Society and Business ASSIGNMENT II

The Road of Gender Equality:

Challenges and Progress in Society

PG-1: Section “A”

Submitted by:
Group No: 8
Yagnik Katira - 230117
Nihar Nimsarkar – 230112
Shivangi bhadouria – 230132
Aayushi Nagori-230904
Yukta parik – 230022
Krushnali Vanage- 230848
Introduction
Gender equality is not a fundamental human right but it is a necessary foundation in Indian
society for a prosperous, sustainable, and peaceful country. (Martin, 2023) In the last decade,
there has been great progress in gender equality but India still has not achieved a world index till
now, as per the Gender Gap Report by WEF India has been ranked 127. (Hindu, 2023)

Women represent half of India’s population with half of its potential. However, there is still
gender inequality everywhere which leads to a decrease in social progress in India. (equality,
2023)

Gender equality in India is desired to use everyone's skills to access different resources and
opportunities including economic participation, decision-making, and valuing different
behaviors, to get equal benefits to the society. Gender equality is a crucial step towards national
development, social progress, and economic prosperity. (Palely, 2021)

Gender Inequality has been seen in lower-paying positions because of sex, often not treated
fairly, denied promotion and it is observed that employees or workers especially women are
harassed physically and mentally. Insulting them or addressing them with derogatory names or
slurs, sexual harassment, and so on. (Gender Discrimination at work, 2023)

This paper studies gender equality within different sectors like restaurants, entertainment,
corporate and business domains, and public sectors or government companies. These sectors
represent diversity of the micro-industry of Indian society that reflects broad gender equality and
its effects on individuals and organizations.

This paper studies the existing data, on gender equality in India across sectors. It is our attempt
to recognize trends and make future predictions that can foster women empowerment thereby
increasing their involvement in the workforce.
Gender Equality in Education of the Indian Society.

In India if we look at Gender as an issue of discrimination it can have many arguments

and controversies, some say it’s a serious issue as women have been discriminated
against since as long as the girls were deprived of education and working outside the
house. But at the same time Indian a society, when looked at the larger picture and
culture has always given women a status of ‘Devi’ or the ‘Shakti’ which means to be
goddess so how has the Indian society been so varied or say opposite in beliefs and
action. If we look at the Women in the society it's true that there is still some
discrimination against women in today’s scenario but things are changing and
conditions are getting better.

Urban India:

Education is essential for improving people’s abilities and rights and also for increasing
income and living standards, whereas India accounts for 30% of the world's total
illiterate population out of which 70% of them are women. Besides improving personal
well-being, education also affects the welfare of society and future generations through
beneficial outcomes. However, there are still major gaps in educational achievement in
India.

The unequal distribution of educational resources contributes to the issues which makes
fair opportunities more challenging.

The importance of addressing educational gaps can be seen by the consequences it

has for economic progress, social welfare.

With authorized focus, basic education is still ignored. This shows that there are root
causes, administrative problems and social isolation. This study shows the Gini index to
measure and assess educational inequalities in Indian states from 1993 to 2009 as to
throw light on inequalities and implications for policy.

Rural- urban educational differences are major factors leading to social and economic
impacts. Pal and Ghosh ( 2015) gave a shocking reality that highlights the urgent need
for taking actions to reduce this gap.
The gender component brings our attention to the details that women require more
schooling. An international team of researchers from the university of South Alabama,
University of Southern California, University of Michigan and international Institute for
population sciences, named LASI Study started to find out the reason for gender gaps
in education - the LASI team analyzed that men had more education than women : 62%
of women received no schooling at all while only 31% of men didn’t receive schooling.

A broader view emerges when stereotypes and financial limitations are imposed on the
educational sector.

Underpaid teachers and dissatisfied parents speak to the fact that problems arise
despite how many actions have been taken such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. This study
focuses on this issue and suggests a permanent change that will fight with the deep root
cause. Initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and recognition of gender inequality was a
good start. We can also include digital education as technology has shown its potential
to reduce educational disparities, internet connectivity only being the main issue in such
cases.

Some of the factors which influence gender equity are

1. School availability- A comparison of data from the AIES survey indicates

improvements in the availability of government schools. There was a 14.19% increase
in primary schools and 51% increase in secondary schools.

2. Value of education- 15% of girls living in urban areas never attended a school as
they didn’t find it necessary to attend, while 12% of urban boys thought the same.

3. Dropping out - About 40% of urban male drop out before completion of basic
education because they have to support household income. Whereas 17% of urban
girls drop out because of household chores or being married away.

