Nari Shakti: Ministry of Labour issues advisory to employers to promote women participation in workforce

The group led by Bhupender Yadav Ministry of Labor The UN has issued a notice to employers to encourage women’s participation in the workforce, with an emphasis on balancing employment and caregiving responsibilities, adequate representation of women in management positions, support for women entrepreneurs, and eliminating gender bias in recruitment, promotion and performance appraisal.

These are part of the 19 provisions that include legal and general measures listed by the Ministry to improve women’s participation in the workforce.

“While the government is taking various policy measures to support women in all aspects of working life, it is imperative that employers also take the lead in implementing policies and programmes in the right perspective to encourage women to join the workforce,” it said in the advisory issued on Wednesday.

According to the notice, employers should implement family-friendly measures such as paternity leave, parental leave, family emergency leave and flexible work arrangements, including flexible work schedules for men to participate in caregiving responsibilities.

“Every employer must promote women in management and leadership positions, promote women-led businesses in the value chain, mitigate unconscious bias in the recruitment, promotion and evaluation of female employees, and at the same time conduct regular audits to correct the gender pay gap,” she said.

The Ministry has laid down 10 legal provisions in the current labour laws that the employer must abide by when hiring women workers. These include provisions related to health, safety, social security, wages and working hours, laws on migration and night shifts, along with other welfare measures to ensure the general well-being and working conditions of women.

According to the Periodic Labor Force Survey Report 2022-23, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation last year, the female labor force participation rate in the country has improved by 4.2 percentage points from 32.8% in 2021-22 to 37% in 2022-23, based on the “usual state” concept of measuring labor force participation.

The Government believes that women’s participation in the workforce has increased in recent years, but that there is ample scope for further improvements that can be addressed through effective implementation of existing policies by employers.

“While several government initiatives have contributed greatly to addressing gender gaps and improving female workforce “While women’s participation in the country is low, there are still several challenges that need to be addressed to encourage women to participate predominantly in the workforce, including better access to security, flexibility and social security,” she said, suggesting that employers should take proactive initiatives.