48% of the Indian population consists of women, yet only 26% of the female population joined the workforce. Women empowerment is an issue that must be dealt with more seriously. A larger women workforce in India has many advantages like boosting the economy and increasing the per household earnings. What’s stopping women from joining the workforce? How can women be empowered? And, can organisations remove barriers and empower women in India?

Remove Gender Discrimination
For women empowerment to blossom, the workplace needs to be free of gender discrimination. But, changing the attitude of the workforce can no doubt be challenging. Every organisation must take action to remove gender discrimination.

Educate:
Employees of both genders must be educated about gender discrimination. They must be made aware of stereotypes and made to break them.
Hire right:
When hiring employees, establish your hiring criteria so employees are aware that gender discrimination is not tolerated.
Hold People Responsible
Create a gender discrimination policy that makes people responsible when gender discrimination does occur.

Lack of Opportunities
Many industries have not welcomed women to come and join the workforce. This means that even if a woman overcomes cultural barriers and wants to work, there are not enough opportunities for her.
Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB) leads the way in creating opportunities for women. They actively hire women to join their workforce. Some of their factories are even known to constitute over 40% of women.Every organisation should take special steps to ensure that opportunities are created for women to join them.
The more opportunities are created for women, the more will join the workforce.

Upgrading Skills
Many women who are not graduate-pass and hence, discover that well paying jobs are also the ones that require specialized skills. Many organisations offer training programs for employees to upgrade their skills. HCCB has a Career Development Centre where women can learn more skills and get better jobs. Additionally, within the organisation, HCCB offers upskilling programs so women can continue to climb up the career ladder.
Removing barriers to women empowerment is not an easy task. However, by taking the above steps any organisation can begin to remove barriers, empower women, and make it easier for women to join the workforce.