Around 11% of urban boys and 10% of urban girls had to leave school because their
education had not been considered important.

There is plenty of hope for female education in the future, including a chance of social
change. As long as female education is prioritized- it will not only help her become
strong and independent but it will improve our society which hence will lead to the
establishment of fair communities.

The steps taken to create a world where every woman has the opportunity to realize her
true potential are the ongoing efforts to remove barriers and offer high quality education
for females.

Therefore, supporting girls’ education will lead to build a promising future for all of us

In conclusion, there’s both success and challenges on the road to equality in India’s
educational system. Even though a number of laws have produced important
advancements, the stigmas linked to illiteracy and educational inequalities remain.

In addition to policy declarations, the nation requires an in depth review of deeply rooted
procedures.

Government, educators, stakeholders, societies must work together to build an

education system that leaves no one behind - then and only then India would become a
democratic and open to all nation, opening the door to a more empowered and peaceful
nation.

Rural India:

In the article by Mr. Mondal the author try to explain the needs of rural women
education you’re the author signifies the education of India by telling the issue that only
50% of the rural women are literate compared to literate in the urban the major reason
of this is high dropout rates of women in rural areas, prefer sons to be educated in
compared to girl child and also lack of adequate teachers in the society when a When a
women teacher explains in the classroom and is in present in the classroom girls get
more comfortable and parents are also comfortable as we are talking about the rural
population which are concerned about the safely of the females coming to why do we
need to educate the girls in the rural area There you face in Indian society where they
say raising a girl child is like watering someone else's lawn this thought is to be replaced
in Indian society as soon as possible as its completely wrong and is Miss guiding people
should know that girls are equal are equal of handling situations when we talk about the
past in 1991 39% of women and 64% of manually trade talking about right now 64% of
women are literates but still the number is not too much and we need to bring change in
the society to have this reform.(Mondal, n.d.)
In the research Dr Ved Prakash malwade it explain the rural India and education of
womens in the rural population it has done the research to identify the responsible for
such low rates of girl education and to find a solutions for it the important of this
research is because most of the Indian still in the rural India and villages The article
focuses on the fact and also give the important that in a country like India where
Womens are given the status of goddess it's quite not comfortable seeing that the rate
of girl education is quite law the major factors that the education of girls is slow is due to
large cost involved in sending girls to school even though the primary education has
been free the distance at some places in area also causes and issue as girl have to
travel 3 to 4 hours to reach there school there is also concern of safety which gets
during this some rural girls like handling the kitchen and stuff and they have given They
have given no choice but to be married after a certain age without a procuring and
building their career in the trend of the report which has been conducted from 1999 to
2010 in 1999 the female who are illiterate were at 736 where the number dropped to
568 into 2010 girl child started having primary education where the number increase
from 1504 to 226 secondary and above education was also increase but these numbers
are not that significant as the depletion in literacy is dropped but it a very low rate
coming to the figures in urban where the numbers have increase from of secondary and
about education from 281 to 380 to which is an increase of about 100 people so we can
say that education in rural area the article also give some information about the benefits
receives after getting and education Primary need of it us to develop our India as
women's play an important role in our society.When they became educated they will not
only be self independent but contributes toward the society equal to they will be away
from getting cheated from other people as most of the men as most of the women in the
rural area dependent on the husband or other mens to getting things then Getting a girl
child educated will also have the society to decrease social issues like corruption child
marriage domestic abuse and more where a girl can raise your voice against these
exploitation happened in to them they will become more confident in handling their
families well hence we say that if a men gets educated he can educate himself and take
care of his family when a woman's get educated the article also show cases some of the
major abhiyans which are started by the government to empower girls and two promote
education one of them is server Shiksha Bhavan it was an Indian movement by the
government to universalisation of primary education that mandaid to educate the girl
between the age of 6 to 14 this program Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee the second
program which was launch The second program was launched by Padi Bharat Bade
Bharat It was a sub program of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan where childrens who feel to read
in early education lakh behind other subjects this program was particularly for classes of
one and two for particularly wave womens campaign was started name does beti
padhao Beti Bachao test took place to empower women and promote them for
education lastly the article had some of the recommendations for increasing rural
women's education suggested to change the mind set of people in the ruler area by
giving them education or explaining them the importance of education and how women
education can help the society grow faster make the villages much more developed.
(Dr. Vedprakash A. Malwade, n.d.)

