Women in the workplace

Women play multiple roles in a day and most of them never complain about it. From taking care of kids

and the elderly at home, to fulfilling workplace commitments, women employees can do multiple things

and still maintain a healthy work-life balance.

In India, the percentage of employable women has gone up from 41.25% in 2021 to 53.28%. And, in

2023, it is expected to stay stable at 52.80%. Women’s empowerment has been a key issue for many

years, and continues to be so till this day. Despite some progress in recent decades, women in India

continue to face tremendous challenges when it comes to gender equality. These include

discrimination, lack of access to education and employment, and gender-based violence.

According to a recent World Economic Forum report, India has dropped 28 places and ranks 140th

among 156 countries in terms of female participation in the workforce. In fact, the rate of employable

women has been consistently higher than that of employable men. The overall employability rate for

men went up from 34.26% in 2021 to 47.28% in 2022.

In India, the overall young employability has improved to 50.03% over the previous year. The age range

with the highest employability was found to be between 22 and 25 years o

ld, with 59.7% of the

resources across top 10 cities in this age range being found highly employable.

In April 2016, Assam Rifles inducted the first batch of 100 female soldiers who had undergone a year-

long training programme. In August 2020, around 30 rifle-women from Assam Rifles were deployed

along the LoC for the first time. They are led by Captain Gursimran Kaur of the Army Service Corps.

The largest concentration of female employable resources is found in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and

Andhra Pradesh, whereas the highest concentration of male employable assets is in Odisha, Delhi, and

Jammu & Kashmir. Though the percentage of employable women is high, only 33% (67% in case of men)

are participating in the workforce.

Numerous women in regions like Rajasthan and Odisha have fewer jobs despite being more qualified

than their male counterparts. Uttar Pradesh, for instance, has 46.51% of highly employable females, but

they are not part of the organized workforce. Rajasthan, on the other hand, has the highest percentage

of employable female resources but the lowest percentage of employable men, not even featuring in

the top-ten for available male talent.

Women are empowering workplaces like never before – they have many attributes, ranging from an

excellent work ethic to utmost professionalism and problem-solving skills. Women make the work place

much more efficient with so many virtues and skills that it would not be an exaggeration to say that they

are the rock stars of workplaces.

By Shradha Das

Class 8

Delhi Public School Kalinga, Cuttack

Shradha is a teenager who loves listening to music and playing basketball. She enjoys

spending time with her friends and family and likes to read in her spare time. She wants to become a

therapist when she grows up.