Gender Equality - A Vital Cog in the Wheel of Sustainable Development

Introduction

"A gender-equal society would be one where the word 'gender' does not exist: where everyone can be themselves."-Gloria Steinem

Women and girls constitute half of the world's population and hence half of the globe's potential. Therefore, in addition to being a fundamental human right, gender equality is also essential for the world to grow and achieve its full potential. It has been shown that fostering equality among genders has led to prosperity and growth in all strata of society and all spheres of life.

But it is not just the limitless possibilities of a better future but the horrendous discriminations in a woman's life that tethers her to the lower echelons of the society or the corporate world, the ramifications of the rampant abuse and violence that are meted out to them, the horrifying possibilities of events like child marriage is what makes a fight for gender equality the need of the hour. Therefore, it is of extreme importance to end the occurrence of such abuse and make way for providing equal access to education, health facilities, and participation in economic and political activities to both men and women.

The world has made massive progress regarding bringing down the incidences of child marriage and the prevalence of practices like female genital mutilation. But still today, most of the domestic work is delegated to the women of the house and is seen not as something they do but as something that they are bound to do. This leaves them with no time to seek high paying jobs, education, or leisure. This furthers the existing socio-economic divide. They are heavily underrepresented at the managerial levels of the corporate world as well as at all levels of political leadership.

The level of inequality and injustice faced by half the population of the world make gender equality and empowering women and girls the most significant unfinished business of our time, and the greatest human rights challenge in our society.

The relevance of the SDG to India

Incidences of disparities between the genders have been documented in India since ancient times. Societal norms and practices have discriminated mostly against women in various realms of life. There has been a very gradual improvement in women's lives over the years. India has come a long way since the days of "Sati" where widows were forced to burn at their husband's funeral pyres And yet, a lot remains to be accomplished.

Gender inequalities are of various kinds: economic, occupational, educational, health, and political. India has made significant progress in the political inequality domain, ranking consistently better than even many developed countries in this regard. ("Schwab et al. - 2012 - The Europe 2020 Competitiveness Report Building a.Pdf" n.d.)

Political representation of women in state and central legislatures and even the highest political offices of the land has been consistent in India for many years. But in all other domains, it is significantly behind most of the world.

Perhaps the most significant problem India faces is its lopsided sex ratio due to a traditional preference for sons. Quite alarmingly, the sex ratio has declined in the recent past ("Crime PDR Dreze&khera.Pdf" n.d.), which shows that government programs are having little to no effect. Studies have shown a correlation between an unbalanced sex ratio and a higher crime rate.

The incidences of gender-based violence are also rampant in India. This takes the form of domestic violence, rape, dowry-related violence, and honour killings. The official statistics underreport the actual number of incidences as most instances go unreported. There is a stigma associated with rape, which discourages victims from filing complaints. Unauthorized "khap" panchayats often persuade victims of violence to settle outside the law. There have been cases recorded where these courts themselves have ordered honour killings. (BBC News 2013)

Another area of underrepresentation of women's work in India is that the GDP calculation does not take into account a homemaker's job. A working lady would have employed multiple people to do household chores like cleaning, washing, child care, etc. but when she decides to do all those tasks, the country's rules disregard it while representing the country's goods and services value. If service means the act of working in the market, the homemaker's work is also technically an (unpaid) service. Accepting it in GDP calculation shall not only give a more accurate estimate but also lead to a rise in the respect given to homemakers. It shall also drive the attention of the lawmakers while framing public policies to give due weight to the household work as well as to empower the homemakers.

This SDG is especially relevant to India, considering the massive problem of gender inequality that India faces. Meeting this goal will help India in realizing many of its development targets.

Business implications

While many women have broken the glass ceiling and reached top positions in the business world, there is still a wide gap between the numbers when compared to their male counterparts. Only 7.5% of the billionaires in India are women. Their representation in national parliaments is at an average of 23.7% ("United Nations: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment" n.d.). While the numbers have grown in the past few years, but they are still far from parity. This gap leads to a lack of perspective which the women bring in the business scenario. Also, with the top management dominated by male members, there comes a similarity bias where they are inclined to give an important job or position to a male member leading to a lack of opportunities for growth in the organization.

