Ivanka at GES: Women's presence in tech, science, other sectors need a push

'McKinsey study says that India can add $700 billion to our GDP if we bridge the gender gap', Chanda Kochhar said

Policy changes are needed to encourage more women to enter high-growth fields, including science and technology, said speakers led by Ivanka Trump, advisor and daughter to the United States (US) President Donald Trump, at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit on Wednesday.

Participating in a discussion on the topic — We Can Do It! Innovations in Workforce Development and Skills Training — Ivanka Trump said the policies aimed at closing the gender wage gap in the industry have stagnated in the US and successive Presidents have been trying to change the situation.

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“All the women are working women, whether they are working to raise their families or working in a professional field. Out of every dollar earned by women, 90 cents are invested back into their families and community. Unfortunately, women participated in sectors that are undervalued and underpaid financially," Ivanka said.

In the US, only 24 per cent women represent computer professionals and 13 per cent of entrepreneurs are women. The US Government is currently working to bring more women into STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education in order to bridge the gap, added Ivanka.

ICICI Bank Managing Director Chanda Kochhar said — education, encouragement and empowerment — are the three most important aspects to make women succeed in business and career. She said India has made great strides in women empowerment and that has been reflected in the presence and achievements of women in many fields, including sports, defence and politics.

ALSO READ: GES 2017: Invest in India-for India, says Modi; Ivanka bats for women power

"India has come a long way and has realised that there is a lot more to do. Not even 25 per cent of the graduating women participate in the workforce. McKinsey study says that India can add $700 billion to our GDP if we bridge the gender gap," Kochhar said.

Cherie Blair, the wife of former United Kingdom (UK) Prime Minister and founder of Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, said there was no need for women to feel inferior to men as they will be far superior to men in many aspects if they get access to technology.

"We have to find solutions to enable women to perform better at what they do without giving up on their enterprises. Capacity, confidence, capital are the three things women entrepreneurs need to flourish. Its all about choice and diversity, as well as, about respecting each other's choices," Blair said. (more)

GES 2017: Economics, Ivanka and Hyderabad's green card-holding rich beggars

GES 2017 : Two women, aged 50 and 44, both natives of Hyderabad, were among some 30 women caught begging near a dargah

Global Entrepreneurship Summit : Two middle-aged women, who speak English and claim to have worked in western countries, are among those caught while begging on city streets recently.

Telangana Prisons Department, in coordination with police and the civic body, has picked up and admitted 235 male beggars and over 130 women beggars to Anand Ashrams (special homes) since October 20 as part of a drive to make Hyderabad a beggar-free city.

"Two women, aged 50 and 44, both natives of Hyderabad, were among some 30 women caught begging near a dargah in Langer Houz. Police took them to Anand Ashram on November 11," a senior official said.

To their astonishment, the Ashram staff found that the two women spoke English well. The elder of the two told the staff that she had an MBA degree, and once worked as accountant in London before returning here. Her son, who was contacted by the authorities subsequently, confirmed this.

The younger woman said she was a Green Card holder and had worked in the US, said K Arjun Rao, superintendent of the Cherlapalli open-air jail and the Ashram in-charge.

"The fifty-year-old woman, who had lost her husband and was facing certain problems, approached a godman, and on his advise started begging near the dargah. Her son is an architect based in the US," he said.

The younger woman claimed that she started begging after her relatives cheated her out of her share of the ancestral property, he said.

"After taking undertakings (that they would not beg again) from them, we handed over both women to their relatives," the official said.

There are still some 12 women in the Ashram, he said.

The drive began after the Director General (Prisons and Correctional Services) V K Singh told the government that the prison department will take care of the rehabilitation of beggars, on the lines of measures taken for the rehabilitation of prison inmates.

However, the drive was postponed after media reports sought to link it to the scheduled visit of US President Donald Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, here for the Global Entrepreneurship Summit starting November 28. The drive would resume later, Singh had said.