CHENNAI: In a move aimed at improving women’s overall participation in the labour force, particularly in high-quality non-farm jobs in Tamil Nadu, the state government has proposed to create district-level and state-level plans under a Rs 1,282-crore project funded by the World Bank.
The District-level Women Quality Employment Plans (D-WQEP) and state-level WQEP (S-WQEP), to be rolled out as part of the Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Safety (TNWeSafe) project, will help women land jobs in emerging sectors. The plans will be rolled out in phases in 20 districts within 2029.
The government recently floated tenders to hire a consultancy firm to prepare a framework for WQEP, apart from preparing reports on ground realities, existing gender gap in employment, and developing a monitoring system and framework.
The initiative centres on three key areas — improving job opportunities for women (Employ), strengthening support services like safety and care (Enable), and empowering women by strengthening institutions, policies and support systems (Empower). While the S-WQEP will provide an overarching state-level framework, the D-WQEPs will address district-specific needs and priorities.
Though the participation of women in the labour force is relatively high in Tamil Nadu compared to other states, TN still has a wide labour disparity with the Female Labour Force Participation Rate standing at 43.9% (in 2022-23) compared to 81.2% for men. The gap is wider in urban areas (49.4%) and the state is expected to be 67% urbanised by 2030.
Girls above 14 years to be equipped with tech skills
The project unveiled in June last year by Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin recognises the need to address issues like safety concerns, domestic responsibilities and limited career growth that hinder women’s participation, and aims to transform the present scenario where women are largely employed in low-paying and informal jobs.
The special projects implementation department — among the cabinet portfolios handled by Udhayanidhi — will be the nodal agency for the TNWeSafe project, which is also expected to aid the government in achieving its target of turning TN into a trillion-dollar economy by 2030.
At a broad level, officials said the programme will focus on equipping girls above 14 years of age with technical, digital, social and financial skills with a special focus on emerging and non-farm sectors. This will include career counselling, internships, and placement support.
Entrepreneurship will be promoted through incubation and acceleration services for women-led businesses at the state, regional and district levels. Measures will be taken to improve women’s safety during transport to workplaces, creating a cadre of trained caregivers for elderly and children and strengthening technical partnerships,. Platforms at the state and district levels involving government, industry, and society will be formed for this.