The potential of 50% of the population is underutilized by the lack of women in the workforce. The rural areas still have differences in educating boys and girls. Girls are often forced to leave their studies, leading to a decrease in skilled labour in the female category, and thereby their representation eventually decreases.  Many women leave their jobs after marriage or childbirth, and this lag in their career often takes a lot of time to fill. Corporates today have come up with paid maternity leaves, but it does leave a toll on their careers. As a result, only a few survive rising the corporate ladder. 

Gender Pay Gap

The gender pay gap in the USA is evidenced by the fact that the median salary of men is 21 percent higher than that of women on a national average level ("Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2019 | PayScale" n.d.). This statistic, though representative of a major issue needs to be analyzed carefully. The general line of criticism offered against the above argument is that women fundamentally make different career choices than men, which ultimately manifests itself into them working in low paying jobs that offer flexible hours. The percentage of women in jobs like school teaching and nursing is much higher than that in high paying jobs like investment banking, which requires complete devotion and time of the individual.

This criticism is based on an assumption of freedom of choice. It is considered as a fact that when given complete freedom, men and women tend to make different choices just because of the difference in their gender. This difference in the way kids are treated at a young age can change the way a person looks at the world and can change the way she looks at her duties and obligations. This difference can affect the degree of freedom that the individual exercises over her decisions in the future.

For example, there is a high probability that owing to her upbringing a woman might feel obliged to be the caretaker of her child and the homemaker for her family. This obligation might seriously affect her decision and may bias it towards jobs that allow her to fulfill these so-called duties.

The problem further accentuates when the work that she does for her family that can in no way be termed as less strenuous than an "actual" job is neither appreciated by the community nor counted as an integral product in national output calculations. This results in her work requiring the same amount of input but in producing far less output on paper. Therefore, the assumption that it is "inherent for the female" to make such choices can't be correct as it more a manifestation of a biased upbringing than of inherent biological differences.

The gender pay gap, therefore, might be because of the career choices that women make, but that is in itself due to the unequal ways the two genders are brought up from their childhood. If we want to embrace the concept of humanism fully, and if we wish to give every individual the true freedom of choice, this inequality needs to be eliminated. This can help us in getting a larger pool of qualified and talented individuals for every job set irrespective of a gender restriction.

The issue of sexual harassment at the workplace, lack of effective maternity leave policies, and non-availability of child-care centers at the workplace continue to affect the performance of women who are brave enough to make choices that are different from their peers. This ultimately adds to the glass ceiling that still robs us of the potential and perspective that half of our population can offer.

Business Response

Businesses and corporates are now initiating programs to eliminate the gender gap. For example, women face problems related to investment and savings. Goldman Sachs has tried to tackle this issue of easy credit to promote stronger growth and stronger communities. They have come up with initiatives to support practical business education, financial and taxation guidance, and easy credit to a total of 10,000 women entrepreneurs. They currently run the program across 56 countries and have presently deployed 1.45 billion dollars to women entrepreneurs in emerging markets ("Goldman Sachs | 10,000 Women | An Initiative to Provide Business & Management Education to Female Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets" n.d.). Also, Axis Sahyog, an initiative by Axis Bank provides borrowings to 1.7 million people in rural areas, especially women (“Axis-Bank-Sr-2018--Final-Report_v1-0.Pdf” n.d.). Amazon also runs the Saheli store, which supports women entrepreneurs by providing them a dedicated storefront and helps them connect with millions of buyers ("Amazon Saheli - Empowering Women Entrepreneurs across India" n.d.).

