions for the advancement of women and the achievement of gender equality in 12 critical areas of concern like women and health, women in power and decision-making, the girl-child, women and the environment etc.

The United Nations has organized 4 world conferences on women.

1)Mexico City,1975

2)Copenhagen,1980

3)Nairobi,1985

4)Beijing,1995

Other Initiatives for women by Govt of India

The expansion of maternal health care under initiatives such as the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan and the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana has increased institutional deliveries to 95%.

Maternal mortality has dropped from 130 to 97 deaths per 1,00,000 births between 2014 and 2020 (Sample Registration System data).

The ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ initiative has played a pivotal role in improving the child sex ratio and increasing school enrolments for girls.

The National Education Policy 2020 has paved the way for higher retention rates and opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

The Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihood Mission has empowered over 100 million rural women through access to credit, livelihood opportunities, and financial literacy programmes.

The Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan has trained over 35 million rural women in digital literacy, ensuring that they are not left behind in the digital revolution. Bridging the digital gender divide has helped women participate in the digital economy