Rise of the woman leads to the rise of the nation 

By Tamana

A new era of equality: In a significant decision, the board of control for cricket in India (BCCI) "announced a pay equity", saying that its centrally contracted men and women players would get the same match fees. This is a significant move because research shows that gender discrimination mostly favors men in many domains including the workplace and such discrimination affects many aspects of a woman's life ranging from career development and progress to mental health

Giving Equal pay does full justice to the efforts women put besides improving the overall level of motivation to carry out the job in the best possible manner. The idea of equal pay also raises awareness about gender inequality and in the long run, increased awareness will encourage corporations to rethink their strategy toward a more open and tolerant company culture.

Equal pay can also raise the job satisfaction of women and contribute positively to their overall well-being. Giving equal pay can also bring major societal developments. Through the introduction of equal pay, families may get a greater level of flexibility regarding who will be the bread-winner in the future and who stays at home and takes care of the kids. Equal pay schemes provide women the encouragement to represent themselves in various fields and help in increasing the GDP of the country. In turn, the overall wealth of the country may increase. Therefore, equal pay schemes will not only be beneficial on an individual basis, but also for the economy of a country as a whole.

However, gender inequality is a very complex problem when we look at many countries across the globe. Even in developed countries women still earn lower wages than men despite achieving comparable work results Hence every contribution an individual makes towards pay parity will be significant in the long run. Take the case of Elaben Bhatt, the ‘gentle revolutionary’ who pioneered the movement to empower women in India and won global acclaim Bhatt founded SEWA in 1972 to advocate for ‘unprotected laborers’ in the informal sector, who constituted 89% of the workforce back then. A majority of such workers were poor women.

Imagine the change we will see when Society strives to foster pay parity.

"BCCI BATS FOR PAY PARITY

 'New era of equality’    

In a significant decision, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced a “pay equity policy”, saying that its centrally-contracted men and women players would get the same match fees.The newly formed apex council passed the resolution unanimously at its first meeting. BCCI has marked its debut in batting for gender-neutral pay grades. This has brought one of the most-awaited reforms in Indian cricket which women have been warming up to for long.  . By leveling the playing field in cricket —the most popular sport in India — the BCCI has sent out a strong message on gender equality and pay parity.

With this, India has become the second country in international cricket to implement equal pay. Earlier this year, New Zealand Cricket announced equal match fees for its women players.

Women's cricket in India has been on a pedestal since India's runner-up finish at the ICC Women's World Cup in 2017. Five years after that night in London, the girls will be drawing the same salary as their male counterparts in international cricket. The Board of Control for Cricket in India's new pay equity policy promises Rs 15 lakh for a Test, Rs 6 lakh for an ODI, and Rs 3 lakh for a T20I for the centrally-contracted women cricketers. It is a massive hike as the players currently earn Rs 1 lakh for an ODI and a T20I and Rs 2.5 lakh for a Test match. Former and current players lauded the decision as this could inspire more women to pick up the bat and ball and chase their dreams. Captain Harmanpreet Kaur called it a "red letter day for women's cricket in India" in a tweet

However, the annual retainership for women cricketers remains the same — Rs 50 lakh for Grade A, Rs 30 lakh for Grade B, and Rs 10 lakh for Grade C. The men, who play more games, are paid Rs 1-7 crore, depending on their grade.

More importantly, could equality in pay also translate into equity for girls who are dreaming of a career in the sport since the women in blue scripted history in the World Cup final in 2017 – without taking home the prize, they won hearts and a place for women’s cricket in India. Indian women’s cricket has upturned since the team reached the final of the T20 World Cup in 2020 and also won the silver medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022.

This landmark decision will certainly help in removing gender disparity and encourage more girls to take cricket as a profession. In the end, these kinds of small steps would lead to major decisions in the future.   

By Nishu 

 

Gender Inequality and Top Positions in Business Industry

 By Nishu

"The share of women in senior and managerial positions remains low at 14.6% of these positions. Also, there are only 8.9% of firms with female top managers, the review pointed out, quoting the World Economic Forum’s global gender gap report 2021 brought out in March."

 Women are better educated and more active in the labour force than ever, and are increasingly working in managerial roles. Yet despite these gains, their representation in top positions in business still lags behind that of men.

 Gender inequality in the workplace takes many forms — unequal pay, disparity in promotions, incidents of sexual harassment, and racism. Often, it presents itself in more nuanced ways, like fewer opportunities for women who are mothers and a higher incidence of burnout in women.

 Time poverty has enormous socio-economic repercussions and consequences that are more obvious in women than in men. Given the "double burden" of paid and unpaid jobs as well as the way time poverty affects women specifically, the effects of time poverty have a profound impact on how poverty is defined and how it impacts people. In professions viewed as low-value and unskilled, women are seen to be more prevalent than males. When it comes to women wishing to advance to the top ranks of corporate leadership, women are slightly more likely than men to consider family obligations as a major barrier. In contrast to their male coworkers who may be capable of working longer hours at the office, women are obliged to spend a lot more time on domestic duties.

Given the preceding information, it is obvious that time and job roles, among other things, are significant contributors to women's structural marginalization, which results in fewer possibilities and lower chances for them to reach the highest levels of employment.

Our society has to evolve and understand that a woman can ace any and all roles that she puts her mind to. The least one can do is make the journey less chaotic for them. Increasing gender participation at all levels and at the same time creating a conducive feedback mechanism in the organization can help improve the ratio of women in leadership roles.

