A civilization’s treatment of women reflects its stature. Among the many reasons India’s ancient culture is admired, a prominent one is the high position accorded to women. Manu, the renowned law-giver, stated, “Where women are respected, gods dwell.” The status of women in modern India is considerably lower. In 2021, the World Bank reported that fewer than one in five women had formal employment — a number on par with pre-Taliban Afghanistan. It is concerning that, despite India being more liberal and developed, its female labor participation remains at this level.

These statistics reflect an increasing number of Indian women leaving formal employment, even as the economy grows. Major factors that contribute to these statistics include:

• Dangerous or inaccessible work environments.
• Underpaid labor.
• Lack of training or employment skills.
• Domestic labor demands.
• Conservative beliefs that women should not work outside the home.

MasterG Class

Launched in 2015, MasterG is India’s first all-women garment design and skill development organization. Its founder, Gayatri Jolly, studied fashion design at Parsons in the United States, then returned to India to advance the training of women in fashion. Fashion design in India is a male-dominated industry, socially excluding women from garment manufacturing.

In an interview with Global Connections Television in 2015, Jolly defined fashion as a way to empower and sustain women, and help impoverished people all over the world. MasterG has an entrepreneurship program that aims to train those living in urban slums in a way that makes them immediately employable. It teaches six months of garment construction skills and ends with the gift of a sewing machine to each trainee.

After working with big labels such as Doodlage and NorBlack NorWhite, MasterG launched an independent label called Heimat — the German word for belonging. This in-house label changes the organization from charity-driven to market-driven, increasing trainee skills beyond design and construction to include marketing and sales.

MasterG also launched digital learning programs in regional languages through Coursera, to widen its reach in the country. Upon program completion, trainees have a variety of employment paths, including working in design or export houses, opening small tailoring and garment shops and becoming teachers. They acquire skills in using smartphones for education and leverage platforms like Instagram for showcasing and selling their garments online.

SEWA Foundation

Established in 1972, the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is the largest Central Trade Union in India, with membership exceeding 2.5 million people as of 2023.

Its founder, Ela Bhatt, studied law and spent her early career working with the Textile Laborer’s Association. This experience inspired her to focus on organization and coordination as a way to uplift the poor in a sustainable way. In the 1970s, 90% of India’s workforce were unprotected laborers, most of them women in domestic or agricultural labor at home, or selling products at markets. SEWA originated to redefine employment beyond an employer-employee relationship and provide basic protections for these women.

Through decentralized and affordable approaches, SEWA makes essential services easily accessible, ensuring the financial sustainability of support systems. These include SEWA Bank, health services, national insurance, managing school, a center for training and research and the Mahila Housing Trust.

In 2021, SEWA orchestrated Women, Work, and Food Systems: Voices from Grassroots. This national dialogue provided a platform for informal sector women workers in India to share their issues, challenges and solutions, integrating them into the United Nations Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) workstreams. The dialogue focused on enhancing the visibility, identity, and livelihood of female workers in the food industry.

Among its achievements, SEWA formed RUDI, an agribusiness enterprise fully owned and managed by the female farmers of Gujarat. SEWA also organized 600 women in the Jammu Kashmir Valley and taught them new agricultural techniques and technology, communications, marketing, leadership and management skills. This enabled them to sell their products directly to markets, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion

An Indian Express report suggests that women’s increased participation in entrepreneurship could elevate India’s GDP by $700 billion by 2025. By creating and managing businesses, female entrepreneurs not only provide job opportunities for fellow women but also serve as inspiration for others to join the workforce, contributing to substantial economic growth. With organizations that bring value and recognition to women’s labor, as well as skills training, women from all sections of society gain a better future.

– Asra Mairaj
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