Women leaders, change makers and facilitators in skill space in India

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2017, we present to you messages from key participants in the emerging skill development and vocational training ecosystem in India. Lead read on from Gayathri Vasudevan, CEO, LabourNet, Ms. Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi (Director, AISECT & Founder, Brainy Bear Pre-School & Activity Club), Pritha Dutt, Director, Empower Pragati Vocational & Staffing Pvt Ltd, Anita Rajan, CEO, Tata STRIVE, Poonam Saini, Managing Director, TecHum International Pvt. Ltd. and Prof. Rao R. Bhavani UNESCO Chair in Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, Amrita University Director, AMMACHI Labs, Amrita University Director, Center for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, Amrita University. Gayathri Vasudevan, CEO, LabourNet Women empowerment is a nuanced issue, especially in India, where you can find unwritten rules in every segment of the society. There is widespread discrimination and mental block fuelled by concerns related to security, social pressure and the proverbial glass ceiling. The glass ceiling can be related to either personal commitments like family pressure or professional barriers created for women employees at workplace. Often in a family, women are left behind to play the role of caregivers for the aged or to rear children while men set out to strive for better opportunities. Any role reversal is so far unheard of in the present society. When it comes to better roles at workplace, statistics is completely skewed. You will find far lesser number of women in positions that draw higher wages. This gender-wage correlation is present in almost every profession. In manufacturing sectors like leather, rubber and construction, as wages increase, there is a dip in the number of women workers. In the beauty sector, with the rising number of unisex salons and better wages, you find an influx of male stylists. Similarly, in the fashion sector, societal insecurity prevents women from working late nights at the tailoring units or rise in ranks. There appears to be an open thread pulling women back at every turn. Ms. Pallavi Rao Chaturvedi (Director, AISECT & Founder, Brainy Bear Pre-School & Activity Club) Being a woman and that too an entrepreneur, I am exhilarated to see how women in India have emerged as leaders over the years. They occupy a unique and irreplaceable position in the work space today and have made their presence felt across every known field, whether it is science, sports, business, fashion, politics or entertainment. The modern Indian woman is not only an important contributor towards the household income, but a lot of them have also set up their own successful enterprises. In fact, 1,600 of the rural entrepreneurs associated with the AISECT Group are women and half of our workforce consists of women employees, right up to directorial and managerial positions. This data is interesting due to the fact that our organization functions in semi-urban and rural parts of the country and therefore the women associated with us have advanced by forfeiting a lot more socio-economic barriers than an average woman in urban India. These women are today utilizing their business acumen to not only become financially independent but to also give a push to important Government projects in the areas of skill development, digital literacy, financial inclusion and rural empowerment. Through my dealing with these women entrepreneurs over the years, I have come to greatly appreciate the unique perspective and insight that they bring in to the business. Their commitment towards work and their quest for excellence are unparalleled. We, at AISECT, want to give such enterprising women the necessary boost to make their dream of starting a business a reality. Thus, we have recently launched ‘Pehchaan’, a special interest body dedicated towards aiding women entrepreneurs in establishing and functioning of their business. Indian working women are true examples of how one can maintain a proper work-life balance. Without any doubt, they have proven that not only they are excellent homemakers but also successful entrepreneurs. It is incredible to see them coming in the forefront and competing positively in every aspect of life. I congratulate such strong personalities for their spirit, for having the courage to break the traditional norms, adapt to the changes wholeheartedly and transform themselves into working women and even successful women entrepreneurs. Pritha Dutt, Director, Empower Pragati Vocational & Staffing Pvt Ltd In recent times, the skill space in India has gone through a drastic change. The sector is picking up like never before and I feel honoured to be a part of this change. At Empower Pragati, we truly believe in 'transforming lives through skilling India'. Skilling women is even more impactful and satisfying . It has a multiplier effect on Transforming Lives. Over the years I have come to realize that to provide someone with a skill, is not to just to equip him/her with the tools for livelihood but also the skills for facing life ,which together will take them through the good times and the bad. It is this realization which keeps me going. To hear about the wonderful stories of change that take place at our centres is truly an overwhelming experience for me and is something that motivates me to do better. Anita Rajan, CEO, Tata STRIVE Indian culture epitomises women as "Shakti'' which means "power'' and "strength". This ancient wisdom has great relevance in today’s world, both in our personal and professional lives. There is a need to re-awaken this consciousness in women. There is a need to bring in an awareness of their own strengths and how these can be leveraged to help find themselves a more equitable role in society. Our national