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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: NA

Mains level: Women empowerment, Reforms to thrive Women leadership

Central Idea

Today the world is home to a transformative generation of 900 million adolescent girls and young women poised to shape the future of work and growth. If this cohort of young women could be equipped with the right resources and opportunities to nurture the 21st century skills, they would become the largest segment of women leaders, change-makers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in history.

Women In India

India is home to one of the largest generations of girls and young women, has made significant progress across various domains, such as education, health, digital and financial inclusion, and leadership building, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5, which envisions a more gender-equal world by 2030.
To unleash the gender dividend and create conditions for female leadership to flourish, women at all levels of society must have inclusion in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT), bodily autonomy and safety, shared responsibility within the household, and equal participation in decision-making spaces.

Given the socio-economic barriers that adolescent girls confront from their earliest years that the work to cultivate their agency must begin early.
India’s initiatives across various domains, such as education, health, digital and financial inclusion, and leadership building, to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 5, which envisions a more gender-equal world by 2030.

Inclusion in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) for women at all levels of society is very important.
As access to digital technology increasingly becomes an arena of opportunity and basic service, EdTech can bridge the accessibility gap in education through hybrid learning models, even where girls’ access to schooling is restricted by harmful norms.

The prevailing stereotypes that characterize STEM education as a traditionally masculine domain, even though over 43% of Indian STEM graduates are women.
The gender norms that disproportionately allocate domestic and care responsibilities to women, representation of men as leaders of STEM, finance, and entrepreneurial fields in the public perception, and institutional mechanisms are some of the barriers that explain why increased women’s representation in STEM education does not translate into work participation.
There is need of inclusion of grade-appropriate STEM, financial education, and entrepreneurship syllabi into the educational curriculum for girls to counter these stereotypes actively.

Empowering women to make decisions about their bodies and be free from all forms of violence and harassment is very important.
These basic conditions are critical to enable women and young girls to chart the trajectory of their personal and professional lives.

The sporting activities can promote leadership, self-sufficiency, and teamwork. The inclusion of adolescent girls and young women in sports can build their self-confidence, strengthen self-belief, and impart the nuances of teamwork.
The National Sports Policy and inclusion programs for children from vulnerable communities, which have seen remarkable success.

The backbone of thriving families, communities, and economies largely falls on women, increasing in times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is crucial to recognize, reduce and redistribute unpaid care and domestic work, so that women may enjoy economic opportunities and outcomes on an equal footing to men.
The policies that provide services, social protection and basic infrastructure, promote sharing of domestic and care work between men and women, and create more paid jobs in the care economy, which are urgently needed to accelerate progress on women’s economic empowerment.

STEM education refers to a curriculum that focuses on four academic disciplines: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.
STEM education is designed to promote and enhance the critical thinking, problem-solving, and analytical skills of students, while also encouraging their creativity and innovation.
The curriculum typically integrates these four subjects to show how they are interconnected and applicable to real-world problems.
STEM education is becoming increasingly important in today’s world, as technology continues to advance and the demand for skilled workers in these fields grows.

Nurturing the leadership abilities of adolescent girls and young women is crucial for breaking down restrictive gender norms and barriers and accelerating progress across the Sustainable Development Goals. By working together to empower girls and women, we can create a more gender equal world and unlock the full potential of the next generation of female leaders.

Mains Question

Q. What are the necessary conditions that must be established for female leadership to flourish in India?

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