BRIDGING THE GAP

Not-for-profits like Project Naveli and Aspire For Her are at the forefront of efforts to empower women through gender equality and inclusion initiatives and raise their contribution to India’s GDP

- Jyotsna Sharma

Priti Kate lost the only earning member of her family, her husband, to Covid in 2021. At the time, she had just about enrolled in an Abacus training centre to learn how to teach. Understanding the position Kate was in, the head of the training institute offered her an opportunity to run an Abacus training centre franchise. Having never worked before, Priti was unsure of how to move forward. That is when she joined the Aspire For Her community, Not Alone. Here she received learning resources, English language classes, sessions on developing business skills and more. She has now successfully moved from the Not Alone community to being an EntrepreNaari.

The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated gender-based discrimination, across the world, India included. This made UNSDG Goal 5 all the more challenging. The Goal talks about achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, by 2030.

According to the Global Gender Gap Report 2022, India comes in at number 6 in the South Asian region, with Bangladesh and Nepal outperforming it. But many would also argue that things are looking up in India. For instance, the sex ratio, once heavily skewed against girls, has seen an improvement. Girl students are increasingly getting enrolled in Sciences / Engineering/ Management courses. Even if the number of women startups remains abysmally low, the number of women directors in startups is steadily rising.