The decades that followed India'sIndependence saw a dynamic social transformation, impacting the lives and livelihoods of millions. Although agriculture still happens to be theleading sector of employment, the focus has been fast shifting to other areas, especially due to urbanization. More and more people are moving to the cities in search of better-earning opportunities. However, women from the urban centres are devoid of such choice.

A veil over the progressive minds

The participation of female folks in India's workforce is significantly low. India has been listed among 11 countries with the lowest labour force participation of females. Women-owned and operated enterprises account for only about 20 per cent of all the enterprises in India. One of the major reasons for this could be that we do not have an enabling environment to nurture businesses led by women. Changing that status quo will help to eradicate one of the crucial barriers lying in the way of India's GDP growth and poverty alleviation.

We cannot simply deny the fact that women, be it in India or any other part of the world, are the hardest hit by socio-economic impact. This could be partly due to the existing gender differences that, even if we don't speak of them, do exist in many areas of life and also because of care work that goes unpaid and unaccounted. Gender-based violence makes matters worse. Another important factor that cannot be ignored is the lack of self-confidence in women's owncapabilities. Even if we keep all these factors aside, how can we forget about the responsibilities that every woman is compelledto undertake?

Access to information and opportunities

Recent reports suggest that the unemployment rate in India is very high, with more and more people losing their jobs or not even getting one in the first place.

Harnessing the energy of the female youth in the right direction could help to solve this problem to a great extent, yet there are several factors that act as obstacles.

Firstly there is a lack of information when it comes to the various schemes and job requirements. Women in rural areas do not have access to social media and other means from where they can get relevant information. Any enterprise requires funding and when the same is led by women, it can be really difficult to get the capital and other basic resources that they need to build and sustain their business.

Unlike in the case of men, it is not possible for women to go out into the market and access the network of suppliers. Most of the time they just have to compromise with whatever is available.

Empowering the women of Odisha

With active engagement in agriculture and vegetable cultivation, women in Odisha have been striving towards economic empowerment and multiple schemes have been introduced to help ease their journeys. The economic empowerment of women is crucial for building resilience. Not only their participation but their leadership, too, is important for the recovery of the economy. Investing in this direction will help to solve major issues like gender inequality and poverty which are not only common in Odisha, but in the rest of India as well.