India has the largest network of Self-Help Groups in the world. Over 80 million women in India are in Self-Help Groups. Over time, these groups have improved the resilience of women and communities. They have helped women build their income and savings, led to higher levels of empowerment and enhanced their decision-making in the household.In this episode, we explore how Self-Help Groups can evolve in the future to become more effective institutions for women, adopt emerging areas of work and make use of technological innovations. Our guests Sanchita Mitra, National Coordinator at the Self Employed Women’s Association and Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, Additional Chief Secretary, Panchayati Raj, Government of Karnataka, have spent their lifetimes building women’s institutions for collective action.The episode includes stories of women in Self-Help Groups:i) Sunita Shinde works in rural Maharashtra, helping rural women access digital technology. She works with Mann Deshi Foundation.ii) Shamima Begum works in Odisha, helping her community access social security schemes through technology. She works with Urban Management Centre. Studies on Self-Help Groups in India· https://iwwage.org/swayam/· Handbook on institutional mechanisms for addressing gender issues· From Aspiration to Empowerment: Impact of Women’s Collectives· Stories of Resilience and Hope· Digitisation of Self Help Groups in India· Community and Institutional Response to COVID-19 in India: Role of Women's Self-Help Groups and National Rural Livelihoods Mission· Strengthening Socio-Economic Rights of Women in the Informal EconomyYou can follow Uma on social media: Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/readingkafka )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-buteau-25b0452/ )You can follow Sanchita on social media: Twitter: (https://twitter.com/SEWABharat )Instagram: ( https://www.instagram.com/sewa.bharat/?hl=en )Linkedin: ( https://in.linkedin.com/company/sewa-bharat )You can follow our host Sunaina Kumar on her social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/sunaina_kumar )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunaina-kumar )Facebook: ( https://www.facebook.com/sunaina.kumar.37 )You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the https://ivmpodcasts.com, the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IWWAGE report: 1. Women workers and India's emerging gig economy <https://iwwage.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IWWAGE-Gig-Economy-Report.pdf>In this episode, we explore what it takes for women to set up big businesses that create employment. India was amongst the lowest-ranked countries in the world in a global index on women entrepreneurs. If we can accelerate female entrepreneurship in India, it could potentially create 150–170 million jobs by 2030 and transform the Indian economy. So how do we grow this pie?Our three guests, Monisha Advani, co-founder of Emmay Entertainment and one of the few women to head a production company, Hemalatha Annamalai, serial entrepreneur, and founder of Ampere Vehicles, and Nupur Garg, founder of WinPE, and a leading investor in private equity, discuss how women entrepreneurs can be equipped to reach their potential, with host Sunaina Kumar.Follow our guests on social media: Hemalatha Annamalai: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annamalaihemalatha/?hl=enLinkedin: https://in.linkedin.com/in/hemalatha-annamalai-96788397Monisha Advani: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onlyemmay/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/monishaadvaniNupur garg: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nupurgarg_winpeLinkedin: https://in.linkedin.com/in/nupurgargYou can follow our host Sunaina Kumar on her social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/sunaina_kumar )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunaina-kumar )Facebook: ( https://www.facebook.com/sunaina.kumar.37 )You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the https://ivmpodcasts.com, the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode, we explore women and entrepreneurship in India. Entrepreneurship offers women the opportunity to participate in the economy, which is essential in a country where women are dropping out of the workforce, and struggling to find suitable jobs. The share of enterprises owned by women is just over 20 percent. These businesses are mostly micro or small enterprises, concentrated in the informal sector and generate low revenues. The potential for women’s entrepreneurship is huge, but women entrepreneurs need support and policy interventions.Our two guests, Neharika Vohra, vice-chancellor at the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University and Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WeHub, a platform for women entrepreneurs by the government of Telangana, along with host Sunaina Kumar discuss the social, structural and economic barriers that women face and look for solutions to support women’s entrepreneurship.The episode includes stories from different parts of the country of women who run micro and small enterprises. Ila Shah is a pharmacist and manager of Lok Swasthya Health Cooperative in Ahmedabad. The cooperative is supported by the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA).Bablu Bhowmik is self-employed, she runs a home business of fish farming in Jolaibari, Tripura. Her