#TogetherWeRise: When women take their rightful place in our society and workplaces, we all benefit

Indian history is replete with powerful women: from Jhansi ki Rani Lakshmibai leading the 1857 rebellion to Sarojini Naidu, Kasturba Gandhi and Kamala Nehru's invaluable contributions to India's freedom movement, to Vijay Lakshmi Pandit who was India's first ambassador to the United Nations, to Indira Gandhi holding the highest office in the land, to Kalpana Chawla in space, to Kiran Bedi's unflinching integrity, to Barkha Dutt's fearless reportage of the Kargil war, to Nirmala Sitharaman's steady hand at the tiller of the Indian economy.India is also a land where women have always been part of the political process: we had a woman Prime Minister at a time when women in Sweden didn't even have the right to vote. Equality of opportunity is enshrined in our constitution. Indian women have always had autonomy over their own bodies - no one has ever infringed on our reproductive rights.And yet, India is a country where a girl child is seen as a burden to such an extent, that to control female foeticide, we had to make foetal sex determination illegal. Where, despite a concerted (and long-term) effort by the government, NGOs and now corporate India, literacy rates for women are at just 65.46%, while for men the rate is 82.14%. Women are abundant in the fields, on construction sites and in our homes as domestic servants, but in 2022 alone, white collar job postings for women dropped by 18%. The percentage of women in the workforce in India has gone down from 26% in 2010 to 19% in 2020.Empowering women means empowering everyoneThose who believe that women's empowerment is a women's issue, need to think again. Women are half our population. What happens to half our society, happens to all of it.The effect of women's education on society is transformative. Working women are good for the economy. According to the IMF, greater gender equality boosts economic growth and leads to better development outcomes. It contributes to reducing income inequality, adding to economic diversification and, in turn, supports economic resilience. Businesses also benefit from increasing employment and leadership opportunities for women, which is shown to increase organisational effectiveness and growth.Businesses don't exist in a vacuum. If our society still eschews patriarchal values, if women are still doing the lion's share of caregiving, if her career is expected to play second fiddle to his... then that's what comes to work. Organisations reflect the societies they come from.Why can’t it be a woman? When you have more women in the workplace, it leads to more women in the workplace. They create safety: a factory where 30% of the workforce is made up of women will find it much easier to recruit more women than a factory which is mostly staffed by men. In white-collar workplaces, women leaders are carving the path for more women to follow. The first woman CEO in a company spawns the next generation of senior women leaders, because they see what is possible. Moreover, it's hard to 'talk down' to women, or to choose only men for more 'challenging' roles when the top job in the company is held by a woman. The culture shifts.Rising to the challenge This is how we close the gender gap. Businesses that are future-ready, already recognise this. One of the companies that has always had the ability to project themselves into an imagined future and turn it into reality, is the Mahindra Group. Established in 1945, the group has played its part in building India into the nation it is today.For 77 years now, the Mahindra Group has adhered to their philosophy of 'Rise', which calls for driving positive change in the lives of people, while believing that only when we enable others to rise, will we rise. At its core, the group has always believed that whatever is good for the world, is good for business. What creates value, also creates profit. What enriches the planet, can enrich the company too.This is a delightfully future-forward approach, and allows the Mahindra Group to invest in their larger ecosystem in increasingly effective ways. When it comes to empowering women, the group takes action on all key parameters. Under their Nanhi Kali program, in FY2022 alone, the group supported the education of 1.5 Lakh underprivileged girls. Project Prerna has helped over 20,000 women farmers through gender-neutral farm tools and equipment; thus creating better outcomes for their crops, and improved incomes for their families.They've also made efforts to make their factory shop floors more accessible and attractive to women employees. More than 70 women work on dedicated assembly lines at the Swaraj Tractor Plant in Mohali, Punjab and another 60 women workers and managers helm the paint shop at Chakan, Pune. All women dealerships are on the cards, with the first located in Delhi-NCR.Moreover, Mahindra Finance is the only NBFC of its size to lend to New to Credit (NTC) customers, a significant proportion of whom are women. Their partnership with Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also marks a significant step towards achieving Mahindra Group’s ESG commitment of impacting one million women annually from 2026.Of course, these initiatives don't have a direct impact on Mahindra Group's bottomline. However, that's not the point. Mahindra's Rise philosophy stands on three key pillars:Rise for a more equal world,Rise to be future-ready, andRise to create value.It is about creating good in the world and making it a better place. It's about Businesses for the Future serving the Consumers of the Future even if they aren't customers yet.We are all part of a greater whole. When women benefit, so do their communities. These communities build stronger, more egalitarian, more resilient societies. These societies create conditions where individuals and businesses thrive. Together, we create a virtuous cycle, where what is good for one, becomes better for all. Together, we create greater value, than we would alone.#RiseForAMoreEqualWorldWatch Now: This is a Partnered Post.