Both the articles showcase issues regarding women education in India and also give
some of the recommendation to improve the situation as we can observed that the
growth and the problem being solved slowly but consistently I feel that Women
Education in rural area needs to be given some amount of attention from the
Government of India as well as the private sector to empower women in this also this
will have an indirect impact on the society where we tell that it is India's women should
be a great contributor to this and and should be recognised for the contribution.

In this article of MS.Snigada ‘The status of women in rural India’ this article also shows
the problems faced by women to get education in the rural areas this article has
explained the women education over the period of since Ancient India till today the
condition of women education The period of education has been into 4 parts where it
talks from ancient idea to the independent India the first stage of education was in
ancient India
Ancient India:
According to Scholars the woman enjoyed equal status with men in all the aspects of
work This can be province by ancient scriptures such as Upanishads and Rig Vedas
there has been mention of several women sages and notable seeds one of them is
Gargi and Maitri Rig Veda suggest that woman married at the mature age and work
probably free to select their own husbands this shows that the ancient India had no
restriction over women’s education and otherwise and when were given equal status to
compared to men
Medieval Age:
In this era India's women's position in this stage for the deteriorated when child
marriage were introduced and there was a ban on remarriages of women only men for
allowed to remarriage Rajput and Rajasthan practice this in some parts of India
Women's wear also exploited where Sati was practice in spite of this conditions women
became prominent in many areas such as education literature and religion .In the
medieval Period there were many practices which were followed such as Sati
georporada devadais and others which were to exploit the woman your woman's did not
enjoy as much right as the enjoy in the ancient times
British Rule:
Coming to the early 80 is century where British rules came into India and women wear
naturally chase in the community of Hindus there where many reformers in this page
like Jyotiba Phule Ram Rohan Roy. Who are the rights of women year Britishers also
contributed for the rights of women where they band practice of Sati and other in logical
practices which were done to exploit the woman and to her as them many reformers
Many reformers like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel opposed child
marriages women also played an important part in independence of India

Independent India:
Coming to the last stage which is called as independent India women now fully
participate in areas such as politics media education culture etc Indira Gandhi was the
first woman president of India for aggregate period of 15 years world's largest serving
common Prime Minister regarding women's education in the constitution of India which
have helped in successfully evolving the education system in the rural areas but still
there is lot of things to be improved in the society and for this we need to come together
and act upon it. (Ms. Snigdha, 2016, #)

Looking at all the reading which we read it shows that the education system in India
overall for women, Fairness has improved a lot but at the same time it needs to be
improve for the rural India which is getting a growth but at a very linear late and this
shouldn't be the case taking into consideration the current policy and act of At the
performance of the current government we can hope that the situation will get better for
the rural India not only in terms of education but in terms of all the services which has to
be provided for to meet basic health and safety needs at the same time the future it's
really not hard to say that the future of Indian rural society is at growth stage and will be
growing dramatically and will so contribute to the society in terms of gender equality
lastly I would like to add We should look at our ancient India where women's wear
treated really like goddess and not just given the status of it. people in the past acted
and believed in the same thing.
Effect of Gender Equality in the Food and beverages
Industry
The food and beverages industry are mostly worked by women but dominated by men,
and is facing a lot of discrimination against women. Despite all the initiatives taken till
2023 there is still some percentage left to clear the differences of gender equality in this
particular industry.
According to the Harvard business review , 90% of women in the industry have reported
sexual harassment , more than any other industry the case came in the picture when
Me Too movement had come up in 2006 and it started sparkled in 2017 , (Kelso, 2023)
According to the study by Restaurant Opportunities Centres United ,80% of the female
workers in the industry has faced harassment in their own workplace by their coworkers
only (MORONEY, 2021)The scenario has caused some problems for women to get into
the job as industry leaders were afraid to appoint them but there were many large
organizations where they came up with the idea of making new policies regarding
complaints and any problem they face and developing opportunities for them . Some
companies came with the impact to pay equity among employees at all levels to reduce
the gender gap and increase productivity.
Initiative taken by Starbucks in 2018 in the U.S. play a major role in making other
companies close their gender pay gaps. the initiative has announced that Starbuck has
achieved the gender pay parity in U.S. by offering standards calculator based on
experienced versus geography or capability (Kelso, 2023)
Yum brand and mc Donald’s has also joined this initiative and tried to overcome this
gap by setting specific goals to increase the women percentage in the top positions.
McDonald has come up with very beautiful idea by launching a program called
“BETTER TOGETHER GENDER BALANCE AND DIVERSITY” to get the result in 2023
(Kelso, 2023)

