Participation of Women in the Workforce
In order to promote women empowerment and their safety to increase their participation in workforce, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has decided to launch a new and more comprehensive Umbrella Scheme for safety, security and empowerment of women under the name ‘Mission Shakti’, while including in it components such as National, State and District level Hubs for Empowerment of Women, Women Help Lines, One Stop Centres, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Working Women’s Hostels, crèches for children of working women etc.
The schemes of One Stop Centres and Universalisation of Women Helpline are being implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to support women facing violence of any kind which may also adversely impact on their participation in workforce.
The Government, with the aim to provide safe and secure work environment to women and to increase their participation in the workforce, has enacted ‘The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013’ (SH Act). The Act covers all women, irrespective of their age or employment status and protect them from sexual harassment at all workplaces whether public or private, organized or unorganized. The Act casts an obligation upon employers to provide a safe and secure working environment free from sexual harassment by constituting Internal Committees (ICs) for workplaces with ten or more workers and by displaying at conspicuous places the penal consequences of sexual harassment and the orders constituting ICs. Similarly, Local Committees (LCs) are to be constituted under the Act in districts to receive complaints in organizations having less than 10 workers or if complaints are against employers themselves. Employers are also required to organize workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing the employees about the provisions of this legislation.
In order to enhance the employability of female workers, the Government is providing training to them through a network of Women Industrial Training institutes, National Vocational Training Institutes and Regional Vocational Training Institutes. To ensure economic independence of women through skill development and vocational training, the Government has also introduced Skill India Mission. The National Skill Development Policy focuses on inclusive skill development, with the objective of increased women participation for better economic productivity. There are schemes like Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana and Stand Up India, for helping the women to set up their own enterprises. Further, the Labour Codes, viz. the Code on Wages 2019, the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 and the Code on Social Security, 2020 which have been enacted in the last two years, collectively include provisions to promote participation of women in workforce in a dignified manner.
This information was given by the Union Minister for Women and Child Development, Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
