Keynote Address by

Dr Najma Heptulla
Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Govt. of India

At the "First Plenary Session : Setting a National Agenda for Promoting Employment through Entrepreneurship"
"Thought Leadership Conference" Special Plenary
Date: 30 October 2003
Venue: Balayogi Hall, Parliament Library Building, Parliament House, New Delhi

My friend and distinguished colleague at IPU, Mr. Mahinda Samarsinghe, Hon’ble Minister for Employment, Sri Lanka

Mr Ehsan Ul Haq, Hon’ble Minister of State for Education, Bangladesh

Shri Rahul Bajaj, Chairman Bhartiya Yuva Shakti Trust

Shri Kapil Dev

Mr Nodera, Regional Director, ILO

Distinguished Guests,

I am pleased to join the Asian Summit on Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment to discuss a national agenda for promoting employment through enterprise. I compliment the organizers for convening the meeting on such a significant issue in the context of current economic transition in our region.

Today the economic climate is much more liberal and favorable for enterprise. During last ten years, I have observed a legislative framework being gradually laid to facilitate a fair and free play of market forces. A new legal and regulatory framework is replacing old, outdated laws to encourage enterprise. As the supreme representative institution, Parliament has closely monitored and guided the economic reforms. We are promoting the new partnership between government and private sector.

Over last fifty years we had invested in developing the quality of mind that is behind our economic success. I am convinced that the validity of new economic reforms will depend on the success of our young entrepreneurs.

Our success in frontline areas like IT, Computers, communication and the service sector has affirmed our faith in our young technocrats. The reforms have unleashed the youth power in India.

It is even more remarkable that, the knowledge-based economy has opened newer horizons for women professionals and entrepreneurs. It has proven that knowledge and technologies are gender-neutral tools of development.

The IT, computers, media, advertising, communication or Finance and banking, these young sectors have greater gender partnership as compared to traditional sectors. Young professionals are more receptive to the gender partnership. I am sure this trend will further grow with the expansion of economy.

It is heartening to learn that Forbes or Fortune lists have recognized the potential of women entrepreneurs. They have broken the glass ceiling and have inspired a generation of professionals into corporate enterprise. Beyond their individual professional success they represent a trend of excellence and professionalism.

Today, there are greater numbers of women at middle management levels, who will assume the leadership over next decade. They will inspire new perspective and imagination in the corporate culture.

However, the impact of economic reforms is still not evenly dispersed. These are regional and gender disparities. The rate of economic dynamism is higher in bigger cities like Delhi though smaller cities are fast growing as new economic hubs. Women remain segregated from the economic mainstream. Their contribution to the economy needs to be reckoned.

Women do not own factors of production nor do they have the access to capital. They are informally trained in traditional skills that are never updated with more professional training. They lack education to participate in modern economy.

The study conducted by Department of Women and Child Development on the impact of globalization on women, indicated the ”Feminization of poverty”. The semi skilled and unskilled women have lost jobs in organized sectors due to increasing competition. They have been relegated to unemployment or under-employment.

Therefore, there is a need to incorporate a gender –perspective in our strategy for development.

The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women recognizes the need to ‘include the women’s perspective in designing and implementing the macro economic and social policies by institutionalizing their participation in such process.

I have myself written to Hon’ble Minister of Finance to incorporate the gender-perspective in the Union Budget. We need to analyze the budget from a gender perspective. Apart from women specific schemes, we seek gender dis-aggregated figures of budgetary allocations and expenditure for all the schemes and government departments.

As the President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, I had taken initiative to train the parliamentarians into Gender-analysis of budget. Recently, we had convened a workshop on gender budgeting for South Asian Parliaments in Sri Lanka. In our parliament I had convened a meeting of parliamentarians this year for the gender analysis of budget.

In addition to expanding their skills in newer areas of high technology and international marketing, youth must also capitalise on the traditional skills and crafts. These sectors have vast untapped potential for employment. There is a large market for their products. Since these crafts are region specific, their products can have a monopoly over the market.

These crafts are essentially traditional family business that have now become economically unviable and are gradually dying. Often these local crafts are discarded in the international markets due to sundry allegations like child labour. Since there is no formal training, these crafts are pursued as a family vocation from early childhood thereby inviting the allegations of child labour.

By not reviving these skills we are not only loosing a sector with employment potential but also a craft that has been the part of heritage of local people.

I would suggest that we must introduce region specific skills and crafts in the schools. We can also develop more efficient tool kits for these crafts. The young entrepreneurs at the local level can pursue these traditional vocations as independent enterprise.

Women particularly can be benefited by revival of local crafts. In smaller towns and rural areas women are mostly involved in handicrafts and cottage industries. With the integration of markets and new technologies, these crafts have lost out in competition.

By incorporating these crafts in the school curriculum, we can upgrade these crafts and also avoid the scope of child labour. The modern education will enable young entrepreneurs to take the benefit of new government schemes, finances and markets. Government can provide initial funding for such projects. These projects can be taken up through the cooperatives of local craftsmen. This will enlarge the initial corpus fund for such projects.

The Planning Commission’s Task force on Employment has suggested agriculture and allied sector and small and medium scale industries has the areas of high employment potential. Women can capitalize in the sectors like retail trading, food processing, textiles and designing, handicrafts, agro based industries like horticulture, social forestry, dairy development, poultry, that have vast scope to develop local level enterprise. These sectors re-organized with modern managerial techniques and with scientific and technological inputs, have massive potential for enterprise and employment.

Young entrepreneurs at the local levels can become the agent for a new alternative model of development that is environmentally sustainable and based on traditional skills.

At Bujodi in earth-quake ravaged Gujrat, I have initiated the building of a community center that will facilitate collective enterprise of local weavers and artisans. The community center will be the focal point where they can sell their produce with out any middleman.

Society too shall have to shoulder the responsibility. NGOs, media, professional groups like yours can help youth to take benefit of these schemes and built their own professional enterprise.

I am pleased to learn that business associations like CII have constituted the Women Empowerment Committee to pursue the corporate sector to have women friendly policies and also to encourage women entrepreneurs. The Committee will also create Self Help Groups for women with the help of corporate sector. The FICCI too has its FICCI Ladies Organization for the women entrepreneurs. Business associations can give a forum for women entrepreneurs and can also take initiatives to build the business capabilities of young professionals.

Also women need a conducive social environment to participate and grow in economy as equal partners. The crime against women in campus and at public places, their exploitation and harassment at work place, domestic violence against women – all these restrict their ability to participate in economy. These are the manifestation of a stereotyped social attitude to exclude women as equal partners. Parliament, government, local administration, media, academies and other social institutions must come together against any form of violence and exploitation of women.

I am sure this Summit will take a view of these issues that have significant bearing over women’s participation in economy.

Thank you.

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