CHALLENGES AND IMPACT AFTER PANDEMIC:

The biggest dilemma after this is how to tackle the burnout of her. According to
McKinsey, senior women(43%) have more burnout than the men (31%)because the
reason behind it is their household and child work (Kelso, 2023).The covid 19 has
played a major role in changing the scenario of gender disparity in restaurant industry
by 2.5 million jobs by the end of 2020 than in its past years (according to the National
Restaurant Association)
The expectation has increased from the women to rebuild and recover the losses they
had in the pandemic period.
The other challenge was called unconscious bias based on race , education level ,
economic strata or same values and beliefs has created a problem for the women in
hiring them as the thought behind it was to hire people who have the commonality with
(MORONEY, 2021).But it has resulted that a company with a high number of women
has more productivity and efficiency than with less women in work-place.
This has come true after the pandemic when it pressures them to promote a positive
working environment with diversity and equity considerations.
There were also some realizations that companies have underreport the overall
percentage of people working there based on diversity and women percentages
(MAZE, 2022) the difference in answering of employees and companies has
discrepancy which can “oversell” an environment of diversity.

As of 2022 restaurant business article, women dominate this industry by 63% of entry
level, and 69% of mid-level except at the senior level which is about 38%. (MAZE, 2022)
“Women are majority in the restaurant industry but they only hold 34% of executives”
(MAZE, 2022)
The other challenges just came across in the path of women is their first promotion, it
stated that 20% women only get the first promotion than men (Women in the food
industry, 2017). They often face challenges in financial terms as the industry perceive
as a “man’s world” (BHADOURIA, 2023)

Hence, the most challenges faced by them is the gender biasness and discrimination, in
terms of limited opportunities and roles for career advancement. There work-life balance
got hinder by the responsibilities they have towards their home and for the company
leaving them with physical as well as mental exhaustions. Despite these challenges,
women are showcasing confidence, innovation and effective leadership, inspiring others
and contributes to positive changes in the culinary filed (BHADOURIA, 2023)

FUTURE OF RESTAURANT KILLING GENDER EQUALITY:

