As a sustainability warrior, I see the historic Women’s Reservation Bill passed by the Indian Parliament on September 20, 2023, as a pave blocker for the much-discussed DEI (diversity, Equity and Inclusion).
It is especially significant because it starts from the policy framing house.
I stand by the voices that supported the Women’s Reservation Bill pending in the Parliament for the last 27 years. Introduced multiple times, the bill was first passed in the Rajya Sabha or the Upper House in 2010. It failed to be tabled in Lok Sabha and lapsed. The journey of this bill itself narrates the story of women empowerment in India.
Undoubtedly, we need women’s participation at all levels if we want to create a sustainable society. Women play a pivotal role in developing an ecosystem to protect Mother Nature.
Secondly, the rural-urban divide further fractures the participation of women in civil society. In India, the rural population is much larger than the urban population. Lack of economic opportunities force men to migrate to cities or metros. This lays bare the critical role women play in running the family, and front-ending initiatives for financial and food security, health and education, and water.
While government initiatives, self-help groups and groups are collectively working to uplift women, a few financial products are just not enough! The buck cannot stop here; more participation and inclusiveness are required. I am confident that ensuring 33% reservation through a bill at higher levels will further fuel the pace of women-centric initiatives that can have multilayer changes.
Climate mitigation initiatives mandate DEI. And because it is a compliance requirement (tick boxing), we have slowly started seeing changes with women getting prominence in roles, including at board levels or taking the lead in strategy, CSR or other initiatives in corporates. But the gaps are still visible. Somehow, I always felt it was not enough. How can we get more women to participate? I hope this bill also sets the required benchmarking for the corporates to integrate more women at all levels.