Women's participation in the Indian workforce is vital for economic growth, reduced gender inequality, and social empowerment. Their inclusion unlocks untapped skills, fosters innovation, and boosts productivity. Economically empowered women contribute to household income, driving spending and investment.

According to recent PLFS statistics, the female labour force participation rate in India stands at around ~37%, lower than the global average of ~50%, highlighting the need to enhance women's participation in the workforce. Encouraging women's participation requires systemic support from policymakers, businesses, and society to create an environment conducive to their success and advancement. Ultimately, their involvement is not just about economic gain but also about creating a more equitable and empowered society for all.

A recent FICCI study reported that at least 90 million new non-farm jobs need to be created by 2030, with women playing a key role in the workforce, to achieve a GDP growth rate of ~8%. Therefore, increasing women’s workforce participation is strategically important for advancing India's development goals and unlocking high GDP growth.

To address these issues and to reinforce the commitment to enhancing women’s representation across various sectors, FICCI is organizing the Women Empowerment Summit with the theme "Women in the Workforce" on 20th November 2024, at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi.

The key objective of the Summit is to bring together public and private sector stakeholders to acknowledge women’s participation in the workforce and to reinforce a commitment to increasing women's representation across sectors and roles.

The event will have three key anchors to establish the agenda:

• Women in the Workforce Report: Platform for Corporate India to progress on women’s representation through annual report card, recognition of corporates and sharing best practices based on survey data and analysis.

• Round table panels: Discussions on the existing biases related to women's employment and barriers to women’s entry into the workforce across industries and solutions to address the same.

• Awards & Recognition: Identifying pathbreakers and leaders implementing best practices to encourage women's employment through skilling, care, social security benefits etc.