The future of the restaurant industry is marvellous. The most iconic chefs share their
stories and how they grew up by handling the problem was super idealistic. Lorena
Garcia, Leslie Pineda, Amanda Turner shares a story that highlights the problem faced
in male dominated industry.
They faced discrimination which shattered them but they know their credibility and
strength and faced the challenges by facing them. One joined the culinary school to
follow the passion, one has faced her discrimination by speaking up against her
problems.
This story highlights that women chefs and every woman can face challenges by
showing the impressionable confidence and credibility. future trends approach a positive
shift towards this environment by supporting the women in this industry (ARNETT,
2023)
The Women’s Foodservice Forum (WFF) had taken the initiative “Lead The Way” to
achieve gender equality by 2025.number of executives joined the initiative sharing best
practices for achieving the goal (COBE, 2018) by giving commitment to the public,
setting unconscious bias training, thoughtful promotions etc.
Gender Equality in Entertainment Industry
In India cinema has a tremendous impact on the minds of the people as they are
considered as the largest medium of communication with the masses and can bring
tremendous changes in the society. The Indian entertainment industry faces the
challenge of under representation of women, especially in top creative positions. The
stereotyping of female characters and limited opportunities for women in diverse
storytelling has the potential to influence women's representation in society. In most of
the Indian movies, female actors do not get lead roles. Some of the songs transform
them into good housewives while others turn them into good mothers and caretakers for
the family. Indian film industry (Bollywood) being the biggest film industry worldwide. In
Indian cinema/movies the hero is presented as a super strong, macho hero and heroine
as a weak, dependent. Peeping into the history of Indian cinema; first Indian feature
film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). Dadasaheb Phalke’s directed silent film, the biggest
challenge for Phalke was to find a suitable heroine, because not even one woman
volunteered to appear in the film. Finally he convinced a male actor, Anna Hari
Salunkewasan who played the role of a prostitute. The first Indian heroine was a man
but not a woman. (Discrimination of Women Characters in Indian Cinema, n.d.)Also, the
way women are portrayed in the films reinforces the notion that a woman’s value
derives from her looks, and she is only important if she can seduce men. Women are
not just objectified, but they are usually depicted as weak and defenseless thereby
fostering the belief that women need men to save them. They also experienced ageism,
giving too much importance to youngsters in industry can narrow chances for a woman
to grow through the industry hence reducing the scope of women’s roles. (Breaking the
Stereotypes: The Harmful Objectification and Sexualization of Women in Indian
Cinema, 2023) One of the biggest issues is unequal pay cheques, the issue of
eliminating the gender pay gap still persists. Though awareness has been raised, equal
payment for male and female professionals in the industry may not happen immediately.
The World Economic Forum says there is no country in the world where women make
the same money that men earn for the same job. It may take about 170 years to close
the worldwide gender par parity gap. The overall gap in India has slightly decreased
from 2104 to 2015 but the Monster Salary Index 2016 reveals that on the whole, women
still earn 25% less than men, pay inequalities have even gone to the peaks of
Bollywood. (\/, 2023) For example, Priyanka Chopra and Deepika Padukone despite
being highly marketable and critically lauded actresses with box – office reputations are
paid much less than their male co-stars. In the interview, Priyanka Chopra admitted that
she was paid equally for the first time ever in her career on Citadel, which she started
working on decades into her career. She did not believe that it would be possible when
her agents started suggesting that she demand equal pay. In an interview with a film
companion, Priyanka admitted that she would always earn less than her male co- stars,
especially after working for so long in India, her request for higher or equal pay cheque
was always rejected. (Priyanka Chopra Says She Couldn't Dream of Demanding Pay
Parity in India: 'Only Asked for Little More, Woh Bhi Nahi Milta Tha', 2023) But now it’s
changing because gender roles are changing in society. It can be expected that the
nature of entertainment will change as well. Casting decisions, storytelling and industry
practices are affected by how gender-inclusive a society is. There has been
considerable progress in the Indian entertainment industry over the past few years. The
first Bollywood movie with a female lead is “Tanu Weds Manu Returns' ' featuring
Kangana Ranaut to earn over 100 crores. Similarly, “NH-10” for Anushka Sharma and
“Piku’ FOR Deepika Padukone also did very well at box office. Women have made
success of such changing pictures of women on screens have helped some viewers get
their own image and a different light. Specifically, women mentioned Rani Mukerji in
“Mardaani” a fictional character, female crime branch officer who investigate child
trafficking, Priyanka Chopra in “Marry Kom” a five-time female world boxing champion
biographical sports drama. These are some examples of movies of brave girls
surpassing boundaries of success. (Cinema and Society: 2017).

The future of gender equality in India’s entertainment industry will undergo a

transformative change because of combined trends and initiative that will reshape the
industry. Women are now represented more in film, television, music and digital media
to ensure equal visibility and participation. The focus is not just on representation but on
developing stories with female centric characters and breaking traditional stereotypes.
Technology becomes a strong tool for liberation, transforming the industry and offering
women more chances in content development, production and direction. Growth in
digital platforms will lead to creative environment, where storytellers will have a direct
link to the global audience. The voices are becoming louder-some powerful people are
using their position and influences for a fair fight against gender discrimination. Also, the
industry is recognizing problems faced by women which leads to a more holistic
approach to gender equality.

However, it is true to say that women have been poorly represented for years within
India’s entertainment industry, which promotes gender stereotypes as well as pay
differences. On the other hand, recent trends show an improvement. The emphasis is
on the increased female representation on film, television, music and digital media,
especially female- centric narratives which break the traditional stereotypes.
Women leaders in the workplace: Perception of
career barriers, facilitators and change

This research article is an overview of women in the workplace and what certain
barriers and changes they face. Gender equality is a big concern as we can see that
three-quarters of leaders are men. The most significant problems or barriers were
regarded to be a masculine work culture, discrimination and the glass ceiling, gendered
stereotyping, and the difficulties of balancing work and home life. Earlier women were
treated as if they were just made for homemaking, to be good wives and stay home, but
today we can see that changes are happening and women tend to go out for work and
still handle the home gracefully.

Ages ago, the place of women in the workplace was dicey they used to be working but
needed to get the appropriate work, and leadership in the workplace was missing. Most
of the men in the workplace were given authoritative work and they were considered the
leaders of the workplace as well as society as most leadership decisions were made by
men. There were Barriers to women accessing and occupying leadership positions at
work. Although both men and women have deviated from their expected roles in society
women are to move out from rural areas and supportive roles as there was a culture
belief that men, not women, are best suited for leadership roles. Men have been
stereotyped as aggressive, and assertive which portrays them as images of leaders and
managers.

