1 / 11The 128th Constitution Amendment Bill, a landmark legislation, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday after being approved by a two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. This bill seeks to reserve a third of the seats in both the Lok Sabha and state assemblies for women, sparking widespread hope across India. (Reuters Photo)
2 / 11This is significant considering that, as per a Reuters report, women constitute only 25% of India’s workforce, the lowest among emerging economies. As per the International Labour Organisation (ILO), if the number of women working in India is doubled, it could have a big impact on the economy. Specifically, it could increase India’s growth rate from 7.5% to 9%. (Reuters Photo)
3 / 11Additionally, this bill could also raise India’s GDP to $700 billion by 2025. Here's a look at women's participation in the Indian workforce:
4 / 11Women in Power: India has seen a woman as prime minister and two as presidents since 1947. Fifteen women have been chief ministers. The lower house of parliament has 14.94% women, the upper house has 14.05%, and state legislatures have about 10% women. Of India’s 3.1 million village representatives, 1.4 million are women.
5 / 11Justice’s Gender Gap: India’s Supreme Court has never had a woman as chief justice. As of August 2023, the apex court, with a total of 34 positions, has three women judges. The 25 high courts have 106 women among 788 judges. The lower courts have 7,199 women judges. (PTI Photo)
6 / 11Women on Guard: As of March 2023, the Indian army has 6,993 women officers and the navy has 748. The Indian Air Force has 1,636 women officers, not counting medical staff. Women make up 11.7% of India’s 2.1 million-strong police force.
7 / 11Sky-High Equality: India has the highest proportion of female pilots to males in the world, making up 15% out of a total of about 10,000 pilots in the South Asian country, against 5% globally. (Reuters Photo)
8 / 11Women Feed India: Agriculture is the largest employer of women in India, with a participation rate of 62.9%. Manufacturing comes next, employing 11.2% of women in 2022. Millions of Indian women also work in unorganised sectors like domestic work and daily wage labour.
9 / 11Boardroom Breakthrough: In 2023, women held 18.2% of board seats in NIFTY 500 companies. The life sciences sector led the way with the highest female representation on boards at 24%.
10 / 11Tech’s Gender Gap: The tech industry has a high representation of women in the workforce at 34% but lags behind other industries when it comes to women in executive positions. There are 8.9% of firms with women in top managerial posts. (Image: Pixabay)
11 / 11Workforce Woes: Women's labour force participation was reduced to 22.3% due to the impact of COVID-19, according to a 2022 report on Diversity in the Boardroom from Ernst & Young. (Image: Pixabay)
