Paper: GS – II, Subject: Society and Social Justice, Topic: Issues of women, Issue: Need for gender data.
Context:
Recently, the government of Uttar Pradesh launched Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Index which raised discussions on the need for gender data.
Key Highlights:
Significance of Women’s contribution to India’s GDP:
- Women contribute only 18% to India’s GDP.
- Nearly 196 million employable women are outside the workforce.
- Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) is at 41.7%, but only 18% of employed women are in formal jobs.
- For India to reach its $30 trillion economy by 2047, inclusive growth with gender equity is critical.
Significance of Gender Data:
Visibility into Action:
- Without disaggregated data, inequities remain hidden stalling reforms.
- For example, In Uttar Pradesh’s transport sector, low women participation revealed through data can propel reforms in recruitment and women’s restrooms in bus terminals.
Beyond Surface-Level Numbers:
- Need to track retention, re-entry, leadership, and quality of employment beyond simple participation counts.
- It is especially critical after Class 12 and post-graduation, where dropout rates for women rise.
True Gender Budgeting:
- Current gender budgeting is often limited to welfare. True gender budgeting should apply a gender lens to every rupee spent on education, infrastructure, energy, mobility. “You cannot budget for what you do not measure.”
Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Index – Uttar Pradesh Model:
- First state-level district-level tool in India to track women’s participation across 5 levers:
Significance:
- Embeds gender lens in every dataset, policy, and decision.
- Provides granular district-level insights which helps in designing reforms.
- For example, Women dominate skilling enrolment (>50%) but form a small share of registered entrepreneurs revealing systemic barriers to finance and enterprise.
Systemic Gaps Identified:
- Women’s access to credit and entrepreneurship far lower despite skilling success.
- Lack of gender-specific insights in infrastructure such as transport, restrooms, and safety. Without systemic reforms, exclusion gets entrenched.
Scope for replication:
- WEE Index can be replicated and scaled across states.
- States like Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana have trillion-dollar ambitions which must leverage gender dividend.
- Frameworks like WEE Index help translate intent into implementation through gendered budget allocations and infrastructure priorities.
Significance for India’s Growth:
- Closing gender gap is crucial for economic dividend. Better gender data ensures policies are targeted, measurable, and effective.
- As per McKinsey estimate, closing gender gaps can add $770 billion to India’s GDP by 2025. India needs to move from incremental welfare approach towards systemic inclusion.
Conclusion:
Gender-disaggregated data and true gender budgeting are essential to bring women into the mainstream economy. The UP WEE Index offers a replicable framework to translate gender equity into measurable economic growth, ensuring that India’s $30 trillion ambition by 2047 is inclusive and sustainable.
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