The thought of a male-dominant society starts in those early stages where society itself
considers what place a male hold in the workplace and what place a woman holds.
Even today we see general sectors have fixed mindsets regarding who works in what
sectors and in what category they fall for example, if we see in business there is the
Human resource sector which is seen as having a softer role and considers that women
are made for this role. This is the only sector where women are predominantly leaders.
According to a survey in this article, we can see that 73% of women hold HRM roles in
the business sector and male-dominant sectors such as marketing and IT where women
hold 43% and 27% respectively. (\/, 2023)
Call Interview: Also, we can see that today men and women both rule these sectors
but it is partially inclined towards men. I had a one-on-one conversation with my friend
who is working in an organization I asked her about the work culture over there and as
she is from the HR department she gave me an insight into her company that
comparatively men are more in her company and even most of the departments is
headed by men only HR department have a female head which is again a good sign but
still a stereotype as women are considered to be leaders for only this sectors roles. She
also said that in the HR department, they have only two males and the rest are females,
pay wise comparatively men have slightly more pay than women also it is somewhat
changing in the appraisal part that females are considered more in appraisals. Also, she
said that there company strongly supports women by having policies such as paid
maternity leave for 6 months which earlier was the maternal bias causes perceptions
that mothers are less committed to their careers and would affect business if they go on
maternity leave for that reason it was previously asked in the interviews about the
marriage and family planning so that business don’t get affected; as a result, they are
held to higher standards and receive fewer leadership opportunities.

Rewriting the Rules: Women and Work in India how today’s world is changing
and people are modernizing themselves according to time. The birth of technology and
the adoption of new government rules brought a slight gender equality in the workplace
and upgraded Indian society which has also positively helped businesses. As we all
know earlier only female was getting maternity leave but today men to get paternity
leave to be a helping hand for their spouses, so this shows gender equality in an
organization. Also, technology has a great impact on working women to balance their
households and work at the same time for example, earlier due to child responsibilities
women used to hurry and go home to look after their children and also rush to work to
show their seriousness towards work but due to updated technology of laptops they can
work from home and also at the same time look after their loved ones.

The future workspace would be safe for women as it guarantees the safety of women
according to The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition,
and Redressal) Act 2013 prevents harassment towards females and they openly put
forward if any injustice happens in an organization. Women are excelling in all industries
and their participation in India shows how they all are coming forward in sectors such as
education, business, organizations, health, and male-dominant sectors such as IT and
financial services.
In the bad old days, many companies failed to hire women employees because they
preferred males over them but today female employees are rapidly increasing as their
part in recent years has grown. Also, in this article, it is mentioned that India has a
gender wage gap of 34% though we have India’s Equal Remuneration Act of 1976
which means equal pay for the same work. Despite having such laws, there is a
completely gender-equal pay gap not only in India but also in other countries that failed
to fully recover the gender pay gap. Iceland was the first country in the world who
restrict companies to prove that they do not have any gender pay gap. I hope India will
also take a step forward to these acts and mandate that Indian companies have equal
pay for similar work for both genders.

As there is women-led growth for an inclusive future of business & society. We see
almost all business revolves around men. For example, most of the car ads are about
men driving the car which shows a gender bias towards women as they are not
considered potential buyers and also creates stereotypes about it in the daily lives of
people. Today women represent a large part of the global market and according to the
article 14% of women have their own business which is comparatively less than men
running their businesses this is because of a lack of financial problems faced by women
as they are dependent on men but the recent government schemes named NITI
Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) which has launched for such women
entrepreneurs to grow their business. This step by the government brings a lot of
changes for women in business and society. (SR 80, 2019)

Call Interview:
To have a point of view of workplaces in other countries I had a one-on-one
conversation with my sister who lives in New Zealand. I asked her view on Newland's
work culture and gender equality in her company. Also, how females are treated over
there and she replied that “New Zealand has a balancing work and life culture for
people having equal opportunity and outcome for all genders. Employers in NZ are very
respectful and sympathetic to the needs of employees who have families. Everyone is
treated as equal from someone having a cleaning job to someone with a white-collar
job. Gender equality has been achieved in workspace as everyone on the team has
equal access to rewards, resources, and opportunities.” from this we get to know that
compared to India New Zealand is forward in equal gender treatment to women.
Survey Analysis:
we took a survey on the basis of random sampling to understand the condition of
corporate world in terms of gender equality and here is the analysis of the survey:

