Remove tags to get more women in workforce, says Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran

Tags need to be removed to get more women into India's workforce, Tata Sons Chairman, N Chandrasekaran said. There are lots of 'tags' in India such as 'women cannot do this (kind of jobs); this is only for men,' and all of them have to be removed, he said.

"There is a possibility of creating platforms for SMEs, there is a possibility of getting (more) women into workforce," Chandrasekaran said. Policy changes are also needed. In healthcare for example, rules are strict, he noted, pointing to "what can be done by doctors and what can be done by people who are not doctors."

Chandrasekaran also said that 'care' in general -- such as those targeted at elderly and children as an industry is a "huge opportunity." "We got to create women role-models in non-traditional areas," he said, questioning as to why they can be confined to only educated women.

Chandrasekaran made the comments here last evening while responding to a related question after the launch the book "Bridgital Nation" authored by him and Roopa Purushothaman, Chief Economist and Head of Policy Advocacy Tata Sons.

The launch was followed by a conversation with Nandan Nilekani, Co-Founder & Chairman Infosys and Founding Chairman, UIDAI (Aadhaar). Referring to India's education system, Chandrasekaran said it has always been about 'reading, writing and counting.'

"Thinking, collaboration, digital, using software are far more easier to teach than reading, writing and counting," he opined. "Everybody need not get into higher education."