Analysis and Suggested Path

The government, as well as corporates, are taking active measures in this regard. Skill development has been a vital cog in this wheel. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) has started the Skill India Mission, which seeks to empower women through a variety of initiatives in skill initiatives and entrepreneurship. 18 National Skill Training Institutes have been set up to provide skill training to women ("Skill India Empowers Women with 10 Initiatives in Skill and Entrepreneurship" 2019). A National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme (NAPS) has been instituted which provides essential training to women in all Centrally Funded Institutes ("Skill India Empowers Women with 10 Initiatives in Skill and Entrepreneurship" 2019)

Women themselves need to support other women. Women who have struggled and reached the top often share their experience to motivate and inspire other women. However, the numerous language barriers keep women living in remote regions of India away from accessing this. With the second largest number of internet users in the country ("India Has Second Highest Number of Internet Users after China: Report - The Economic Times" n.d.), the government can use this platform to translate these interviews and shows into vernacular languages so that more and more people become aware and join the movement against gender inequality.

The issue of financial inclusion also needs attention. Women entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas, lack access to credit facilities. We need to expand the reach and ease of access to credit facilities so that more women invest and set up their businesses. Moreover, the few women who do manage to break the glass ceiling can act as mentors to other women, thereby supporting them. With men considered the power-holders in a patriarchal society like India, we must leverage their position of privilege to turn the situation around. Engaging men in pro-women initiatives at the community as well as the policy level can be beneficial as gender equality is as much about women empowerment as it is about promoting healthy masculinity. Men, as well as women, need to be engaged while framing policies related to paternity leave and benefits as well as reproductive health and child-care. Gender diversity at the workplace and equal pay are also issues that businesses can resolve by designing policies and compensations packages with greater transparency. This will ensure the society as a whole strives to achieve gender equality.

Conclusion

Gender equality is a corporate concern, not just a moral necessity. Comprehensive and family-friendly actions that support all genders and are free from bias are the best way to encourage and retain the best talent if businesses today want the ultimate advantage. Gender equality is in the interest of countries, companies, families, and individuals. It is not a zero-sum game. It is the only way forward for a more sustainable future of businesses.

References

"Amazon Saheli - Empowering Women Entrepreneurs across India." n.d. Accessed December 5, 2019. https://services.amazon.in/landing/amazonsaheli.html.

BBC News. 2013. "Indian Media: Anger over 'Honour Killings,'" September 20, 2013, sec. India. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-24170937.

"Crime PDR Dreze&khera.Pdf." n.d. Accessed December 5, 2019. http://web.iitd.ac.in/~reetika/Crime%20PDR%20dreze&khera.pdf.

"Gender Pay Gap Statistics for 2019 | PayScale." n.d. Accessed December 5, 2019. https://www.payscale.com/data/gender-pay-gap.

"Goldman Sachs | 10,000 Women | An Initiative to Provide Business & Management Education to Female Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets." n.d. Accessed December 5, 2019. https://www.goldmansachs.com/citizenship/10000women/index.html.

"India Has Second Highest Number of Internet Users after China: Report - The Economic Times." n.d. Accessed December 5, 2019. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/india-has-second-highest-number-of-internet-users-after-china-report/articleshow/71311705.cms?from=mdr.

"Marico Sustainability Report." 2017. Marico. https://marico.com/investorspdf/marico-sustainability-report-18.pdf.

"Schwab et al. - 2012 - The Europe 2020 Competitiveness Report Building a.Pdf." n.d. Accessed December 5, 2019. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GenderGap_Report_2013.pdf.

"Skill India Empowers Women with 10 Initiatives in Skill and Entrepreneurship." 2019. National Skills Network (blog). March 9, 2019. https://www.nationalskillsnetwork.in/skill-india-women-initiatives/.

"United Nations: Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment." n.d. United Nations Sustainable Development (blog). Accessed December 5, 2019.

https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/gender-equality/

“Axis-Bank-Sr-2018--Final-Report_v1-0.Pdf.” n.d. Accessed December 5, 2019. https://www.axisbank.com/docs/default-source/default-document-library/axis-bank-sr-2018--final-report_v1-0.pdf?sfvrsn=e115b455_2.

Authors: Raghav Agarwal (B19154), Rishabh Lohia (B19158), Sagar Sahni (B19160), Shourya Sardana (B19168), Sourav Raha (B19173), Vanshika Sharma (B19178), Vishishtha Upul (B19180)