Cos should realise 'gender' does not mean only women: Union Minister Smriti Irani

NEW DELHI: Smriti Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development (WCD), Government of India on Monday said that many in our country want to enable more women in the organised sector speak of gender diversity. They speak of such plausible proposal within their organisations because there have been many studies that have shown gender diversities make companies report profitable and more productive.

Addressing the inaugural session of the two-day Greater 50 Virtual Conclave & Exhibition, organized by FICCI, Ms Irani said, "'Gender Intelligence' is a nomenclature not often poken about in Indian organisations. Organisations that are still flummoxed over grappling with gender diversity now need to look at gender intelligence. While gender diversity is about encouraging organisations to have more women at the workplace, but gender intelligence is about ensuring that those women stay at work."

The Minister stated that if an organisation wants to bring about gender balance, gender parity, and gender equity, it will need to recognise that the term 'gender' does not mean only women. Irani noted that the Greater 50 Call to Action Report highlights that the SMEs now feel overburdened at the prospect of catering to specific needs of women, which in turn, impacts their recruitment and retention of women at their workplace. "We hope that we can look at pathways to help SMEs in our country hire and retain more women," she said. Further, Irani said that FICCI has taken a giant step towards ensuring that not only is gender diversity is embraced but also understood and how leadership roles need to change from the perspective of gender and be all inclusive.

Speaking at the event, Uday Shankar, President FICCI said that FICCI will leave no stone unturned to address issues related to gender gap and digital divide that exist in

the country.