Here's how we can bring more women in the workforce

Data suggests India lost between $1.4 trillion and $2.8 trillion in GDP in 2018 due to lower female participation in the workforce. To put that in perspective, this loss is equivalent to the entire economy of France.

At the first edition of HerStory’s Women on a Mission Summit 2019, a panel deliberated on how their organisations are trying to bring more women into the workforce. Moderated by Tanvi Dubey, Editor of HerStory, the panel included Vinutha Rallapalli, Investments & Community Development, Innovation Valley, Govt of Andhra Pradesh; Kuppulakshmi Krishnamoorthy, Head Evangelist, Zoho for Startups; Humera Iffath, Human Resources Director- India, Truecaller.

“There is a perception that women are not able to give as much as men at the workplace. We have gender stereotypes where a woman is supposed to be a caregiver even if she runs a billion-dollar company. This hinders women from taking chances. We have not been taught risk taking at a younger age or even financial planning,” says Vinutha.

Despite these challenges, she believes that things are now changing. More women are joining the workforce due to increased visibility of gender inclusivity in the corporate sector and enabling policies. 

“Corporate companies need to have flexible policies and need to make female employees feel valuable with an assured job security especially when they are on maternity leave,” says Humera.

According to a World Bank Report, India is ranked 121 out of 131 countries in Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP). What sticks out like a sore thumb is the fact that FLFP in India dropped from 34.8 percent to 27 percent between 1993 and 2013 - two decades that saw a stable economic growth in the country.

Now, it is crucial to discuss how we can draw more women into the workforce.

Mentorship and support

The reasons that have kept women out of the workforce in India are varied and complex. According to an online survey conducted by JobsForHer, lack of access to childcare is the biggest challenge women face when returning to the workforce, followed by low self-confidence, outdated skill sets, family biases, and lack of women-friendly policies.

“The question we need to ask is how do we support each other,” Vinutha says.

Yes, a mentor plays a key role for an individual to gain perspective on how to achieve our goals. But having a woman mentor also helps other women gain more confidence in themselves. 

According to Kuppulakshmi, there is a lack of women mentors because women feel that they are not equipped with enough knowledge. 

“As women, we tend to not value ourselves and feel that we have not achieved enough to mentor someone. And this needs to change. Every woman has some learning to share with another, and one needs to identify their strengths and say it aloud,” she adds.

In the corporate space, it is essential to have women mentors and have women in leadership roles. “An environment for mentorship needs to be in every company. It needs to be in their DNA, and this is essential for success,” says Humera.

A big shout out to HerStory's Women on A Mission Summit sponsors: Co-Presenting Sponsor Microsoft, Sequoia Spark, Innovation Valley, NetApp Excellerator,Servify, ZOHO, Meesho, Arctic Fox, DROR, and Gifting Partners WoW, &Me.