Women — the peace builders of 21st century

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 28

A webinar ‘Towards 2030: The Power of Women to Build a Century of Life’ was organised by Bharat Soka Gakkai (BSG) chapter on women’s role in fostering creative coexistence. Speakers at a webinar said women develop deep empathy with people because of their demanding work of protecting family and raising children.

BSG is the Indian affiliate of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI), a global association of grassroots organisations that seeks to promote the values of peace and respect for all people. Based on the philosophy of Daisaku Ikeda, president of Soka Gakkai International, the webinar had women from all fields, including business, arts and social sciences stressing on more assertive role of women in society in future.

“It is a no-brainer that gender equality brings opportunity and prosperity for all. Any plan to grow an economy is incomplete if we don’t include women in the mix and look for challenges that they face,” said Saundarya Rajesh, founder-president, Avtar Group.

“Women are more than 50 per cent of India’s population. However, they contribute less than 15 per cent to its GDP. They earn less than 25 per cent of what their male counterparts do,” she said. “I do see India Inc racing to balance the workplace gender ratio to create a more equal working environment,” she said.

Other speakers at the webinar reiterated the role women must play as peace-builders. They believed that if women and girls were economically and socially empowered, they would be able to make informed choices and decisions about their lives, which is critical to solving many of India’s critical development challenges in education, health, child marriage, nutrition, gender-based violence and livelihoods.

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