 

 LEARN HOW TO DO MORE IN TEENAGE 

By Geetanjali

You're about to find out what is the most productive use of Coronavirus lockdown a teenager could do. What were you doing during the Coronavirus lockdown this spring? while most of the world hunkered down due to the pandemic, an enterprising young lady from Virginia decided to use this time to start- not one, but a couple - of businesses.

This is the story of Talia Levy , a 9th grader from Woodbridge, Virginia. Yes! you heard it right she is only a 9th grader teenager but she is doing so much more than her age . She has also proved that age is never a restriction on women if we are determined to achieve our goals. As a girl, she has become an inspiration to many other girls and a ray of hope to those females who are still tied to the knots of orthodox society and families.

She launched her podcast "Money moves for teens" in May 2020 teaching young people how to value and manage money . She has also created her YouTube channel to increase the reach of her podcast. In addition to her podcast, honor - student Talia also started math tutorial service called Talia's Tutoring to help her peers with their math skills.

During early quarantine, she and her parents were brainstorming possible projects she could work on in her free time, because school was no longer in "normal session" . She finally landed on the idea of starting a podcast.

Now we can imagine when she will be 18 years old, how much experience she will have in the field of entrepreneurship. One piece of advice she would give to teenage entrepreneurs is to make sure they constantly learn. Budding entrepreneurs must keep doing research on industry, customers, and more.

Success has many layers to it, but we experience success when we are helping others become successful.

CRYPTOCURRENCY AND BUSINESS

 

JORDAN BELFORT- "The wolf of wall street" recently shared another admonitory episode from his life , this time not his bacchanalian orgies but his victimhood. A hacker broke into his account and transferred funds worth $30000 to a seperate account.

 

This incident is a source of apprehension as well as jubilation for Indian bussinessesIt is a source of hope and jubilation because it accentuates the low cost and easy transferrability of cryptocurrency.Most businesses fail to transcend domestic frontiers due to lack of speedy fund transfer services at minimal costs but as cryptocurrency widens its reach among consumers , businesses will bask in their domestic as well as international glory.

 At the same time the incident may add to the frustration of businesses due to the lack of sufficient data protection which encourages hacking. Moreover the recent downward surge in the value of cryptocurrency may expose Indian businesses to the risk of easy degradation in financial wealth.

 The need is for an RBI-backed digital asset ,which is well felt by Indian authorities and hence the same was announced in the recently concluded budget session.

By Pratyksha Mishra

 

 

Droupadi Murmu's Presidency

 

RASHTRAPATNI   - The deliberate sexist remark made by a congress MP to our honourable President Ms Droupadi Murmu symbolises impediments on the path of women who attempt to overcome patriarchal norms of the society. Her rise through the ranks is important not only for womanhood but also for all the marginalised communities of India.

 

Ms Murmu's appointment brings extreme pride to India at a time when the military dictatorship of Mayanmar undemocratically ousted  a true leader Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, Women of Saudi Arabia grapple with regressive patriarchal laws, Girls of Afghanistan struggle to get access to formal education,Women of the US fight for their reproductive autonomy.

 

Education is the most potent tool to propel onself forward in society.Droupadi Murmu - a highly educated leader gives immense hope to the girls who are unable to access education due to conventional stereotypes. We expect Ms Murmu to bring policies that give all women absolute access to this tool.

A bill regarding reservation of seats for women in governance is still pending in the parliament . Ms Murmu's appointment gives us fresh hope that the bill will be passed soon.

At a time when India aspires to be  ATMANIRBHAR , Ms Murmu must bring changes that help enterprising women from rural particulary tribal areas to become ANTMANIRBHAR while making India self reliant in a global village through handicrafts, traditional artecrafts and other items in which these women carry expertise.

 

Droupadi Murmu is a lady who rose above many personal tragedies to make an Identity of her own.She is a big inspiration and embodiment of hope for every daughter of this soil.

 

By Pratyksha Mishra

 

Should Women be paid for housework?

 My wife does nothing at all" dismissed a husband even as he nonchalantly listed that she cooks for them, drops and picks up their children from school and cleans the house. This response echoes the thankless attitude of many.

Empirical data suggest that less than one-third of men participate in domestic chores whereas three-fourths of women do all the drudgery. It is because of their efforts that the wheels of the economy function. Yet their work is not respected. It can be said that homemakers provide a form of the labour force that is unpaid and not valued.

Therefore many proposed the idea of paying homemakers a salary. But this has not been implemented anywhere in the world. This may be because paying homemakers is a debatable issue.

Some economists suggest that homemakers must be paid since they improve the productivity of the economy by looking after those who work in it Staunch supporters of the policy say paying housewives is the best way to recognize their efforts.

At the same time, many also believe paying housewives may entrench social norms that confine women inside the house and reduce their participation in the labour force. Another problem with this policy is who will pay? If husbands pay their wives for looking after the house, the patriarchal notion of men being the sole breadwinners will get fostered. Government cannot afford to pay either because the expenditure and fiscal deficit are high.

Moreover, the idea of paying housewives is fundamentally flawed because a homemaker's caregiving effort cannot be monetized. 

Thus the best policy would be one that encourages greater participation from men in doing domestic chores.

 

                                                                                                                       - By Pratyaksha

                                                                                                                         WIB Member