Girl Power Project
Empowering Women by Building Skills and Entrepreneurship Team girl power project
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n 2019, approximately 20.7 per cent women were part of the labor force in India, in comparison to the figure being 30 per cent in 1990. The data questions the impact of the increase in literacy rate among women and their position in India. A report by the Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy on ‘Impact of COVID-19 on Working Women’ stated that inadequate mobility, safety and lack of childcare options, sexual harassment inside and outside the workplace, and a fear of being stigmatized by the community are few of the many reasons that restrict women from seeking work or pushes them to drop out of paid work.
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August 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
Gender plays an increasingly important role in the economic growth process, both in terms of capacity building for success and the nature of the influence of certain development plans and initiatives. In the case of micro-enterprise approaches, gender becomes especially crucial to consider, as women’s typical home-centered duties can make it far simpler for them to participate in such programs than in more traditional and medium enterprises. To counter this, the Girl Power Project, implemented by AIILSG in Jharkhand and funded by the European Union, is striving to strengthen the ability of the Indian civil society and its organizations to perform their role as independent agents of
change, implanting actions that bring transformative change into the lives of women and girls. The project aims to provide women and girls with skill training and entrepreneurial support centers. Jharkhand Mahila Social Entrepreneurship Market Connect (JMSEMC) has been introduced under the project to act as a single point of contact for women and CSOs to connect them with prospective buyers in the marketplace. Jharkhand is one of the backward states in India and a high level of illiteracy is witnessed, especially among women and girls, in this region. Due to this they are unable to create opportunities for themselves to chart their path towards growth and development. The following project will involve partners from within the state with innovative models and best practices to build capacities and knowledge of CSOs by engaging them with social enterprises focusing on women and girls. It will also provide skills and competencies for strengthening Self Help Groups (SHGs) and creating social enterprises for empowering women and girls. Rural markets in India have been growing much faster than the urban sector, resulting in overall social development and a balanced economy. The rural market has more potential than the urban market for consumer’s durables and services. Also, a majority of the rural population depends on agriculture, which contributes to nearly 50 per cent of the total national income. Starting your own enterprise comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Women establishing and running their own enterprise come with added responsibilities and obstacles. During
