Rise in number of working women/ By Neeru Anand, Director Acreaty Management Consultant Private Limited

The empowerment of women is a worldwide issue of concern in the 21st century. Women should be treated as equal to men and there should be no discrimination done to women based on their gender, this is what the modern civilization dictates. The quest for similar rights for men and women has been in progress globally and the UN has been suggesting that no more time should be wasted in giving women their due rights.

Women have demanded equality with men in the matters of employment, education, marriage, politics and inheritance which they were once denied in many societies and cultures. From a very low status of women in the 18th and 19th centuries all over the globe, the 20th century saw a comparatively better position and status given to women. Women in many parts of the world were treated as objects, which could be sold and purchased as per will. They were not even given proper wages for the hard labor that they were allowed to carry out in rare cases. It was just over a century ago that women were given property rights in the European world. If Europe was such just a few 100 years ago, then the plight of women in Indian Subcontinent can surely be vividly imagined.

Indian women suffered a great deal due female infanticide, the dowry system, the wife burning menace (sati system) before social and religious reforms took place in various parts of the country seeing an end to these inhuman practices. Today, both the society and government is trying its best to empower women and make them participate in different schemes of progress. Various laws have been enforced by the Indian government that give added security to the women and give them ample opportunities to stand in the same quest of a better future as men.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, Indian women have taken part in various fields and have outshined their male counterparts in many instances. Today women can be seen working in every industry may it be that of teaching, defense, cinema, technology, banking etc. Women have carved out their way even in the sports arena and the only medals secured by Indian athletes in this year’s Olympics were those won by women. So, women have made it big and do not seem to look back anymore.

Women are making sure that they live independent lives where they do not depend on their male counterparts for their petty needs. They wish to live as dignified citizens and many women have started travelling to major metros like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, etc from their smaller towns, in search of better job prospects. These women although from smaller cities make sure that their resilience, education and capabilities not only match their female counterparts from the larger cities but make it a point that they succeed when tested against male counterparts from these big metros.

In a nutshell, it is being observed that the women are willing enough to whittle out their own future, take their destiny in their own hands and shape it as they desire, so that they live as respectable citizens of tomorrow with a status equal to that of men.