Women Empowerment

1. Glass Seal Syndrome
M.Shunmuga Priya
MBA

2. Definition and components
• Increasing authority and responsibility
• choices - actions and outcomes
• Increasing spiritual, political, social, educational, gender, or economic strength .
• sense of self-worth;
• right to determine choices;
• access to opportunities and resources;
• power to control their own lives.

3. History of status of women in India
• Maitreyi, Gargi
• Philosophers &
women seers
•Freedom to choose
partners for marriage
•Daughters were not
considered as liability or
unwelcomed guest in the
family
•Widow marriages were
permissible
•Women had
Subjugated status
• But gave the
message that
respectable wife is one
who humbles herself
vis-à-vis her husband
• Did not
deserve the
freedom at any
point of time
in her life
• Not marrying
a girl before
the age of 14
years was a sin
Status of women
Vedic period
(1500-1000 BC)
Period of epics
(1000-500 BC)
Age of Manushastra
(500 – 200 BC)

4. History of status of women in India
Status of women
•Purdah system was in
place
•Polygamy, strict laws
for women were
prevalent
Increase in child
marriages, sati, dowry,
social out casting of
widows
Women lived life of
total subjugation &
virtually lost all hopes
of emancipation
Social reform
movements by
Vidyasagar,
Ranade, Jyotiba
Phule, Raja Ram
mohan Roy
Medieval period
(5th to 11th century)
11th to 19th
century
19th century

5. •Social status of women can be explained
with the help of Maslow hierarchy theory
of needs.
•There are five stages.
•Women now at the self esteem stage even
though the other stages are not completely
satisfied.
•In 2012, women occupied only eight out
of 74 ministerial positions in the Union
council of ministers. There were only two
women judges out of 26 judges in the
Supreme Court, and there were only 54
women judges out of 634 judges in various
high courts.

6. Educational status of women
Literacy rate
Census data 2001,2011, RGI, GOI
02-10-
2014
Department of education, Ministry of Human Resource &
Development
6

7. Gender Disparity in Media Exposure
Not only are fewer women than men literate but fewer
are also regularly exposed to media
• Percentage of men and women age 15-19 regularly
exposed to print media, TV, radio, or cinema
• Men 88%
• Women 71%
• Gender Disparity 19%

8. Employment: Another Area of Gender
Disparity
43
29
87
79
Employed Employed for
cash
Women Men
• Among the population age 15-49
• Men are 2 times as likely to be
employed
• Men are 2.7 times as likely to be
employed for cash
• Among the employed, 64% of women vs.
91% of men earn cash
• Female share of population employed for
cash in non-agricultural occupations is 22%
Percent
NFHS 3,India 2005-2006

9. Economic independence of women
Work participation of women–
25.63%
Urban: rural ratio of work
participation of women- 11.88: 30.79
Women working in unorganized
sectors – 80%
Women economically active at 15
years (2009) – 33%
02-10-2014
9

10. Do married women have access to any
other financial resources?
68
45
15
5
Percentage of women who:
Participate in decision on how
husband's earnings are used
Have money which they can
decide how to use
Have a bank or savings account
that they themselve use
Have taken loan from
microcredit program

11. Women at decision making level
• Participation of women in
elections increased over the
years
• Proportion of women turnout
for voting – 58.2%
48.0
Source: Election Commission of India
58.2
11 02-10-2014

12. Women at decision making level
• Proportion of women in national
parliament dipped till year 2007
• “Women Reservation Bill” is
still pending in the parliament
02-10-2014
12
Proportion of women in national parliament

13. WHY NEED OF WOMEN EMPOWERMENT?
• The main problems that were faced by women in past
days(and still today up to some extent):
• Gender discrimination
• Woman education
• Female infanticide
• Dowry
• Marriage in same caste and child marriage(still existing)
• Atrocities on Women: Raped, kicked, killed, subdued &
humiliated almost daily.

14. NEED FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMNENT:
WOMEN ARE DEPRIVED OF:
• Decision Making Power
• Freedom of Movement
• Access to Education
• Access to Employment
• Exposure to Media
• Domestic Violence

15. WAYS TO EMPOWER WOMEN:
• Changes in women's mobility
and social interaction;
• Changes in women's labor
patterns;
• Changes in women's access to
and control over resources; and
• Changes in women's control over
decision-making.

16. WAYS TO EMPOWER WOMEN:
• Providing education
• Self employment and Self help groups
• Providing minimum needs like nutrition, health, sanitation,
housing
• Other than this, society should change the mentality towards
the word “women”.
• Encouraging women to develop in their fields they are good
at and make a career.

17. Women Empowerment Programmes
• Swayamsidha
• Swa-Shakti Project
• Support to Training and employment programme for Women (STEP)
• Creches/ Day care Centers for the Children of working and Ailing Mothers
• Hostels for working women
• Swadhar
• Rashtriya Mahila kosh (RMK)

18. Swayamsidha: ( Indira Mahila yojna)
• It is an integrated project for the development and empowerment
of women through Self Help Groups (SHGs) with emphasis on
covering service, developing access to micro-enterprises.
• About 10 lakh women have taken membership.

19. • 2014 Theme: Inspiring Change
• Each year around the world, International Women's Day (IWD)
is celebrated on March 8.
• Thousands of events occur not just on this day but throughout
March to mark the economic, political and social achievements
of women.

20. CONCLUSION
• Women represent half the world’s population, and gender
inequality exists in every nation on the planet.
• Until women are given the same opportunities that men are,
entire societies will be destined to perform below their true
potentials .
• The greatest need of the hour is change of social attitude to
women.

21. Positive Stories…

22. The Lijjat Papad story
• Seven illiterate and poor women borrowed Rs 80 to start a papad
business in 1959
• Its turnover from Rs 6,196 in the first year went upto Rs 300 crore in
the next four decades
• 42,000 women on its revolutionary march
• Jaywantiben Popat, one of the women involved with this phenomenal
spirit, was honoured with Awards for her outstanding achievements

23. Mann Deshi Mahila
Sahakari Bank
• Chetna’s foundation established in 1994 a co-operative
bank that is completely operated by women and serves
women customers.
• The bank was established with help of a group of
illiterate women and has now grown into a $562,000
firm by the end of 2011.
• In collaboration with HSBC, Mann Deshi Bank
established the Udyogini Business School in 2007.

24. SEWA (Self-Employed Women's Association)
• Started as a trade union, registered in 1972, founded by Ela
Bhat,
• Organisation of self-employed women workers who earn a
living through their own labour or small businesses.
• SEWA's membership, which is a nominal Rs. 5 a year, includes
women from a cross-section of society — from vegetable and
fruit hawkers to home-based weavers, potters and manual
labourers.
• Year Number of Members
• 1973 320
• 2002 17,50,000

25. Inspiring change