Every year International Day of the Girl Child is celebrated on October 11 – to empower girls and escalate their voice. It is an open acceptance of the importance, power and potential of adolescent girls – by encouraging more opportunities opening up for them.
The attempt is to bring awareness and solutions to the unique challenges that girls around the world face every day. Providing them with healthy options for careers, education, and resources to make their own choices involves removing some of the obstacles that come across their path, and making them more empowered.
The scene is rare in different countries, where culture and many other factors vary. So, depending on which part of the globe she lives, a young girl’s challenges will vary and how these issues are recognised or tackled also varies.
So, on International Day of the Girl, do join the global call to action. The theme of 2021 is – “Empowered girls grow up to be empowered women”.
Workplace equality
In the workplace too, there is discrimination and workplace equality doesn’t just happen. Although companies try to operate better with some type of structure, but still there can exist equality challenges for a women entrepreneur, who tries to set up her own business. So, the advice would be to create a culture that is open to all types of talent. To diversify the talent base, there is a need to establish an organizational culture that encourages diversity, inclusion, and equality. In doing so, you can attract diverse talent that can help organizational growth.
It is also required to develop an equal opportunity policy. While you can have a culture and work environment geared toward equality, it still is beneficial to formalize it with an equal opportunity policy. You can share this publicly and refer to it within your company, whenever necessary.
In the pursuit of equal opportunity
Women entrepreneurs are changing the gender narrative against all odds. Around the globe, they have had to overcome immense barriers in pursuit of equal opportunities. Besides cultural norms that pre-define what sectors are “acceptable” for women, there are other blockages too that they have to face. The struggle for equal rights and freedom from societal norms has been prevalent for a long period of time, and unfortunately still prevails. But today, we are seeing them stepping out and revealing extraordinary strength – to start their businesses in unfavourable conditions.
Can women entrepreneurs can be empowered to shape the digital future? Women were largely kept away from the first, second, and third industrial revolutions, that led to two centuries of economic domination by men. But, on a positive note the scene is ushering in changes.
Influencing the 21st century
With technology leaping ahead in the 21st century, it will continue to bring changes in habits and behaviors and will create significant wealth. Tech companies have already changed our lives in many ways and they are at the forefront of bringing in the new trends. With 60%of the global GDP set to be digitized by 2022, it is critical for women entrepreneurs to estanblish their presence in the tech sector too.
What is needed to close the digital gender gap?
With more women in the tech sector, it will help address the issues women face. Subsequently, they will build experience to later start their own tech startups, as women entrepreneurs. Women have to be digitally upskilled with edtech solutions too. They need to upskill fast as many of the future businesses will be in a digitally transformed state.
Boardroom representation of women has to be increased to give more leadership roles to women. Globally, women hold around 17% of corporate board seats. There must be a planned effort to reserve place in the boardroom for women entrepreneurs.
Governments and international organizations also could help women entrepreneurs work efficiently. Moreover, women tech role models have to be promoted to empower the next generation of women to enter the tech sector.
Avtar Madan
Himanshu
Shree Lahiri
Poonam Sinha
