IE Thinc session to discuss impact of pandemic on women workforce

More women lost jobs in India during the pandemic than men. A UN report has quantified the post-pandemic joblessness among women at 47 per cent and men at seven per cent. It has affected the women workforce, particularly in the rural areas and urban slums.
Battling traditional mindsets and for long considered free domestic workers in their homes, the economic deprivation brought on the pandemic has forced a relook at policies and enablers for women, who make up half our productive human resource. How can we encourage women back into the workforce, remove the gap year bias and reintegrate them with the mainstream? How do we upskill them and harness their established strengths?
The first edition of the webinar series, The Indian Express Thinc series on Gender, on Wednesday will attempt to answer these questions. The session is titled “Gender-responsive economic recovery and bouncing back better.” Presented Iwwage, this series of webinars aims to have a solutions-oriented discussion and throw up some suggestions on policy enablers for governance between some of the brightest minds across academia, industry, civil society and, of course, the government.

This edition will feature a keynote address Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Miner for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and MoS in the Minry of Electronics and Information Technology.
The address will be followed a panel discussion with Renana Jhabvala, Chair of the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA Bharat), Manish Sabharwal, Chairman, Team Lease and Avani Kapur, Fellow, Centre for Policy Research. This session will be moderated Aanchal Magazine, Special Correspondent, The Indian Express.