Ensuring Welfare of Gender Equality

Government policies support technical advancement to ensure that national strategies meet women’s and girls’ needs.

FREMONT, CA: The technical assistance provided to local governments must consider the needs of women and girls, which has been one of the top priorities of UN Women.

UN Women concentrates on key areas essential to gender equality and women's equality. They aim to strengthen various countries’ human and financial resources.

The Government of India has launched several programs over the past few years that are specifically targeted toward women to ensure their economic security and grant them the social respect they deserve. People are satisfied that the government has taken steps to promote equality at every level and give women more authority because gender inequity has a long history in Indian society.

For women's education, India has come a long way. According to the All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2019–20, there are more female students than male students, with a gross enrollment ratio of 27.3 per cent versus 26.9 per cent. According to this, the percentage of female students enrolled in higher education on a gross basis increased by 18 per cent between 2015–16 and 2019–20. Additionally, there has been an increase in the number of Indian women choosing STEM programs from 10,02,707 in 2017–18 to 10,56,095 in 2019–2020, which is higher than many other industrialised nations.

Gender-based discrimination in healthcare negatively affects women's health in India, finds a joint study by academics at Harvard University, the Indian Statistical Institute, the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council, and the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). According to the experts, only 37 per cent of women had access to health care, compared to 67 per cent of men. Although it has decreased from 130 per 100,000 live births in SRS 2014–16 to 113 per 100,000 live births in SRS 2016–18, India's Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is still high. More funding is required for the healthcare sector for women. Although India has made significant progress in many areas, it has a long way to go before it achieves gender equality.

According to research, India ranks 135th out of 146 nations. However, India has somewhat improved its standing from the previous year, when it was ranked 140 out of 156. But the gender disparity still exists. This is mostly due to two pressing issues that are still unresolved: the low and declining participation of women in the workforce in India, which is among the lowest in the world. Second, women are underrepresented in decision-making positions, particularly in institutions like state and federal legislatures.

The COVID-19 pandemic has made the situation even worse. These subtle but chronic gender disparities will probably continue to have an impact for many years to come. Compared to men, women's unemployment is rising disproportionately due to the epidemic and its control measures. Women's overall working hours have decreased due to this, and their caregiving responsibilities have become more demanding. Women are particularly exposed to the economic effects of the pandemic due to the high incidence of informality in their employment in the labour market.