Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission today organized a National Webinar on Empowering Women, Building Gender Parity as part of the Webinar Series on Good Governance being held from 17th September 2021 to 7th October 2021. Hon’ble Minister of State for Commerce Smt. Anupriya Patel delivered the inaugural address. Secretary (HE), Shri Amit Khare, Chairman, UGC Prof. D.P. Singh, senior officials from the Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission were present on the occasion.
Delivering the inaugural address, Minister of State for Commerce Smt. Anupriya Patel said Gender Parity is not just good for women, it is good for society and for the nation. The Minister stressed the need for having equal rights, equal roles, and equal opportunity for men and women so that they contribute equally in all dimensions of life. The Minister added focus must be on increasing women’s access to resources, her control over life, and her decision-making rights.
Smt. Patel reiterated that Prime Minister envisions an India with a larger role for women. The Minister highlighted various initiatives of the government like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Sukanya Samridhi Yojana, and Fellowship/Scholarships for women from deprived section intended to improve the lives of the women.
The Minister stressed that the barrier to gender parity is deeply entrenched in the mindset. She said, there must be a collective effort in society to change that mindset. She called upon all those present in the webinar to play an individual role in the family, in the society, and resultantly in the nation, and supplement the efforts of the government. She said an empowered woman is powerful beyond measure and beautiful beyond description.
Shri Khare, Secretary, Higher Education in addressing the webinar focused on remarkable achievements on the gender parity index in spite of the discrimination and lack of opportunity existing in the society. Shri Khare, also raised the issue of very a smaller number of women faculty, particularly at leadership positions in higher education institutions, and called for proactive efforts regarding this.
Prof. D.P. Singh, Chairman, UGC in his opening address reaffirmed that women of the 21st century are fully capable of taking decisions for themselves and social development. Prof. Singh said sensitivity towards women’s empowerment and equality in society is possible only through education.
The National Webinar on Empowering Women, Building Gender Parity provided an opportunity to brainstorm with academicians, educationalists, administrators, and students about the possible ways ahead to implement NEP in terms of empowering women in education.