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NEW DELHI : The ministries of labour and women and child development are conducting a joint survey on increasing women participation in the workforce.
The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, one of the world’s largest social security agencies, has begun sending survey participation forms via text messages on mobile phones, WhatsApp and emails to also rate employers on their support for women participation in the workforce.
“The employers’ rating survey (is) to help us gauge the progress and efforts of employers based on specific facilities,” said a senior official with the WCD ministry. “This initiative is a step towards accountability and recognition of those who actively contribute to a more inclusive work environment.”
As per the women and child development ministry, it had approached the labour ministry for taking up the initiative.
The survey comprises an extensive questionnaire that requests information about an organization such as whether it has late-night transportation, childcare centres, and an internal complaints committee for handling prevention of sexual harassment (Posh) procedures.
In addition, the survey asks whether women can work remotely or with flexible hours, and whether male and female employees receive equal pay for equal work.
The EPFO has distributed the questionnaire to all of its about 300 million customers nationwide.
The Periodic Labour Force Survey Report 2022-23 released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation in October showed that female participation in the labour force had improved significantly by 4.2 percentage points to 37.0% in 2023.
“This significant jump in the female labour force participation rate is an outcome of the decisive agenda set by the government for ensuring women’s empowerment through policy initiatives aimed at their long-term socio-economic and political development,” the WCD ministry said in a statement.
These initiatives have included girls’ education, skill-development, entrepreneurship facilitation and safety in the workplace.
According to the labour ministry, 2.8 million women registered with the EPFO in 2022-23, the highest so far.
“The survey will be tabulated and housed in the ministry of labour and employment. Now data and feedback from female employees will be robust,” WCD minister Smriti Irani said at a ‘Women in the Workforce for Viksit Bharat’ event held on Tuesday.
The minister added that the government has asked employers to provide registered road construction workers with paid maternity leave for up to two deliveries for 26 weeks.
She added that employers must provide 12 weeks of paid maternity leave to mothers who have more than two children or who are adopting.
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Published: 31 Jan 2024, 04:10 PM IST
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