work is supported by Sesta Development Services.Chandrakali Markam is head of a poultry farming cooperative in Dindori, Madhya Pradesh. The cooperative is supported by Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN).You can follow Deepthi on social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/deepthiis )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepthir/ )Instagram: ( https://www.instagram.com/deepthiis/ )You can follow Niharika on social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/neharik413 )Facebook: ( https://www.facebook.com/neharika.vohra )LinkedIn: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/neharika-vohra-b185537/ )You can follow our host Sunaina Kumar on her social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/sunaina_kumar )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunaina-kumar )Facebook: ( https://www.facebook.com/sunaina.kumar.37 )You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the https://ivmpodcasts.com, the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the second episode, we take a look at gaps in gender data in India with a focus on women’s participation in work. Data can reveal many new facts, and it is one of the most powerful tools to address the gender gap, to frame policies, and to bring women into the economy. Good data is essential for India’s progress and lack of data leads to poor policymaking and governance.Our two expert speakers, Hema Swaminathan, Professor at the Centre for Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, and PC Mohanan, former acting chairman of the National Statistical Commission, along with host Sunaina Kumar discuss how India collects data on women, the gaps in data collection, why we need good gender data, and much more.You can follow Hema on social media:Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/hema-swaminathan-0091224 )You can know more about IIM Bangalore:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/iimb_official )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/school/indian-institute-of-management-bangalore )You can follow PC Mohanan on social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/pcmohanan )You can follow our host Sunaina Kumar on her social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/sunaina_kumar )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunaina-kumar )Facebook: ( https://www.facebook.com/sunaina.kumar.37 )You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the https://ivmpodcasts.com, the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The episode explores the question which is at the heart of the series—what keeps Indian women from joining the workforce? According to an IWWAGE report from 2020, only one out of every five women of working age in India were in the workforce. Government data shows that between January to March 2021, women’s presence in the workforce had dropped to 16.9 percent. But what lies behind these numbers?In this episode, host Sunaina Kumar and Sharon Buteau, Executive Director at LEAD at Krea University, discuss the structural barriers that women face, along with social norms and restrictions on mobility. The majority of the women who work are in the informal sector, their work is invisible and not counted. Besides, the time spent by Indian women on domestic work is 10 ten times more than men.The pandemic has further widened the gap and affected women’s access to opportunities. How can women prepare for the future of work, and can digitization be more equitable for women? You can follow Sharon on social media: Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/sharon_buteau )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sharon-buteau-25b0452/ )You can follow our host Sunaina Kumar on her social media:Twitter: ( https://twitter.com/sunaina_kumar )Linkedin: ( https://www.linkedin.com/in/sunaina-kumar )Facebook: ( https://www.facebook.com/sunaina.kumar.37 )You can listen to this show and other awesome shows on the https://ivmpodcasts.com, the IVM Podcasts app on Android: https://ivm.today/android or iOS: https://ivm.today/ios, or any other podcast app.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Without women, India cannot progress. Indian women have been asserting their presence in different ways. The increasing number of women voters is beginning to affect election outcomes, and yet the representation of female elected officials is disappointingly low. The rate of female literacy has gone up across the country, and yet the participation of women in the labour force has been steadily declining. Women in India spend almost 20% of their time on unpaid and care work, while men, on average, spend only 2.5% of their time on these activities.This is just a handful of the many questions and situations that we are tackling as we look at how we can move forward.Mind The Gender Gap is a monthly podcast that focuses on data and evidence to explore essential questions about women and work in India. It is a collaboration between IndiaSpend, the country’s first and only public interest data journalism initiative and IWWAGE, a research initiative of LEAD at Krea University.Hosted by Sunaina Kumar, a journalist and researcher, Mind The Gender Gap brings together a diverse group of experts from across sectors who are involved in framing policies that enable and empower women’s participation in the economy.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.