S
This survey suggests that there are 45.5 % people who experienced the gender
inequality in their workplace also 9.1 % people prefer not to say about their experience.
As gender pay gap is the concern about 54.5% people and rest 45.5% are somewhat
concern. 54.5 % does not believe that there are no such career advancements
opportunities in their workplace 18.2% believe that there are equal opportunities. Also,
we got positive feedback of 90.9 % people stating that they think educational program &
initiatives focused on gender equality will play a very vital role in coming future though
9.1% were not sure about it. Majority of 45.5% people believe diversity and inclusion
programs are somewhat effective were minority of 36.4% are sure that it will be very
effective and rest 36.4% are neutral. This suggest that diversity & inclusion program are
seen as an effective way to reduce gender equality in the workplace.
Gender Equality in Public Sector
Gender equality being the most fundamental pillar of the public or the government
companies in India. India has one of the fastest growing economies in the world, it being
the world’s second most populated country, its rich cultural diversity and evolving
societal norms have seen a shift in its approach to dynamic gender over the past year,
to enhance the development of the nation. Also, gender equality plays a crucial role in
making important decisions accurately for the benefit of the citizens of India. (Martin,
2023 )
As, per the Ministry of Women and Child Development the current percentage of
women employed in the sector stands at 30.5%, in 2022. This figure has shown
improvement from 15.2% in 2005; however it still falls below the average of 47.7%..
(Ministry of Women and Child Development, 2022)

Women's Proportion over the last 2 decades

0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
05 006 007 008 009 010 011 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 021 022
20 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

The proportion of Women in Public Sector

Gender Pay Gap

(population), 2023) (Frayer, 2023) (Naseer, 2022)

Women's proportion in the last 2 decades has been increasing rapidly with 2005 only
15.2 % and growth to 31% of the overall workforce, and 17.2 % in senior-level
leadership positions in public companies in India. The presentation of the gender pay
gap is decreasing rapidly from 2015-22 by 0.27 to 0.1 respectively. (Shivangini, n.d.)
The above variations highlight the need for effective and consecutive efforts to promote
gender equality in Indian public companies. The government initiative to increase the
workforce ratio such as the reservation of 33% of jobs in public sectors and establishing
a national commission to monitor the jobs for women. India is currently achieving
sustainable development by adding gender equality for diverse decision-making.

Gender Comparison of top Indian public companies

Female %
Female % in the
Companies in Board company
STATE BANK OF INDIA 22.22 26
COAL INDIA LIMITED 6.25 6.73
OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LIMITED 0.00 6.57
BHARAT HEAVY ELECTRICALS LIMITED 6.67 47.4
GAIL GAS LIMITED 12.50 6.8
Steel Authority of India Limited 13.33 17.11

top 6 public companies in India

GAIL GAS LIMITED

OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LIMITED

STATE BANK OF INDIA

0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00

Female % in company female % in Board

(BHEL, 2023) (CIL, 2023) (Mondal, 2022) (Chugh, 2022)

Figure 1
As seen in the graph, the top 6 companies in India are currently promoting a greater
number of women employees reducing the gender disparity in public business. The
board plays a very vital role in contributing to wealth management, guiding the
management, and making a profit. While there are companies like STATE BANK OF
INDIA (Chugh, 2022)and Steel Authority of India Limited that have relatively higher
percentages of women on both the board and the overall company, there also are
companies like OIL AND NATURAL GAS CORPORATION LIMITED that have no
women on its board, indicating a potential area for improvement in terms of diversity.
(Farah Zehra, 2017)
 (Farah Zehra, 2017)
Figure 2
From the above graph (figure: 2) it is clearly seen and can be understood that there are
very few women on Public Sector Boards. It stands at 8% as compared to 92% of men
being part of Public Sector Boards. While it may appear, as such it's important to note
that there is an dedicated push to enhance representation in influential roles. This
progress is evident by the rise from 5% in 2015 to 8% in 2017 with predictions
suggesting an increase to 28.4%, within the five years. (Farah Zehra, 2017)
It is important to make continued efforts and consider the benefits of gender diversity
and leadership in teams or organizations. Gender diversity will promote equality by
contributing to a more inclusive and innovative work environment. (Bush, 2022)

