CHENNAI: The state government is set to launch a one-stop digital platform called the Women Information Bank (WIB) to support women’s career growth, skill development, entrepreneurship and safety under the Rs 1,185-crore World Bank-supported Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Safety (TNWeSafe) Project. The platform will provide comprehensive information on all women-oriented schemes implemented by various departments and guide users to access them.
Designed as a multi-sectoral hub, WIB will help women access skill training, entrepreneurial assistance, childcare and elderly care facilities, hostels, psychological and career counselling and networking opportunities, among other services.
It will also offer resources on healthcare, legal rights, mental wellbeing, social legislations, safety tips and emergency support, including helplines for domestic violence and location-based details of local support centres and one-stop centres.
A secure space for reporting workplace harassment and discrimination will also be available in the platform to strengthen grievance redressal mechanisms.
The TNWeSafe project has invited tenders to develop a well-integrated, innovative, user-friendly and secure online platform for this purpose, which is expected to be launched within six months.
Apart from being a repository of information for women, the WIB will also function as a comprehensive data resource to track and manage women beneficiaries across various welfare schemes.
It will integrate information from multiple departments, including social welfare, MSME, skill development, education, health, transport and the women’s commission among others, enabling data-driven decision making and evidence-based policy evaluation apart from ensuring robust reporting, interoperability, data security and transparency in service delivery.
Officials said the platform is envisioned as a one-stop gateway for women across all the age groups, catering to students, professionals, homemakers, aspiring and existing entrepreneurs and vulnerable groups, supporting them in both their personal and professional growth.
The five-year TNWeSafe project will focus on three key areas — enhancing women’s participation in the labour market (Employ), improving access to services and resources that support employment and career growth (Enable) and strengthening state capacities, technical partnerships and institutional structures to create a supportive ecosystem for women’s employment (Empower).
The department had also called for tenders in June for preparation of state-level Women Quality Employment Plans (WQEPs) and district-level Women Quality Employment Plans (D-WQEPs) to identify challenges at both state and district levels and improve women’s participation in the workforce.
