Addressing wage gap can increase women workforce: Ficci

NEW DELHI: Welcoming the draft National Policy for Women 2016, industry body Ficci today said addressing the wage gap and creating satisfactory working conditions can contribute towards increasing the women workforce.

Government released the draft of National Policy for Women, 2016 this week which seeks to address emerging challenges confronting women, including protection against cyber crime, security to surrogate mothers and bringing gender sensitivity in family planning policies.

"The new policy shall enable the government to recognise single women - divorced, widowed and unmarried women - as independent entities," Ficci Ladies Organisation (FLO) President Vinita Bimbhet said.

"Very importantly, legislature reforms for equitable opportunities for women in the organised and unorganised sector shall also contribute towards women being able to contribute to the country's economy at par with men," she added.

The policy provides a roadmap for dealing with women's issues for next 15-20 years and will replace the earlier policy of 2001. It will be finalised after consultations with all stakeholders, including NGOs and civil society.

The priority areas laid down by the policy include health, food security and nutrition, education, economy, governance and decision making, violence against women and climate change.

The policy is expected to focus on increasing trend of crime against women, including rape, trafficking and dowry, along with the expansion of new work opportunities for them.