No of employed women plunges to 26% in 2018

Even as there is an increasing focus on reskilling and upskilling of workforce in general and women in particular, in line with the evolving industry needs, a report reveals that lack of access to quality education and the widening digital divide, limits women from gaining employable skill-sets and entering the workforce.

As a result, women's participation in employment has had a massive fall from 36.7 per cent in 2005 to 26 per cent in 2018, with 19.5 crore women employed in the unorganised sector or in unpaid work, says a Deloitte report released Thursday.

Globally as well as in the country, there is a declining trend of women's participation in the workforce due to a litany of challenges, including lack of quality education, increasing digital divide which all hinder them from gaining employable skill sets and entering the workforce or set up an enterprise, says the report.

The report blames the underlying social, economic and political barriers this anomaly facing women and suggested that evolving a stronger ecosystem around women entrepreneurs to help them complete the entrepreneurship life-cycle can result in economic empowerment and agency.

This can be achieved through better access to quality education, gaining managerial, leadership and soft skills, financial and digital literacy, influencing social settings and building support systems, access to resources like finance, technology, raw materials, talent and joining the right networks, says the report.

The report, however, notes that businesses in the country are taking a proactive approach to train their workforces for the future and they have the most clearly defined decision-making process of all executives.

"The fourth industrial revolution makes it necessary that women, more particularly young women, must be helped to develop strong foundational skills and understanding of technology, STEM and digital. This will enable ultimately in improved career choices," concludes the report.