focus should start with women education with 100% success and should graduate towards development of their skills. World Bank data shows that even a 10 per cent increase in Female Labour Force Participation can boost GDP by 0.3 percent, in India however FLFP has reduced to 27 percent. We need to find new and flexible ways that allow women to balance their responsibilities at home and work. Home and neighbourhood models of entrepreneurship, flexible working hours, HR policies that allow women to continue their professional learnings during critical periods of their lives like childbirth, are strategies to have more women participation. At Tata STRIVE we have an ambitious target to on board 50% women trainees across our various skill development programmes. These areas will include traditional service sectors as well as non-traditional technical courses, we would like to break the mental and social barriers that prevent them from taking on such roles. We are also extremely keen to work with communities to develop entrepreneurship models that allow women to work from home or close to home. I am of the view that women are naturally gifted with qualities of compassion, emotional intelligence and unique leadership qualities. They are the unsung ‘champions’ in society. This Women’s day let’s celebrate ‘feminity’ by helping women unleash their strength and power. Poonam Saini, Managing Director, TecHum International Pvt. Ltd. Fly with own wings: Swami Vivekananda rightly said about women - “There is no chance for the welfare of the world unless the condition of women is improved. It is not possible for a bird to fly on one wing.” We have world youth manpower. At this stage of development, we cannot ignore the women who contribute half of the strength. As an entrepreneur, I can say that women are more perfect as an entrepreneur as they can maintain work life balance. They don’t need entrepreneur training from big business schools. They learned team work with siblings, handling difficult situations post marriage and caring through looking after children and working under adverse conditions, while handling conflicts with partners. Last but not the least, financial management- Women as a home maker can run house with minimum salary and save the money for future too. Woman need to provide sufficient opportunities for the real development of our country. Developing entrepreneurship among women and economic development are closely related - in one direction, development alone can play a major role in driving down inequality between men and women; in the other direction, empowering women may benefit development. In my opinion we should always encourage women to fly with own wings. Prof. Rao R. Bhavani UNESCO Chair in Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, Amrita University Director, AMMACHI Labs, Amrita University, Director, Center for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment, Amrita University This is one of the best of times to be a woman because there are so many opportunities available. It’s also one of the worst times, because society cannot keep up with our exponential progress. The world of skills is no longer only a man's world. The opportunities we have as women are now available to a much larger segment of society than to a few elite in the past. As we strive forward, we have many more opportunities to realize our aspirations. As women it is our duty to stretch the boundaries and reach of these opportunities to realize them for ourselves, as well as for all women and girls. If you look into this matter deeply, you will see the limitations were never about a woman’s capabilities but more about the lack of structure in society to support her efforts. The fact that a woman has always needed a social structure around her to do anything put her at a disadvantage. Isolation is disempowering, and is dangerous for a woman in today’s world. Empowering women through building strength in numbers in her community is an inclusive approach that can bring about a great change for her and in the whole of society. This is a critical and exciting time for us to create communities of learning and practice in skill development that empower women to participate as a whole. Nandita Sethi, Founder and MD, The Entrepreneur Zone My Tribute to Women as an Entrepreneur: When I see women in India the first thought that comes to my mind is - here stands a person who has almost all the qualities of an entrepreneur. Her life begins by having to work twice as hard to be considered half as good as her male counterpart. So she learns to work hard and survive, an important entrepreneurial quality. As she grows up and gets into a marriage, she is actually taking the greatest risk of her life, a prime quality for an entrepreneur. Then she begins her startup with her co-founder husband where she manages multiple activities as the CEO of this greatest startup called family. From day one she builds this company and painstakingly grows it with her passion, negotiating her way up, another strong quality of an entrepreneur. She builds a team around her with managing relationships so that they help her in her growth story. She takes the company to greater heights with her children which are her most priced possessions. She doesn't stop there, she again begins creating value by building their lives. This is true value innovation - increasing value for the society at practically no costs. Imagine she builds families, communities, societies and countries in which the so called big businesses work. She is the greatest incubator for the business world and much of their survival depends on her. She is the ultimate Entrepreneur of all. Hats off to her for running the biggest business empire where everybody else benefits. Time to value this most underrated skill.

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