Government plans for future improvement

1. Mahila Shakti Kendra (MSK)

Mahila E-Haat Yojana is a scheme is to empower women by providing them with access
to develop skills, increase creativity, and encouraging to entrepreneurial spirit by
eliminating intermediaries. This platform ensures that women should receive fair
recognition for their products and services, also it promotes gender equality and
economic independence. (Shukla, 2023)
 By 2033, Mahila E-Haat is projected to have over 20 lakh registered women
entrepreneurs, representing a significant expansion of its user base and a
growing network of empowered women. (Acharya, 2022)
 The platform's annual sales are expected to exceed ₹1,000 crore (approximately
US$130 million) by 2033. (Mahila Shakti Kendras (MSK) Scheme: Empowering
Women across India - Indian Government Schemes., 2022)
 Mahila E-Haat is expected to become a leading e-commerce platform for women-
owned businesses in India. (Mahila Shakti Kendras (MSK) Scheme: Empowering
Women across India - Indian Government Schemes., 2022)
2. Women Helpline Scheme
Women helpline scheme is a 24x7 emergency response by the government of India to
women who are affected by violence in public company spaces. It provides immediate
support to women nationwide and also creates awareness about women's
empowerment programs. (s. Catherine, 2022) While in 2016, 4.6 lakh individuals used
this scheme, it rose by 7.7 lakhs in 2022 and is predicted to increase up to 50 lakhs
women getting help in public companies, thus creating a better environment. (National
Domestic Violence Helpline. , 2023)
3. Working Women Hostel (WWH)
In 2012, 1200 working women were accommodated in government hostels. This
increased to over 2500 by 2022 and the growth is expected to continue in the next 5-7
years because of increased urbanization, (Hostel, 2022) a higher female workforce, and
demand for affordable housing and is expected to double in the next 5 years (Pti., 2022)
4. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao Scheme (BBBP)
BBBP is a government scheme introduced by the Prime Minister with the aim of
survival, protection, and education to empower women to become financially
independent (Beti Bachao, 2021)
 Encourage females’ education and empowerment by using a multi-sectoral
strategy.
 Public awareness should be raised, and social programs for women should be
delivered better. (Check Beti bachao, beti padhao yojana - Caring for the girl
child. , 2023)
 Encouraging public involvement and community groups to participate in the
implantation for the plans
5. Mudra Loan for women
This scheme was launched for women as loans scheme to support finically support
for women entrepreneurs. The scheme provides a loan minimum of 50,000 to 10
lakhs. This scheme does not need any collateral. (Misra, 2023) Till now 3.3 lakh
crore money has been given to 82 lakhs of women in India. NPAs under Mudra
loans continue to be very high, 16.17% in 2022-23 and 23.70 % in 2021-22 for the
state-owned bank. (Baroda., 2022)

6. Skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir Yojna

Skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir Yojna is a training program that aims to develop the
skills of women workers engaged in the core industry. (skill Upgradation & Mahila Coir
Yojana empowering women entrepreneurs, 2022) By 2025, Skill Upgradation & Mahila
Coir Yojna is expected to have trained over 100,000 women in the coir industry. This
will lead to increased incomes and improved livelihoods for women in this sector.
(BOARD, 2023)
Public sector Analysis
Gender equality is an important pillar of public companies in India,
especially in a dynamic country like ours with such diversity in population.
The gender pay gap is a critical factor to understand when considering
gender equality as in India it is decreasing from 2015-22 by 0.27 to 0.1 and
is still decreasing by the year. Currently, 30.5 % of women are working in
2022, it has improved from 15.2% by 2005 but is still below the world index
( 47.7 %). The Indian government is taking necessary steps to improve
gender equality like Mahila E-Haat Yojana, Working Women Hostel,
Mudra Loan for women, etc.. to encourage the women to develop skills
and contribute more to the Indian work force.
Conclusion:
Looking at all industries and area closely we can say that there has been a lot of
progress in the India journey towards gender equality and the future seems to be bright
enough. This is only possible if the efforts are taken consistently and are increased over
the time as we can in the rural India the there has been progress but the impact is to
linear and not that significant these things have to be taken into consideration both by
the Government and the Private sectors to mitigate these challenges. The Restaurant
industry on the other hand has offered a great help for women where gender norms
have overcome over the time and this has resulted into Fair promotions. Entertainment
industry has also shown really positive changes where the industry is focused now and
breaking stereotypes, recent trends suggest a move towards more inclusive stories like
Mary Kom, Queen etc. In work places as well, the graph is on the positive slope where
gender pay gap is decreasing gradually and women are getting more opportunities and
rewards compared to past. Still the workforce participation is below average compared
to global average and there is more work to be done to improve it. For achieving all
these gender equality in India there has to efforts taken and also achievement should
be recognized so that India can create a more empowered and inclusive future for
everyone.

.
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