The Modern India Podcast #30 - Women Will Drive India’s Future

The Modern India's Podcast

India now officially has more females than males. There has been a demographic shift.

According to latest data released by the Indian government from the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), there are now 1,020 women for every 1,000 men. Women’s economic empowerment is highly connected to poverty reduction because women tend to invest their earnings into their communities and family’s development. According to World Bank estimates, India’s women in workforce contribute 17% to GDP, which is less than half the global average.

Norway was the first country in the world to put a 40% gender quota on boards of listed companies and public enterprises. Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation that works to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. The Association of Business Women in Commerce & Industry (ABWCI), on the other hand, is an integrated platform dedicated to the economic empowerment of women in business.

DMI would like to present to you the panelists for our podcast:

Isabelle Ringnes - Isabelle is the co-founder of Equalitycheck.com

Parul Soni - founder of Association of Business Women in Commerce & Industry (ABWCI)

Kari Helene Partapuoli - General Secretary, Plan Norway

Rina Sunder - Founder, DMI

The conversation will be moderated by Ritika Dhall and Rina Sunder. Ritika is the Head of Gender Equality at Norad.

A few of the questions we will touch upon are:

• What does it mean for India now that it has more females than males?
• What lessons are there for India to learn from Norway?
• What roles do health care, education, protection from violence, as well as empowerment and participation play for women in order to leverage their potential in a countrys growth?
• How can employers walk the walk regarding supporting women?

Simply put — women are the key to unlocking the full potential of Indias economy and society. It’s critical that we pave pathways that allow women to soar.
DMI is happy to collaborate with Norad on this seminar.