India's leadership on women empowerment a global model: UN Women official

New Delhi, Sep 11 (PTI) India's efforts to expand women's participation in the workforce and political decision-making are setting benchmarks for the world, Christine Arab, Regional Director of UN Women for Asia and the Pacific, said.

Speaking to PTI Videos, Arab underlined India's commitment to gender equality, calling its 70 per cent labour force participation target for women "crucial" for ensuring economic growth that is both inclusive and sustainable.

"Women's protection through laws can only be enforced when there is a contract in a formal workplace," she said, stressing the need to boost women's entry into the formal sector.

Since the Beijing Platform for Action was adopted in 1995, the global rise in women's labour force participation has been negligible. Arab said strong public-private partnerships are vital to changing that trend.

Arab hailed India's Women's Reservation Bill as "monumental," noting that the country already has the world's largest cohort of locally elected women officials.

She pointed out that "hundreds of thousands of women politicians are waiting in the wings" and rejected the notion that finding qualified women leaders is a challenge.

"Peer mentoring is already happening, Members of Parliament are guiding younger women leaders to prepare them to enter legislative bodies and make a difference," she said.

The UN Women official stressed that the private sector must do more to ensure family-friendly, the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act -compliant workplaces with infrastructure like dormitories and sanitation facilities.

"Recruiting women is not enough but retaining them is the challenge," she said, citing global evidence from over 11,000 companies that shows strong returns on investment when gender-responsive policies are implemented.

Looking ahead to the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and the United Nations General Assembly's UNGA's 80th session, Arab said India will play a central role in shaping the global gender equality agenda.

She highlighted India's pioneering work in gender-responsive budgeting, noting a fourfold increase in allocations for women over the past decade.

"At the central level, this now stands at 8.6% of the budget, and even higher at the state level. These policies have produced tangible results in health, nutrition, employability, and poverty reduction," she added.

In 2024, India partnered with UN Women, and the Asian Development Bank, to launch a Gender Budgeting Knowledge Hub, helping other countries learn from its experience.

Arab said India is also witnessing cultural change, pointing to young women entering STEM through government and corporate-backed programs.

"Yesterday, I met 300 young women in Gujarat enrolled in skilling programs. One of them told me her father now asks her opinion on household matters since she entered the STEM industry, and that is a powerful cultural shift," she said.

UN Women, she added, is working to ensure women leaders move beyond token representation, through peer mentoring, community engagement to prevent backlash, and media awareness campaigns to challenge stereotypes.

"India has enormous depth of expertise and leadership among women, with strong feminist voices and organizations that will continue to shape governance and amplify women's role in decision-making," Arab said. PTI UZM NB